Photographer Steve McCurry’s Photos Show The Complex Relationship Between Humans And Animals

The legendary US photographer’s favourite shots of creatures and how they interact with humans feature in “Animals”, his latest book.

A mahout and his elephant at a sanctuary, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2010. (Photo by Steve McCurry/The Guardian)

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A teenage boy with an albino rat, Chennai, India, 1996. (Photo by Steve McCurry/The Guardian)

A young nomad with his goat, Litang, Tibet, 2001. “I photographed this nomad boy and his family’s goat near Litang, a major centre of Tibetan culture. With an elevation of nearly 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) it has a subarctic climate characterised by long, cold winters, and short summers. These goats produce fine cashmere wool highly prized for clothing and textiles”. (Photo by Steve McCurry/The Guardian)

Snow monkey in Jigokudani Yaen-koen park, Yamanouchi, Japan, 2018. (Photo by Steve McCurry/The Guardian)

A man reads a newspaper with a dog. Rome, Italy, 1994. (Photo by Steve McCurry/The Guardian)

Monk and Cat, Aranyaprathet, Thailand, 1998. “I photographed this novice monk studying Buddhist writings in the late afternoon at a monastery in Aranyaprathet, near the Thai border with Cambodia. I watched the changing light as the monks went about both the mundane and sacred duties of their day. With the simple use of wood and fabric, of shades of saffron from mustard gold to deep orange, their environment was serene”. (Photo by Steve McCurry/The Guardian)

A girl from the Kara tribe holds a rooster, Dus Village, Omo Valley, Ethiopia. (Photo by Steve McCurry/The Guardian)

A boy rests against a cow, Kathmandu, Nepal, 2013. “Cows have been designated the national animal in Nepal. They roam freely, and are considered sacred by the 80% of Nepalis who are Hindu”. (Photo by Steve McCurry/The Guardian)

Tourists lounge poolside as an elephant passes, Bentota, Sri Lanka, 1995. (Photo by Steve McCurry/The Guardian)

A shepherd walks with a herd of sheep near Magdeburg in the former German Democratic Republic, 1989. (Photo by Steve McCurry/The Guardian)