Name: Daniela Anger
Picture title: Unhealthy treats
Category: People’s Choice
Nationality: I´m a German living in Germany
Occupation: I´m an amateur photographer. My occupation is flight attendant. I have been photographing wildlife for over five years now.
Technical information
Camera: Canon EOS R5
Lens: Canon RF 100-500mm F 4.5-7.1 L IS USM
EXIF:1/320 sec at f9 (0ev),ISO 640, 342mm
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
Daniela Anger | Unhealthy treats
Name: Daniela Anger
Picture title: Unhealthy treats
Category: People’s Choice
Nationality: I´m a German living in Germany
Occupation: I´m an amateur photographer. My occupation is flight attendant. I have been photographing wildlife for over five years now.
Technical information
Camera: Canon EOS R5
Lens: Canon RF 100-500mm F 4.5-7.1 L IS USM
EXIF:1/320 sec at f9 (0ev),ISO 640, 342mm
Daniela Anger says:
Crab-eating macaques also called long-tailed-macaques (macaca fascicularis) have a long history alongside humans in Lopburi, a city north of Bangkok in central Thailand. They are the symbol of the province and are a popular tourist attraction. These highly social animals live in huge groups in temples, abandoned houses, and city parks. For me, the most fascinating aspect is the complex relationships with the people of this area. On the one hand, they are sacred animals that are believed to bring prosperity and luck into the province. On the other hand, their exploding population causes conflicts.
I spent one entire day in the town and observed that locals supported the monkeys by delivering food like vegetables and fruits all day long in huge amounts. This kind of food belongs to their natural diet.
Stalls were selling treats that visitors fed to the animals. The sold treats contained not only healthy and appropriate food, but also sweets like little plastic bags with colored sugar water. They were very much welcomed by the monkeys, which grabbed as many as they could. One individual brought its prey next to one of the monkey statues which were built in honor of the furry inhabitants in the center of the city to enjoy the sweets. Of course, consumed in huge amounts these sweets cause health problems like illnesses and also can lead to aggressive behavior towards humans.
To find a way for a peaceful coexistence, many challenges need to be overcome. Authorities and conservation organizations are working hard on solutions to protect the charismatic little monkeys, which are listed as endangered on the IUCN list since this year (2023). One is to educate the public on how to treat and protect the animals. It may need some time but efforts are done already.
I took the image of the scene to combine the many aspects of the human-macaque interaction like mutual interferences, conflicts, admiration, thoughtlessness, tradition, and vulnerability to make the viewers thoughtful like it happened to me.
Daniela Anger
Germany
The magic of nature with its creatures has fascinated me since I was little. Moments that allow me to observe the world of wild animals in their environment are moments of pure joy and admiration. A gift from my mother was taking me out into the wilderness frequently and showing me the local fauna and flora. I learned from her to see the uniqueness of all living things, it doesn’t matter how little and common they are and to treat nature with respect. A couple of years ago I started photographing wildlife as an amateur photographer to capture the magic, beauty, and diversity of nature. Meanwhile, it became a deep passion.
I´m based in Munich in the southern part of Germany but my job as a flight attendant takes me to many places around the world. I have a particular fondness for the local wildlife. But also the versatile wildlife in the cities draws my attention. It is fascinating how animals adapt to the human world and what challenges this causes for humans and wildlife at the same time. The complexity of all the connections in the natural world is full of questions and wonders which I try to show in my images. Next to photograph wildlife and my work I started this year to support a red squirrel rescue in my area with driving red squirrels in need to care locations.