Michel Zoghzoghi - BOC Chronicles
Animal-lover, photographer, and unabashedly outspoken and confident, Michel Zoghzoghi sat down with us to answer a few questions on his work, his life, and everything nature-oriented in between.
Which of the big 5 is your favorite? Why?
I hate the expression “Big Five.” It’s usually an expression that tour operators give their clients as checklists to tick off from, and because of that the people end up not enjoying it. But out of all the animals I have encountered, probably my two favorites are the jaguar (it’s not part of the Big Five because it’s a South American cat) and the male lion. Why the male lion? Because it’s beautiful, has an amazing mane and is so intense. The jaguar is an elegant thug. These are my favorite two predators.
Why are you interested in predators especially? What did you notice about them that isn’t communicated in pictures or documentaries?
Because they are at the same time beautiful, powerful, and innocent. Innocent because they don’t kill out of viciousness; they just kill to survive. And this is what makes them extremely misunderstood. People think that if a lion sees you he is going to attack you and eat you. I would not be here if it was the case. They are beautiful and mesmerizing, especially big cats, they are powerful and a big part of their beauty comes from their power and grace. What I try to show with my photos is the innocent part.
How would you describe the evolution of wildlife since you have been traveling for the past 15 years? Is there any major sign of conservation in the latter years?
Catastrophic. It’s horrible.
I went to India the first time in 2008 and the last time in 2012, and in those four years I saw a huge difference and less tigers. They are saying that the number is increasing again now, but I stopped going there in 2012 because there were just too many people going; the number of tigers had gone down and the habitat had shrunk.
Another part that I know quite well: the Maasai Mara in Kenya. It’s been going down because you have more and more people around the reserves, often bringing their cattle in there. There is more construction, more camps being built, and everything with very little regulation.
I go to the Pantanal in Brazil quite often – this year I was supposed to go for a month and a half. The area where I was supposed to stay got totally burned by the fires. And the fires obviously are the result of farmers burning more land to be able to plant on them because of the misguided policies of Bolsonaro in Brazil, and also because of climate change.
The documentaries, clips, and images always show the exceptional hunting scene visuals, but never portray how complex the brains of these animals are, how they strategize, and the story behind the kill. What is your take on that?
The kill is not the only interesting part. When I first started photography, my goal was to shoot a hunting scene and I realized that at the end of the day it’s very easy; all you have to have is a good camera and be present when it happens. I am more focused on the interaction between the animals and how they are integrated in their landscape, having good light, a good angle, and all these things. You talk about strategizing, yes, I watched a few kills that were quite impressive, especially the cheetahs hunting. By the way, the cheetahs are the only animals where brothers hunt together and we call that a coalition. I watched a coalition of three cheetahs hunting; you had one cheetah waiting and the other two running after the herd, so all the big animals were running and they forgot about the smaller and the sick ones. Once the two brothers chased away the big herd, all that was left for the third cheetah to do is go pick on one of the weak ones that was left behind. So, they do, they strategize. But it’s not like running, trying to catch the animal; they scare the herd away, the strong animals run away, then they go and pick on the weaker ones.
From another perspective, documentaries and photos never show how brutal nature is. Since most of the time animals are eaten alive and – in some cases – agonize before dying, how did this change your perception on life and nature?
It’s not brutal. It’s neither brutal nor cruel. I mean, let’s say a lion starts eating a hippo alive. He doesn't do this because he wants to inflict pain or cruelness or be brutal; he does this because it’s the only way he can do it. A lion cannot go and kill a hippo before eating it because the hippo is a very powerful animal. He goes and starts eating him from behind because the hippo cannot turn. What is seen as brutality is basically adaptation. The lion would kill the hippo and would probably feed the pride for over a week or ten days. Which is great for them, but it means that the hippo is going to suffer because the only way a lion can kill a hippo is, as I said, eating him while alive. Sometimes you see a cheetah killing a baby impala or a baby gazelle. Well, if this cheetah doesn’t kill this baby impala or gazelle, the babies of the cheetahs will starve. So, it’s really not brutal, it’s just survival. Did it change my view of nature? No, I always knew this happened in nature. But if one doesn’t die, the other one will not live, and the equilibrium is maintained.
