Hightlight Reel In the Works!

I am working on a new reel for our website. Well, it is a highlight reel for our recent grey whale trip. I have been procrastinating putting one together because reels take such a long time to create (at least for me. ) Some people can knock them out in a few hours.

It takes me longer than that.

I also have been pretty quiet on our website lately. I have been sharing daily on our FB and IG pages, but I have not been active on our website.

That is going to change.

I decided to begin sharing daily journals with you guys.

We are not always out in the world looking for animals.

Sadly.

We spend a lot of time at home in between trips.

During this downtime, I am constantly editing and writing, but so much of that content ends up not getting shared.

So I decided I want to share more on our website for those few who are interested in what we have to say and share.

The magic of this life is definitely out in the world looking for wildlife, but the art we create from those adventures happens while we are in the office sitting behind a computer, writing and dreaming about this wildlife world.

So expect more blog posts, because I plan to share a lot more…

Until Tomorrow!

2024 Grey Whale Trip Report!

I just finished up our trip report for the first trip of the 2024 season. Grey Whales off Magdalena Bay, Mexico. And man what an epic trip.

I have to be honest, I was a bit nervous that the trip would be a bit of let down, because our 2023 trip was so good. I just could not see how this trip could be any better, or at least just as good.

It far exceeded my expectations and we all had an amazing time on this trip. Baja does not disappoint.

I have attached a link for you all to check out the story for yourselves. I hope you enjoy…

Final Trip of the 2023 Season!

We just returned from our final trip of the 2023 season.

Tigers and Great Hammerheads in the Bahamas.

It was bitter sweet.

It has been a long and year wonderful year.

I am grateful to everyone who has traveled with us. I am grateful to everyone who has followed our journey.

I am thankful that we are able to share so much magic with so many wonderful people.

This job has been a dream and I am filled with gratitude that I get to do this everyday.

Showing people animals and amazing places has become more than a job to me. Yes it is my passion, but I also feel it is my duty.

My responsibility.

My life’s work is to share and show people what is left of our wild places, and the animals that call those places home.

Hopefully these places will remain wild forever. Humans are so greedy for land and for progress that I don’t know if they will.

But as long as I have breath, I will continue sharing and showing our wild places to people to hopefully spark the need to protect what is left.

It’s an uphill battle, but it is worth it. Animals are worth it. The Earth is worth it, and people are worth it.

The world is full of magic my friends… My dream is to help keep it that way.

Going to be sharing a lot of highlights with you all as we near the end of 2023 .

Until the next post, thank you for reading and sharing this journey with me.

Virtually and out in the world… I appreciate you.

Tiger and Great Hammerhead Group Photo. Final one for 2023.

Bad Bears... Bad Bears... Whatcha Gonna Do when they Come for You???

July 24, 2023 - Damn what a day. We started our day with a sad but amazing morning watching the polar bear police and wildlife management tranquilize two bears. A mom and her three year old cub.

They had become problem bears. Sneaking into town at night and going through the garbage.

The polar bear police had set up traps to capture them, but they were not working.

So sadly the bears had to be captured the hard way.

We had just finished breakfast and were out for a stroll when we saw a helicopter in the distance. Underneath the chopper we could see the two bears running for their lives by the train tracks.

We jumped out of the Falcon, our trusty steed, and watched the story unfold safely from the distance. Thankfully we all had long lenses and were able to document this exciting capture. Of course I only had my 100-400mm with me and I definitely needed more lens to document it properly, but I am happy with what I was able to capture.

The helicopter was following the bears, and the bears were running back and forth trying to get away, but they couldn’t. By the time we got there, the bears were exhausted.

The mom and cub. Both are exhausted and stressed from the chase. You can see the dart hanging on the mom’s butt in this shot.

They were using the helicopter to get close to the mother so that they could tranquilize her first. After they shot her, it didn’t take long for her to go down.

The loyal cub stayed by her side the whole time.

Once she was out, the rangers came in and shot the cub up close with a dart, that quickly knocked him out.

I felt bad for the bears. But unfortunately it was necessary. If the bears continued sneaking into town, eventually they would run into someone and an accident could happen and the bears would have to be put down.

So it is best to capture them, lock them up for a week or two, and make the experience as negative as possible, so that when the bears are released they will not want to return to town anymore.

At least in theory they won’t.

The moment, Shantel, the wildlife ranger shot the bear from the helicopter. I got lucky and captured it on my phone.

