Chris Austria
My passions in life are wildlife conservation, animals, travel, food, wine, cultures, traditions, and learning languages. I worked with tigers and lions for many years in the U.S. This experience inspired within me a deep desire to protect endangered species. Currently, I am working for Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Uganda. During my time here in East Africa, I have seen the importance of community based eco-tourism, and conservation.
#HappyEarthDay 🌍This is a herd of #elephants 🐘 that I photographed in one of my favorite place in the world #Kidepo National Park, northeast #Uganda 🇺🇬 #Karamoja #Karamojong. ChrisAustria.com
This is a beautiful lion cub 🦁 that I was fortunate enough to encounter at #MurchisonFalls, northwest #Uganda 🇺🇬 Watching him and his litter mates interact with each other, and their mom was heartwarming. I've spent many years around the #bigcats, and although they are apex predators, I have found them to possess similar emotions as humans. They share very strong bonds with one another, they feel pain just as we do. They each have distinct, and individual personalities. It saddens me to know that the lion population in #Africa has dropped from around 100,000 animals fifty years ago to as few as 20,000 today. Researchers estimate that the population is likely to shrink by half again in the next two decades unless a major conservation effort is mounted to save them. Why anyone would want to slaughter lions in order to hang their heads on a wall is completely beyond my comprehension. It is a constant struggle to have hope that we will conserve the creatures we share this earth with. ChrisAustria.com
#Photoshoot 📸 #Kampala 🇺🇬Uganda. Model- Nalutaya Esther. ChrisAustria.com