To capture the perfect
wildlife image, you usually have to be in exactly the right place
at precisely the right time.
But in this instance, David
Slater wasn’t there at all and he still got a result.
Visiting a national park in
North Sulawesi, Indonesia, award-winning photographer Mr Slater
left his camera unattended for a while.
It soon attracted the
attention of an inquisitive female from a local group of crested
black macaque monkeys, known for their intelligence and
dexterity.
Fascinated by her reflection
in the lens, she then somehow managed to start the camera. The
upshot: A splendid self-portrait.
The monkeys were intrigued by
their reflection in the camera lens
You can be in
this one too: The monkey even snapped a shot with photographer
David Slater in the frame
'One of them must have
accidentally knocked the camera and set it off because the sound
caused a bit of a frenzy, said Slater, 46.
'At first there was a lot of
grimacing with their teeth showing because it was probably the
first time they had ever seen a reflection.
'They were quite mischievous
jumping all over my equipment, and it looked like they were already
posing for the camera when one hit the button.
'The sound got his attention
and he kept pressing it
'At first it scared the rest
of them away but they soon came back - it was amazing to
watch.
'He must have taken hundreds
of pictures by the time I got my camera back, but not very many
were in focus. He obviously hadn't worked that out yet.
'I wish I could have stayed
longer as he probably would have taken a full family
album.'
Slater, from Coleford,
Gloucestershire, was on a trip to a small national park north of
the Indonesian island of Sulawesi when he met the incredibly
friendly bunch.
The crested black macaque is
extremely rare and critically endangered.
These were part of a study
group near a science base in the region, home to researchers from
Holland.
'I teamed up with a local
guide because I knew about the apes and wanted to photograph them,'
said Slater.
Self-portrait: This
critically endangered macaque monkey took his own photographs after
grabbing a camera that had been left lying around
'I walked with them for about
three days in a row.
'They befriended us and showed
absolutely no aggression - they were just interested in the things
I was carrying.
'They aren't known for being
particularly clever like chimps, just inquisitive.
'Despite probably never having
any contact with humans before they didn't feel threatened by our
presence, and that's why I could walk with them during the
day.'