Hope for the Ninu

Jannico Kelk's Image

Jannico Kelk (Australia) illuminates a ninu, with the wire grass and shrubs behind it providing a frame against the darkness.

Jannico spent each morning walking the sand dunes of a conservation reserve in South Australia, searching for footprints that this rabbit-sized marsupial may have left the night before.

Finding tracks near a burrow, he set up his camera trap.

The greater bilby has many Aboriginal names, including ninu. It was brought to near extinction through predation by foxes and cats introduced during the European colonisation.

Within this 123-square-kilometre (47.5-square-mile) fenced reserve run by Arid Recovery, predators have been removed and the bilby is thriving.

Behind the lens

Jannico Kelk

Jannico Kelk

Australia

Jannico is a wildlife photographer, videographer, ecologist and a member of the International League of Conservation Photographers. He aims to produce art that encourages an understanding of and wonder for the natural world while promoting the work of dedicated NGOs, First Nation People, ecologists and biologists. His professional work has allowed him to travel Australia and the globe in search of wildlife. He specialises in reptile, frog and bat photography, DSLR camera-trapping and natural history filming.

Image details

  • Canon EOS 60D
  • 24mm f2.8 lens
  • 1/80 at f9  •   ISO 320  •   3x Nikon SB-28 Speedlight flashes  •   Camtraptions PIR motion sensor
  • Arid Recovery, Roxby Downs, South Australia, Australia
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