As there are often many Impala in a reserve,
they tend to get ignored after the first game drive.
But, take a moment and have a look at them in the right light
and you will see their innate beauty.
“I am talking to YOU”…
Actually what this buffalo bull is doing
is trying to ascertain if any of the females in the herd are ready for mating.
To my mind, this is one of the most fearsome of all African mammals.
Up close…this White Rhino wanted to have a staring competition.
Unfortunately for this female, the species does have the best eyesight.
However, what they do have is a good sense of smell and hearing.
And as a guest you do NOT want to be on the receiving end of those horns.
An Nyala bull,
strikingly lit by the fading afternoon sun.
An adult and junior Chacma Baboon…
enjoying some foraging and play time as they wend their way
to their evening sleeping quarters.
Certain of the elephants in this reserve are collared for tracking purposes.
The bull on the left was RATHER interested in the young female.
But much like the buffalo, nothing came of it
Not a species seen regularly up on the Highveld.
The Gemsbok (Oryx) is usually found in dessert conditions, like Namibia.
The Red Hartebeest, one of the fastest of the African plains antelope.
You can tell the sex from the thickness of the horns.
The males(like this one) having a set that it thicker than those of the females
A zebra and her foal stride across the grasslands.
It is interesting to note that the leg length of both the adult
and juvenile are almost the same.
This is to confuse predators when they look at a herd
and are therefore unable to separate the youngsters from the adults
Foreign visitors love Giraffe.
They have almost made this the unofficial 6th member of the Big 5.
That being said, they can be aggressive when provoked.
They are able to kick forwards, backwards and sideways.
They often use their heads as battering rams
when fighting for dominance or mating rights.
A Blue Wildebeest.
An animal put together by a committee…
It has the stripes of a Zebra,
tail of a horse, horns of a buffalo, body of a hyena…
and the brain of a guinea fowl.
The Hippo is credited whith killing more people
than all of the Big 5 combined.
Research is now looking into fact that some of these deaths
 that might be attributed to the Nile Crocodile.
A Scrub Hare caught in the spotlight.
Usually they run off when lit,
but this one decided to sit still for this rather striking pose
Only my second sighting of a porcupine in the wild.
And my first opportunity to actually get an image.
This one seems to have become resident close to the main lodge building
and guests often bump into it on their way back to their tent.
To find out more about this camp and what they offer,
visit:
 
www.fotofirst.co.za
https://www.ruggedwear.co.za
www.cisp.co.za
A new “tool” in my camera bag.
Order directly from www.petersguide.co.za.
www.sablogawards.com
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