Would you say this applies to real life?
No, we are the only species that has no idea what the equilibrium is. Very simply, an example of a polar bear: if a mother polar bear has three cubs and she knows the hunting season is not going to be good, she will abandon one so the other two can survive. And probably a male bear would come and eat the abandoned cub. Yes, it sounds horrible, but this way she was able to save the two cubs. If we apply this to humans, we are the only species that doesn’t have conservation in mind; we are constantly developing and then we find ourselves with ten billion people soon and nowhere for them to eat or go. I think this equilibrium applies to nature but not to humans.
Being a 7- time finalist of the World Wildlife Photographer of the Year, you must have encountered a lot of scenes, many of which you couldn’t capture in time. What is your most memorable one?
It is probably the photo that actually won second place last year in the People’s Choice Award of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year. It’s basically a mother and a baby jaguar, both holding a huge anaconda. The cub wanted to eat, but the mom would not let him eat before they would go and hide because a male jaguar would probably be drawn by their scent and he could kill the cub if they were in the open. Actually, I have a video of this; the boat driver took a video where you can see the cub pulling on the anaconda to start eating, but the mother would not move and she was totally immobile. And then they eventually moved away and went into hiding and started eating. It was amazing the way she was teaching the cub patience, it was quite an incredible scene.
In last year’s People’s Choice Award, that’s when I went beyond the finals and my photo got selected. But unless you have won the bigger prize which is Wildlife Photographer of the Year, being a finalist means nothing. This is my goal, I haven’t won it yet. Besides the point, there are so many good photographers, I don't think I’ll be happy until I actually win the big prize. It might never happen.
There are many scenes that I would love to put out there, but we are limited in number so it’s also an issue of being selective and being very brutal about the photos you delete, which I have become very good at by the way: deleting photos. You can’t keep all your photos. I end up coming back from a trip with no more than ten photos, whereas fifteen years ago I would have a thousand photos. Now I have become very good at deleting.
Do you think that there is any common pattern between animal behavior and human behavior? Has being an expert in animal behavior helped you in human encounters?
I am not an expert in animal behavior, I am a photographer. The experts in animal behavior are the guides who actually spend their lives with a given animal. I learned a lot from them and I rely on them. When I go spend the month with a guide, his job is to actually find the animal and my job is to tell him, once we find it, what angle to use and where to go to take a photo. But I will never know even 10% of what he or she knows about the animal because he/she grew up with these animals. So yes, I know about animal behavior of course, more than many people, but I don't know as well and as much as the guides. And the whole trick is to trust the guide. Yes, I know about jaguars, but I would never know as much as my guide; I use my little knowledge but I rely on my guide’s knowledge.
Has it helped me deal with people? No. I am a very sociable person, I don’t want to sound like I am a hermit, but with animals there is never a backstory, an ulterior motive, or a hidden agenda. This is the main difference with people. But I enjoy people, don’t get me wrong!
Experienced guides are sometime hard to find. How do you look for them and trust them in the depth of nature, sometimes with your own life on the line?
I sometimes meet them on-site, sometimes through a friend. I know who to get in touch with depending on where I am heading; I know who are the good guides, I know when to go, based on experience. Some of the guides I have known for more than ten years and we have become friends.
Tell us a bit more about the wildlife photographers community.
The wildlife photographers community is a very small group. For example, it was very interesting: in January 2019, I was in the Himalayas to take photos of snow leopards and I walk into this lodge. The lodge was at 6,000 meters high, it was -25 degrees, there was zero oxygen. I was like, dying. And then I see a Japanese photographer, and we look at each other like, “I know you!” and we had met a year ago in the same place in Brazil shooting jaguars.
Do you do trips along with other photographers? Did you ever share a guide?