Once they were sure the bears were knocked out, they brought out a stretcher and hand carried the mom first to the back of a truck that was fitted with special wheels to ride on the rail road tracks.

She was big.

When they got the bears to the compound, they weighed them. The mom weighed in at 600 plus pounds and the cub weighed more than 400.

The ranger rode with the mom bear, keeping an eye on her while they she being transferred.

Once they got the railway truck to a level road they transferred the bears to the back of the ranger’s trucks and off they went to the compound where they will keep them.

The locals call it Polar Bear Jail.

I have been traveling to Churchill for years. You hear about these bear captures, but I had never seen it. It was amazing to watch it all first hand.

I was torn on how to feel about it.

I felt bad for the bears… They do not know they are doing anything wrong. They are just being bears and living in a world that they do not understand.

On the other hand, I also get what the authorities are trying to do. They are trying to keep both people and the bears safe.

So it is a necessary evil.

They don’t want to do this to them. But when you have a town full of people to protect, it has to be done.

We watched the bears get driven off, all of us filled with emotions at what we all just experienced. We silently wished the bears well.

It was a happy/sad moment.

I just hope that the bears will remember this experience and never return to town again.

Mountain Gorilla Trip Report

We just posted a trip report from our 2023 June Mountain Gorilla and Chimpanzee expedition to Uganda. It was an amazing trip with so much magic happening everyday.

It is so hard to put into words, just how special Uganda is. There is so much wildlife here, its mind blowing.

I put up a photo trip report up for you guys. I hope you enjoy!

Magic Moment!

June 30, 2023 - The day all of us were looking forward to was finally here. We were going to see mountain gorillas. This was my second visit to Bwindi to see gorillas, but it felt like the first. The feeling of being around these great animals is so hard to explain, but I will try.

We set off into the mountains at 7am, all of us anxious and hopeful. Last year, the hike was all uphill to get to where the gorillas were. This year, it was all downhill. I loved that. Of course, it didn't mean it would be any easier. We still had to hack our way through the thick forest vegetation. There are no roads or trails in the rainforest. There is the occasional game trail that has been carved out by forest elephants, but other than that, we had to cut our own trail.

We hiked and hiked and hiked.

Zach and Alex… check out that view!

Three hours in, and still no signs of gorillas. All of us were exhausted, except Zach, but he is not well (lol). Finally, our guides made contact with the scouts that had set out at 6am to find the gorillas for us. They found the family we were looking for. The gorillas were nearby!

Our fatigue from the past three hours was quickly forgotten, and our energy renewed. The rush and excitement of seeing a mountain gorilla got us all fired up. We quickened our pace and kept on working our way through the bush. Finally, our guides stopped pushing forward and called us all over to them. There, sitting in the brush, was a gorilla.

It was a big female, she was so beautiful. She pulled a branch down and began eating the leaves off of it. We watched her in awe. Suddenly the forest came alive around us. We were surrounded by the gorillas. We couldn't see them because the vegetation was so thick, but we could hear them and occasionally see the brush moving.

They slowly started coming out of the bushes and walking around. One of them laid down nearby, and another walked over and started grooming it. The smiles on everyone's faces were priceless. This is what it is all about. Moments like this are what all of us live for.

I snapped away. Image after image. Occasionally putting my camera down to watch them interact. It was magic. There were baby gorillas playing and rolling around clumsily. A huge silverback was nearby, watching over the family. He was acting shy so we didn’t get any great images of him.

When you realize there are only a thousand mountain gorillas left in the world, seeing just one in the wild is truly a privilege. I looked around; we had a family of eleven gorillas around us.

I was in heaven.

There was a female in front of me eating, I kneeled down and started taking pictures of her. She stopped eating and sat there, watching me photograph her. Maybe it was the sound of my shutter that caught her attention, I am not sure. All I know is I stopped shooting to look back at her, and felt this rush of adrenaline, because I knew she was looking right at me. I was filled with so much love for this moment.

She got up and walked towards me. Our guide told me to calmly move out of her way. I rolled out of the way as she passed by me. She was inches away from me. I was on fire and wanted to just sit there and soak up that moment. But our time with the gorillas was almost up, so I quickly got up and went over to another gorilla and kept shooting…

The Ocean is Always Calling!

We all have dreams—especially us wildlife guys (and girls). We dream about traveling, hiking, and diving in unique places and sometimes not-so-amazing places - all in pursuit of finding elusive animals.

