Wildphoto on The Singemonkey

January 08, 2018

Mon, 08 Jan 2018 13:32:17 +0000

White Fronted Bee Eater at Pafuri picnic area in the extreme North of the park. It’s our last day 😢 We saw a leopard in the dark just after leaving camp at 4:30am. And, later, very sad scenes of and impala ewe and two lambs stuck up to their necks in a pool of mud.

January 07, 2018

Sun, 07 Jan 2018 21:27:25 +0000

The vigilant herd matriarch. Elephant cows spend much of their time away from the large and unpredictable bulls. They form herds to raise their offspring led by these tough-as-nails older females that are ever watchful and have no patience for bullshit.

January 07, 2018

Sun, 07 Jan 2018 21:20:01 +0000

The smallest elephant in Kruger. This wee elephant is about the size of a dog. There was an incident this evening - where a teenage elephant pushed this baby over. The herd matriarch was pissed to say the least - screaming in anger. The whole herd rushed to see that the baby was ok. When it was back on its feet, a sibling or cousin not all that much bigger walked with its trunk draped over the little one to reassure it. Elephants are no gentle giants. But they look after their little ones.

January 02, 2018

Tue, 02 Jan 2018 13:57:32 +0000

A tough old boy we got to see doing his thing this morning. I’m pretty sure all of us have some kind of species memory for when we were very much on these guys’ menu. There’s an eerie feeling when you see them up close. And they feature often in my nightmares.

December 31, 2017

Sun, 31 Dec 2017 14:45:55 +0000

Had a brief drive just now and saw some more wild dogs. But the highlight for me was when @withoutaleaf spotted this little African Barred Owlet having a sleepy afternoon almost hidden in a tree. It’s only about the size of a dove.

December 31, 2017

Sun, 31 Dec 2017 07:47:57 +0000

In case y’all are sick of birds, here are some of the painted wolves we saw a half hour ago. Always worth getting through the huge clusters of cars to see them behave just like dogs do. They’re so vulnerable to diseases from domestic dogs that it’s a special privilege to see these rare hunters.

December 30, 2017

Sat, 30 Dec 2017 06:53:51 +0000

A Lesser-Striped Swallow does a little yoga to get going.

December 29, 2017

Fri, 29 Dec 2017 16:13:22 +0000

One of the most striking Plains Zebras I’ve ever seen. Usually they’re more white than black. But not this guy we saw this afternoon.

December 28, 2017

Thu, 28 Dec 2017 19:24:45 +0000

Who cares about a big old lion lyin’ about in the veldt when you can return to camp to find that a busy raiding party of banded mongooses has brought their little cubs to work with them? .

December 27, 2017

Wed, 27 Dec 2017 16:24:15 +0000

“The cult members wear coal-black cloaks and bloody red masks. They strike with great curved daggers.” The Ground Hornbill is the largest and most powerful hornbill - about the size of a turkey. Despite their name, they can fly - an awesome sight. They make short work of reptiles and small mammals.

September 16, 2017

Sat, 16 Sep 2017 19:01:13 +0000

Thought I’d throw this in for comparison while I’m cameraless. These are Plains Zebras, the normal, common zebra. They have “shadow stripes” between their main stripes and are less striking and contrasty than the Mountain Zebra.

September 15, 2017

Fri, 15 Sep 2017 16:18:56 +0000

Another oldie while I’m at it. In SA we have two species of zebra - the well-known plains zebra and this one, the Mountain Zebra. It’s much higher contrast with pure white between the black stripes. They’re like the archetypal zebra despite being quite rare.