No! (laughing) The reason I am laughing is because I tried once with a very good friend of mine and we didn't speak to each other for about a month after. I often go with friends because with photographers, we both have different requirements. When something is happening, I want to be in a certain place and she or he wants to be in another place, so it doesn't work. Whereas a friend, as long as we are clear that we are up at 4 in the morning, and people are just there to enjoy the ride, that will do, but someone who is into photography and would have different objectives? We are going to end up fighting. With friends, no issue. I have done it and it is fun actually.
When it all started:
a) You were 40 when you bought your first-ever camera gear. How can you describe your first wildlife photograph ever taken, specifically your first encounter with an animal behind the lens?
The first safari I did was in South Africa. I took a whole bunch of photos, I think five thousand. But the first good photo I took was of a white shark, on a trip two years later. Before that, I didn't take any photographs at all. I had never touched a camera in my life. Basically at the age of 40 I just bought a camera, fell in love with it and whatever, this is how it happened.
b) What is the biggest error you have committed at the start of your journey in wildlife photography?
Wanting to focus on action shots. I wanted to focus on perfectly sharp, crisp, action shots but then you realize that all you need for this is a good camera. There was no thinking about low speed, high speed, light. And then I evolved.
What was your relationship with nature when you were a kid?
I have always liked nature, but I have always been extremely impatient. Which means that without something to do in nature, I would get bored after an hour. Now, you give me a camera, I can stay easily a month in nature because I have an objective. I have a goal, and my objective is to get the best photo or the photo that no one got before me. So the camera basically allowed me the patience or the motivation to stay in nature. I have always liked nature, it’s wonderful, but being impatient there doesn't work. Now that I have the camera, I have zero issues of spending time in nature because I have an objective, my photo. With a camera, I have a goal – which is to get the exception photo.
What is an animal that you dream of encountering, but have no plans working towards that goal yet? Is that a challenge for you?
Actually, there is an animal that I spent two weeks in the Himalayas trying to shoot in -20 degrees I think – least comfortable situation in my life – which is the snow leopard. And all we saw were footprints on the snow on our last day after being there for two weeks. But I’ll go back. A snow leopard is an amazing animal but extremely rare, this is one of my goals. Another animal I want to shoot in the wild is the Siberian tiger. But in the wild, not in reserves.
The challenge is the habitat, it’s very hard. Spending two weeks at 6,000 meters high in India in horrible conditions, and we did not find them. It was difficult; it was not like you were sitting in a 5-star hotel; we used to sleep with our clothes on because we couldn't keep the heat around during the night because we had a gas heater and there was a risk of this thing exploding, so we were sleeping with no heater, with our clothes, in -20 degrees. It wasn't easy. And we did not find the animal, but I am going back.
Did you have any encounter with a predator with whom you had a special bond/connection? If yes, can you describe it?
You’re not to supposed to have a special bond in the wild. You don’t belong in the wild. There should be no relation between you and the predator. Actually, they don’t consider you here because you are not part of their habitat. When they see Jeeps in safaris for example, they have seen Jeeps all their lives so for them they see the Jeep and you are just another rock or tree or something in nature. Even if the Jeep is totally open, they will never go into the Jeep, I mean very, very rarely. So there is no bond in terms of meeting a predator.
The last person who had – who thought had – a bond with a bear got eaten by one. There was a guy in Alaska who actually went and decided to leave everyone, his wife, his family, his everything and go live with the bears. They found him eaten after the winter season.
A special connection, it never happened with me, and I don't know, I don't believe that the bond is possible because they are wild and we are not. But I don't think it’s bad news that there is no bond. It’s possible that with some photographers it did happen, but for me not yet. I will let you know if it does.
Did you ever think about interfering in a life-or-death moment between two animals? Why?
No, you are not supposed to. This being said, today, if I see an injured predator (not an injured prey, because an injured prey is going to end up eaten by a predator), I might interfere. Although a lot of people could be upset with what I am saying because I think that, yes, we shouldn't interfere in nature, but we have done so much harm to nature that if we can help, even in a small way, I think we should. It’s very controversial. Most people would tell you not to, but I would. In these big protected national parks , they usually have access to vets. I would probably call the vet and the vet would fly in to take care of the injured animal.