I love the land stuff; the forests, the mountains, the Arctic Tundra. There is so much majesty and mystery out there.

I can't get enough.

But… there is nothing in the world like the ocean, and all her magic and all her beauty, and all her secrets.

I dream a lot about the ocean and all the beauty swimming around within her belly.

With the ocean, you never know what she will gift you. It is a fantastic place, and every day is different — she will always surprise you.

But as impressive as the ocean is, she can also be cruel, and she will test a person's soul to see if they are worthy of her greatness.

I have spent countless hours on and in the ocean, and there have been many times when I wished I had never set one foot on a boat.

There have been moments when I cursed the ocean, winds, and the tides, afraid for my life.

I have prayed and begged to be back in the safety of dry land.

Wishing I had chosen rock climbing, or mountain biking, or basket weaving instead of ocean wildlife as my passion.

Of course, when it is all over, and I am dry again, like a true addict, I am already planning my next ocean adventure.

The ocean continues to call to people like me. There is a deep love for ocean wildlife and a need to see them and interact with them.

It pulls at my very soul.

It is tough to explain to people who do not dive for animals. Because unless you drop down and see them for yourself, you will never understand the greatness of nature and the ocean.

Out there in those waters, magic happens, and dreams come true.

Out there is a beauty, unlike anything you will ever see on land.

Under those waves, we are free, and sharing mere moments with sharks, whales, or a sea horse is worth all the ocean beatings, all the wind storms, and all the freezing rain a human soul can endure…

Damn it!

Now I am all fired up and itching to get back out there again.

2022 Highlight Reel

We just cut together a 2022 Highlight Reel. I wanted to put something together that showed the beauty and magic of our season. It was a hard video to create because we experienced so many amazing moments, and it was hard narrowing it down to just a few quick moments. But due to the song I chose to share this video with, I was forced to make hard decisions, and many other great moments were left out. So here it is… I truly hope you enjoy it.

As a Kid I wanted to Work with Wildlife!

anaconda in the Southern Pantanal, Brazil.

I travel. I keep visiting new places. I keep seeking out new animals. It’s what I love to do, and it’s what I live for.

As a kid, I ate, slept, drank, and dreamed of wild animals. I wanted to be around them every moment of the day. All my toys were animals—until Star Wars came along, then it was Star Wars everything—but my books were always about wildlife. I’d read stories about far-off places where exotic creatures roamed, and I dreamed of being there, of going there.

I grew up in rural South Texas, surrounded by orange orchards, plowed fields of corn and melons (which I still can’t stand to this day), and small ranches with horses and cattle dotting the landscape. Our only neighbors were the Curls. Bob Curl was an old horseman who never liked me much—I asked too many questions, I guess.

My days were spent outdoors, running down dirt roads, flipping over rocks for lizards, chasing snakes, spotting ground squirrels, and watching birds. When evening came, the toads would emerge, and I’d try to catch them. As the sun dipped behind the orchards, fireflies would start blinking across the fields, and I’d run through the dusk trying to grab them, knowing that when the fireflies came out, it was time to head inside.

I’d walk through the door hungry, sweaty, covered in dirt, with a runny nose and a big smile on my face.

It was a good childhood.

Growing up, I wanted to be a veterinarian, but not for cats and dogs. That never interested me much. I dreamed of working with wild animals. I wanted to go to Africa, to treat lions, elephants, giraffes—anything big, wild, and untamed. At the time, it was the only path I knew that could get me close to the animals I loved. I had no idea that wildlife filmmaking, guiding, or photography could be careers. Being a vet was the only way I could imagine making a life out of my passion.

Photographing sperm whales off Dominica. Image by Jean Dubois

That was over forty years ago, and here I am at 51 years old, still eating, sleeping, drinking, and dreaming of wildlife and wild places.

Having a bit of fun, sizing up an American crocodile off Banco Chinchorro, MX. Image by Mark Rangi

Dancing with my beloved tigers, Tiger Beach Bahamas. Image by Jack Meadows.

There’s nothing like being there, stepping into a landscape where a rare animal roams, breathing in air that few have breathed, waiting for that one moment where everything aligns. I understand when I need to keep my distance, and I always do when it’s necessary. And, of course, some animals just aren’t meant to be approached—sadly.

But those moments when I can be close, when there is no blue between us, when a silverback gorilla walks just a few feet away, those are the moments I live for.

