2020-08-03: Monochrome Monday

I wonder if she can tune in to radio signals with those big ears? This beautiful kudu paused in a fairly clear area, allowing a photograph. They prefer to be in denser areas, and many times you’ll drive along and only see the impressive horns of the male peeking out through gaps in the trees.

2020-08-02: Mongoose

I didn’t think that mongoose had featured very prominently in blog posts in the past, and a quick site search showed me that I’ve only posted two images of mongoose in the entire time I’ve been working on this blog. I’m not really surprised; while they are animals that are frequently seen on safari, usually it is a quick passing glance as they scurry for cover as the vehicle approaches. When you do get to chance to actually spend some time with them, they are quite entertaining to watch, especially if you come across a large family.

This past trip I saw 3 different species; the dwarf mongoose being the most prevalent, and, you guessed it, the smallest of all the species I saw as well. If you want some interesting information about mongoose there’s always Wikipedia; as I’ll be honest, I don’t know a whole lot about them. I think I’ve spent more time contemplating why the plural of goose is geese, but the plural of mongoose is mongooses, not mongeese. Alas, my brain works in strange ways.

And with that, I’ll leave you with a few images, and wish you a wonderful week.

An adorable dwarf mongoose venturing away from its family group, and giving me the opportunity for a nice shot. If you look very closely, you can see a tick attached at the bottom of its eye.
A group of banded mongoose seen on a morning game drive.
A blink and you’d miss it sighting of a white-tailed mongoose on the way back to camp on an evening game drive. Sadly, I cut off his white tail, and didn’t get the opportunity for another shot.

2020-07-20: Monochrome Monday

This cheetah was a surprise during a game drive; to be honest, cheetah are never really on my radar when in the Sabi Sands, so every sighting of them is a bonus.

A female cheetah who was about to set off on a (failed) hunting attempt. Seen while staying at Chitwa Chitwa lodge in South Africa, May 2019.

2020-07-12: Wild Dogs

Much like elephants, I have posted many, many times about my love of wild dogs. They are amazing animals to spend time with, and the more I learn about them, the more I like them.

I was super fortunate on my last trip to see two different packs at two different camps. The sightings were very different; one had us with them as they awoke from a day of napping and set off on the hunt, and the second had us finding them late morning, getting ready to rest away part of the day in the cooler shade of a dry riverbed.

I look through my images and dream now, more than ever, of having the opportunity to travel back to my favourite places again sometime soon.

I’ve posted lots of other wild dog images in the past. You can find them through a keyword search, or check out one of these posts. Some of these go right back to the very start of this blog 🙂

Zimanga Game Reserve

Wild Dogs

Even More Wild Dogs

Wild Dogs at Play

A group of wild dogs greeting and playing after waking up from an afternoon nap.
Setting off on the hunt. We lost them very soon after this.
A pack of wild dogs resting in a dry riverbed. Even if this was the only sighting you could have of them, it is absolutely worth it to try.

2020-07-05: Photo Art – Rhinos

For my Dad’s Father’s Day gift, I adopted a blind rhino named Maxwell, being cared for at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, in his name. Rhino’s were the animal he was most excited to see on our first trip to South Africa, so it seemed like a good fit (and proved to be a very popular gift, as was the elephant I adopted for my Mom for Mother’s Day).

I try to make homemade cards whenever possible, and created these two images to make my Dad’s Father’s Day card. These were done with images I shot my last time in South Africa, using a variety of filters in the Topaz Studio program.

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