Why now?
Because I realized how much we are harming nature; humans have harmed nature so much that the whole non-interference concept has become nonsense. In the wild there are only 7,000 cheetahs left, so if I can help one of them, yes, I would. There are more tigers in captivity in the United States than there are in the wild. You have 10,000 tigers in zoos in the U.S. and you have only 3,000 tigers left in the wild, I’m talking about Bengal tigers. Siberian tigers, you only have 400 left. It’s depressing, it’s pathetic, and it’s getting worse.
Predators are always seen as killers, but there is a big contrast between those predators that kill to survive; can you shed light on them?
If we are categorizing them as killers, they are innocent killers. One of my photos is called innocent killer. They are innocent. They don't kill for pleasure, they kill to eat. Us eating a piece of meat that comes from a cow that was born and bred in the food industry is not better than the predator killing an animal. Actually it’s much worse because the poor animal that we have eaten has spent his life in horrible conditions.
Your gear can make or break your travels. Name the item (apart from your camera) that you feel naked without when out in the wild.
A coffee thermos.
Would you say the camera gear ruins an emotion between you and the animal you are photographing?
It does, but I can’t. If there is something beautiful happening in front of me, I need to take a photo of it.
In the movie “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, there is a moment where a photographer sees a snow leopard and instead of taking a photo he actually watches him, which cannot be for real because they are so rare to see that I am sure he would be all over him.
Almost all the wildlife animals are endangered. What would you say to raise awareness to people who hunt for trophies?
They are idiots, excuse my expression. I hate them. Some people I know actually have a family of lions stuffed in their house: the mother, the father, and three cubs. Cubs! You actually kill the cub? What type of monster is this? I don’t like hunting for trophies. Although, I have nothing against hunting for food, because obviously, I am not a vegetarian yet. I am working on it, but I am not, so it would be very hypocritical from my side to criticize hunting for food. But hunting for trophies is pathetic. How much of a sicko do you have to be to have a dead animal in the house?
One more thing about trophy hunters, they tell you that yes they help nature by bringing equilibrium, which is nonsense because what they end up doing – because of course trophy hunters are idiots – is they end up going for the big animals: the most beautiful manes, the strongest and healthiest animals, and they are basically removing them from the gene pool. So instead of keeping these animals inside the gene pools so they can pass their genes to the next generation of strong polar bears or lions, they get killed. Because a trophy hunter would never kill a weak or sick bear; they want to go for the big ones. And by doing that they are removing the healthy individuals from the pool, which is the worst thing that can happen to them. If they kill the weak ones, fine, there could be an argument, but they are going for the big ones! We need them today to adapt to climate change, and we need them to generate the next generation of healthy animals.
We are operating in Tanzania for a very select few people who are aligned with environmental causes and nature. Would you be up for joining us in our next familiarization trip?
As long as it’s only one or two and it’s not a big group and I can do my own thing, do my photography and stuff? Yes, why not? Maybe.
Finally, in a world where health is becoming more and more looked up to, taking into consideration your close encounters with animals, what is your take on the new diet trends, such as going vegan, carnivorous, and other choices?
I am of course for all of us being vegan and vegetarian, if possible. This being said, what I find to be extremely counterproductive is to be aggressive one way or the other. The number of friends of mine who are turned off by people who were insulting them for eating meat is ridiculous. What we should do is gradually – for example– I used to eat meat everyday five years ago, now I am down to once a month. I eat less chicken and less fish too. It’s very difficult to turn overnight from eating meat to being vegan. What I suggest, instead of eating meat three times a week, eat meat once a week, then once every two weeks. It’s good for you, it’s good for the animal, it’s good for the environment. I believe that we should move towards this direction, but not extremes. So instead of telling your friend if you are not vegan you are a murderer, convince him or her to gradually decrease the amount of meat or chicken or fish.
Let’s face it, 15 to 20% of climate change is due to cows burping: the methane produced by the cows as they digest tons of grass produce, 15 to 20% of global warming, of climate change. We need to stop.