Some people call me an adrenaline junkie for it, but I’ve never seen it that way.

I’m not chasing danger. I’m just comfortable in the wild. It feels normal to me. It feels like home.

With my partner in crime, Maritza Martinez. Tiger Beach Bahamas.

This year, we’re celebrating twenty years of running wildlife expeditions. It’s crazy to think that this is my job—that taking people to see wild animals is what I do for a living. I’ll never take it for granted. Helping people on their own wildlife journeys, helping them make their dreams come true, gives me purpose.

None of this would have been possible without the love and support of my family, especially my wife, my dad, and my brother. They believed in me and every one of my crazy dreams. Why, I’ll never know. But they did.

As I write this, I wonder what compelled me to share all this. Then I remembered—it was a social media post that sparked it. Someone asked me to tell more of my story, so here it is.

Well, a tiny piece of it.

There’s a lot more to tell—the motorcycle days, the bull riding days, the wild teenage years—but those stories don’t belong here. What does belong here is the reason I do what I do.

As a kid, I wanted to be close to wild animals.

That hasn’t changed. I can’t help it. It’s just the way I am.

My daughter, Sophia, has always joked, "There’s close… and then there’s Eli close."

Giant anteater, Bonito, Brazil.

Writing this has brought back so many forgotten memories—so many moments of my childhood that made me who I am today. Of course, it wasn’t perfect. Nobody’s childhood is. But the good outweighed the bad, and that’s all that matters.

And in the end, this has never been about a career in wildlife.

It has always been about living out a little kid’s dream.

Thanks for reading.

Happy New YEAR and 20 Years of Expeditions!

Well, a new year is here, and I am so grateful. Grateful to be alive and healthy, grateful that my loved ones are alive and healthy… and grateful for a new year full of possibilities and promise. 

This will be an exciting year, and I can't wait to kick it off and get out into the world again. 

I took a nice and much-needed break from travel and social media and just off-gassed from a long and fantastic season. 2022 was a tough and wonderful year.

On my personal journey, it was a challenging year, but on our professional one, it was an outstanding year with a lot of wildlife and beautiful moments out in the world; from orcas in Baja to mountain gorillas in Uganda, it was wild and unique and beautiful and just, Damn, Damn, Damn. 

We did so much traveling. The year was so taxing, and I did not keep up with my writing and posting toward the end. Unfortunately, it seems I have a track record of doing that. I start strong, but towards the end of the season, I end up just exhausted and not writing or editing videos as I should be. 

I apologize for that, and I will keep my postings much more regularly for you guys.

Anyway, onto 2023 and a new and magical year… It is here, and I am fired up for a new season of trips, especially since this is our 20th anniversary. Yes, sir, (or Ma’am), it has been 20 years of running trips, and I am completely blown away by that. 

Never in my wildest dreams would I have seen this in my future and what I would be doing with my life; organizing wildlife adventures and bringing people with me to experience these amazing animals. It is crazy.

Our first expedition, May 2003, for sand tiger sharks off North Carolina.

The reality is I could have never done this without you all. Thank you so much for allowing us to introduce you to these wild places and for trusting me with your time and lives. I am forever grateful to you all.

Above are a few group photos from past expeditions. Click the button to see a gallery of images from our years of adventures.

If I wanted to create a highlight reel of all the years we have been organizing trips, it would be a nightmare to figure out how to tell the story. There are so many memories and moments that we have experienced... Where would I start? 

All of it really feels like a dream. 

Of course, it wasn't a perfect 20 years, I did have some hard times in there, but the beauty and the magic definitely shined way brighter than those dark moments. But hey, that is life. Life will constantly challenge you, which is ok. Life is often so messed up that you might as well go right to the crazy. 

And crazy it has been.

With a lot of magic, and beauty mixed in there, with very special souls - of course, I am referring to the humans and the animals we have shared these adventures with. It has all been imperfectly perfect. The funny thing is I now realize that perfection comes in little moments, but I will take them all… All 20 years' worth of them.

It has been amazing, and thankfully it is not over. We are just getting started. 2023 is going to be another epic year, and I can't wait to get back out there with you all, sharing the stories and images from these places with you. 

So again thank you for sharing this journey with me, and reading our blogs and watching our videos, and just being a part of our crazy world. I will end this New Years' Blog here… wishing you all a Happy New Year! May it be filled with love, adventures, and magic.  

…with lots of love from the SDM Crew.