A year into the pandemic, Nat Geo photographers turn their lenses on pets
Stephen P. Northrup holds his nine-foot-long carpet python, named Leisure, in Saint Augustine, Florida. Northrup, who recently had foot surgery and spends a lot time alone while his family is at work and school, cares for eight snakes. "They give me quite a bit of comfort,” he says. “I ain't got nobody to chill with.”
Dennis, father-in-law of photographer Hannah Reyes Morales, hugs huskies Casey and Mika in Massachusetts in April 2020. Research shows that dogs have emotions and can absorb what their owners are feeling—particularly if an owner is emotionally dependent on them.
Suharmin tries to lure a few of his cats to come down from their perch. The family’s seven cats have become so attached that they suffer from separation anxiety; one cat, KitKat, lost weight when the family left for a short trip. Preliminary research suggests that such behavioural changes will be temporary, however. “One of our favourite moments is during nighttime when we relax, watch the TV, and all of them gather around us,” Lukito says.
Two-week-old chick Penguie Emppie sits on the knee of Violetta, 7, while other chicks roam about at a farmhouse in Fayette, Maine, on April 3, 2020. Photographer David Coventry bought 26 chicks before the pandemic, each of which was named and he says has a distinct personality. “In these tough times of COVID,” Coventry says, “we all got such great enjoyment watching the baby chicks grow up.”
Ziggy, a sphynx cat, perches on Alex Kneller’s shoulder while Luna sits on his lap in New York City’s East Village on February 5. “The cats have been more than thrilled to have both of us home alone for almost a year now,” says Kneller’s wife, photographer Dina Litovsky. “They have been our constant companions throughout quarantine, making the time feel much less lonely.”
Hugo Gan, 15, a cousin of photographer Joshua Irwandi, plays with his four-year-old German shepherd mix, Zeus, in Tangerang, Indonesia, on February 7. Hugo rescued Zeus from the streets as a puppy, and the two are now inseparable. Since the pandemic, Gan has taken his classes online. “Since my parents are always away at work, he’s the only company I have,” he told Irwandi.
Photographer Kendrick Brinson lounges on the couch watching Schitt’s Creek with dogs Tux and Tia and cats Rex and Kudzu on April 11, 2020, in Los Angeles. “In 2019 we travelled to 14 countries on assignment,” says David Walter Banks, Brinson’s husband. “In 2020, we never left the U.S., and at points rarely left home. Our pets became emotional therapy animals, and our only friends we could safely hug in a world struck by a deadly pandemic.”
