These strange little birds feed exclusively on the bodies of mammals.  They dig through the fur with their beaks and pick out ticks and other insects found on the ‘host’ animal.  They will also feed on insects that are found in or on wounds that the mammal may have.  The smallest mammal that the Oxpeckers will feed off of is the Impala, anything smaller is usually avoided.  This is probably because of the heavy tick load and also the more social nature of the species.  Smaller buck like the Duiker and Steenbok are more solitary animals.  It has also been discovered that Oxpeckers will open old wounds and enhance existing ones to drink the blood from an animal upon which they are perched.  I have visited Kruger Park many times in my life and have always wanted to snap a clear shot of these birds in action.  It’s proved a difficult task and finally on my most recent trip, I got what I was waiting for!

I’ve always thought the name, “Hippopotamus” was somewhat strange and sounded kinda funny.  It’s understandable that people prefer to call them “Hippos” as it rolls off the tongue much easier!  I recently discovered that the name “Hippopotamus” comes from the ancient Greeks and it literally means, “River Horse”.  For many years people believed that these animals were herbivores but it has quite recently been shown that will and do eat meat if the opportunity arises!  Some Hippos have even been known to kill young animals as they cross the river.  We stopped our car at the edge of a river in Kruger Park and sat there for what must have been over an hour, I had noticed these 2 bulls displaying some aggression towards one another and decided it was time to be patient and wait for them confront one another…  These are the shots I got.

I don’t have any information to share about this bird.  I spotted it in the Kruger National Park recently and took the photo, that’s all. 

These guys are quite common throughout Southern Africa as they are able to adapt very well to all kinds of environments.  There are actually 3 sub-species of Baboons that occur throughout their range in Southern Africa.  The ‘Cape Chacma’ is the larger of the 3 and has black feet.  The ‘Grey-Footed Chacma’ occurs from the northern parts of South Africa and into Zambia, these are generally smaller and have grey feet.  The smallest of the 3 sup-species is found in Namibia and into Angola, they are known as the ‘Ruacana Chacma Baboons’.  The best way to appreciate Baboons is to turn off your car engine and sit and watch them, I have found early morning to be the best time to do this.  We sat and watched these guys for about an hour in the Kruger Park recently and I managed to snap these shots.

Definitely one of my favorite animals to watch when on Safari.  Majestic and huge, towering well over any vehicle, these animals are elegant and completely silent.  They have no vocal chords and how they communicate with one another is still a mystery to scientists the world over.  Although their necks are so long, they actually have the exact same amount of neck vertebrae as we humans have.  Males and females can be told apart by their horns.  A males horns will usually lack the tufts of fur on the ends as a result from ‘necking’ with other males in combat.  Females do not show aggression and manage to retain the fluff on their horns.

These birds are currently endangered in South Africa and I’ve only ever seen them in The Kruger National Park.  They are endangered due to habitat loss and a recent study has actually shown that Elephants in the park have contributed to their shortage of nesting trees!  The birds usually nest in the ‘forks’ of big trees but as Elephants like to push these over, a lot of nesting space has been destroyed.  Rangers have found a solution in the form of special boxes which they themselves make and place in specific areas fr the birds to nest in.  It’s proved a success and hopefully the numbers of these special creatures will rise in the years to come.  I took these pictures in the Kruger National Park just recently.

It’s summer time here in Johannesburg and that usually means, lots of rain, lots of insects and, of course, lots of critters that like to eat the insects!  Toads are quite common around these parts but, it’s not as common to see them in your yard every other night, hopping around.  I’ve spotted this guy on a couple of occasions now, just cruising the yard so, I decided it was time to shoot some photos of him/her.  Enjoy!

This has to be the biggest Elephant I have ever seen in the wild!  He looked soo old and wise.  We wathced him as he followed the road, not concerned with the cars and the people trying their best to get a good shot of him.  I would say he is over 50 years old, judging by the width of his forhead and broken off tusks.  He had a sad but wise old look about him.  Wish I could hug him!

Springbok are plentiful through out most of the Kalahari and even the Namib desert.  They can be seen roaming around the most in-hospitable places and never look under fed!  I shot these 2 pictures in the Etosha National Park in Northern Namibia.  Gracefull little antelope!

If you wanna see a lot of Zebra out in the open then, Etosha Pan National Park is the place for you.  They’re everywhere!  If you wait for the right light, either early mornings or late afternoons are always best, you are certain to get some good shots of them interacting with one another.  I shot these on a recent trip to Namibia and was up at the crack of dawn to capture that ‘perfect’ light!