Stories from the wild.

No phone ringing. No jeep traffic jams. No Instagram Reels. In India’s tiger reserves, rules are in place to protect the forest –
not to entertain tourists. An experience report from Kanha National Park on sustainable nature tourism, strict safari rules, and why Africa could learn from it.

In Bavaria, at least 14 lynx disappeared under unexplained circumstances. Wildlife crime is not a distant problem—it happens in our forests. About poisoned baits, failing law enforcement, and the power of a single image.

A male lynx roams his territory near Großer Arber in the November twilight—and wins the “The World of Mammals” category at Glanzlichter der Naturfotografie 2026. The story behind the image.

Hand on heart: who voluntarily lies flat in the forest mud during the day at three degrees and drizzling rain? While the world waits for the first cherry blossoms for the perfect Instagram selfie, I prefer to lie where it is brown, damp, and—well—quite uncomfortable. But right here, under the moldy leaves and in the inconspicuous ponds, the most exciting drama of early spring is currently unfolding.

With long focal lengths, “sharpness” is not the problem; it is the tiny movement that prevents sharpness. The longer the focal length, the higher the sensor resolution, and the smaller the time window for correct technique, the less forgiving the system becomes. In practice, it is therefore not about the one perfect, razor-sharp image, but about yield: How many images in a sequence are truly usable, how reproducible is the result, and how quickly are you ready when the subject appears only briefly?