South Africa – Page 24 – Jennifer Sawicky Photography

July 21, 2019July 14, 2019

2019-07-21: Babies in the bush – Lion Cubs

Last week I focused on leopard cubs, and this week, it’s the lions. The lion sightings on this past trip started out very slowly, which was a stark contrast to previous trips to South Africa, but, you just never know what mother nature is going to show you. The first cub that was spotted was an older cub (a teenager) with her mom and aunt on a buffalo kill at King’s Camp in the Timbavati region. These weren’t the first lions that I saw, but the first lion that was still young enough to be referred to as a cub by our ranger, rather than a sub-adult.

On my last day at King’s Camp, we found a huge pride of lions, and I actually lost count of the cubs, there were so many of them around. They were spread out over a fairly large area, so I don’t even have a photo with the whole pride visible to try and recount, but it was around 12-14 individuals, including the two pride males that were spotted nearby.

Both for lions and the leopards, the cubs that I saw on this past trip were quite a bit older than some of the tiny babies I saw on previous trips, but no less wonderful to spend time with. And, the nice thing about the most of the lion sightings on this past trip is they were a bit active, rather than just snoozing away the day (or night).

DSCF2434 — The first lion cub of the trip, seen her with either Mom or her aunt. Our ranger was able to distinguish Mom and aunt while watching them feed; he was very good at figuring out the dynamics of the body language and posturing that was going on.

DSCF4191 copy-Edit — Three of the young cubs spotted on my last day in the Timbavati; there were four lionesses occupying various patches of shade in the area, each with a few cubs in the vicinity.

XT3X2930 — One alert cub amongst a mass of lion bodies.

I hope you enjoy my selections for the week; wishing you a fantastic week ahead!

July 17, 2019

2019-07-17: Wordless Wednesday

July 15, 2019July 14, 2019

2019-07-15: Monochrome Monday

This past trip was filled with a lot of rhino sightings, and like elephants, I think they make terrific subjects for black and white photography. Their thick, textured skin can be highlighted very well in monochrome, and by removing colour, it is actually easier to see how such a large animal can blend into the surroundings so well.

DSCF1074 — A rhino cow and calf spotted while staying at Lion Sands river Lodge.

DSCF2351 copy-Edit — An oxpecker perched between the eyes of a rhino. These birds do a valuable service in removing ticks and other bugs from the skin of their hosts.

DSCF4038 — A pair of bachelors moving through the bushes. These two were spotted in the Timbavati, and they moved between open and thicker areas. Out in the open they are easy to see, but as soon as they are amongst the trees, it is nearly impossible to spot them. Like elephants, I am always amazed how an animal an large can disappear into the bush so easily.

I hope you enjoy my selections for the day; I hope your Monday is fantastic!

July 14, 2019

2019-07-14: Babies in the bush – Leopard Cubs

During my last trip, we saw leopard cubs both in the Timbavati and in the Sabi Sands. The cubs I spent time with on this trip were a bit older than the ones I saw during my 2017 trip, but certainly no less amazing to watch. If you missed some of the previous posts, you can see some of the older images here and here (or just search the site for leopards).

During my time in the Timbavati, we found one leopard cub, and while in the Sabi Sands we saw one cub on a few different occasions. These shy, beautiful cats will grow up to be stealthy hunters, but for now, they are totally reliant on their Mom for food and protection. I absolutely believe that leopards only allow you to see them if they want you to, so having an opportunity to view these babies is an absolute thrill.

DSCF2208 copy-Edit — A leopard cub rests atop a termite mound, with Mom relaxing nearby. Mom had taken a nyala down, and as the kill was nearby and it was beginning to grow dark, all sightings of this cub and her Mom were winding down. They do not want to do anything to put the cub at risk, so they do not use spotlights on young cubs feeding at night.

DSCF4625 copy-2-Edit — This cub was in the Sabi Sands, and was a little bit skittish. She would come out once vehicle activity had dies down; so you needed to be quite patient to see her (Mom was very chill and unconcerned with the vehicles). Here she comes out of the bushes at the top of a rise, heading towards Mom in the fading evening light.

XT3X3871 copy-1-Edit — Mom’s tail makes for an excellent toy 🙂

XT3X4100v1 copy-Edit — The last view I had of the leopard cub in the Sabi Sands. On this occasion, she was lying close to Mom as our vehicle approached, and was comfortable enough that she didn’t move off into the bushes.

July 10, 2019July 7, 2019

2019-07-10: Wordless Wednesday

DSCF2543 DSCF4973 XT3X3785

July 8, 2019July 7, 2019

2019-07-08: Impala

When you pull up to a small group of impala, in my experience they will either bolt immediately, or give you a passing glance and then go back to grazing. But when you encounter a large herd like this near the side of the road, things tend to get a bit hectic, quite quickly.

We stopped to take some pictures of the herd and all was calm; until it wasn’t. The noise of the vehicle didn’t startle them; perhaps it was realizing that we were actually looking at them, not something else, that brought up their urge to flee. Or brought up the order for one of them to flee… but when one bolts, all the others follow suit.

A lot of people don’t really give impala a passing glance whilst out on safari; their abundance in so many areas; compared to the relative scarcity of predator sightings, can make them seem a bit boring to some. I think they are beautiful creatures though, and love when I have the opportunity to watch them and take a few images.

I hope you enjoy my selections this week. I hope your week ahead is wonderful! 🙂

DSCF4546 — A large herd of impalas, near the side of the road we were traveling on the way back to camp on our morning game drive.

DSCF4553 — One of herd got anxious, and then they all pick up on the vibe and start getting anxious.

DSCF4555 — The dominant ram trying to retain control of the situation, and lead the females away in the direction that he wants to go.

DSCF4556 — The slightest sound or movement is enough to set them off, and the group begins to panic, bolting in every direction.

DSCF4557 — Some running for it, while others leap in to the air to prove how strong and powerful they are (and therefore not a good target for a predator).

July 7, 2019

2019-07-07: Babies in the bush

I’m sure most would have expected me to start with elephants for my first post in a series on babies in the bush; and I was tempted to. We spent time with so many large herds, and saw so many young elephants, I am spoiled for choice with images. But, I decided that I would start with something different, and chose to focus on animals with hooves instead. My timing was wrong to see tiny impala, but I did see a fair number of young giraffe, waterbuck and zebra during my travels.

I hope you enjoy my selections, and wishing you an excellent week ahead.

DSCF2418 copy — This giraffe was acting a bit like a crossing guard for several youngsters crossing the road in front of us. Not the best images, but great to show the size difference between the babies and the adults. I only wish there had been an impala in the shot too, to really show how large the young giraffe actually are.

DSCF2423 copy — Fulfilling the cross guard role as another youngster moved from one side to the other. There were about a half dozen giraffe in this group in total.

XT3X2662 — A herd of zebra pause to allow the littlest one a chance to suckle.

XT3X3360 — A young waterbuck blending quite nicely with the autumn tones of the bush. Mom was nearby grazing.

XT3X3617 — A zebra and her foal pause to check out our vehicle, before carry on slowly strolling through the bush.

XT3X4579 copy-Edit — One waterbuck mama acting as babysitter for a group of youngsters. They were all lounging close to the dam at Chitwa Chitwa, while other members of the group were grazing or drinking.

DSCF2270 copy copy-Edit — Little and large.

July 1, 2019

2019-07-01: Monochrome Monday

Happy Canada day to my friends and family. I know I should have been out capturing the beauty of my own country, but the day has been pretty rainy and miserable, so instead, I offer you today a trio of baby elephants.

Wishing everyone a fantastic week ahead!

DSCF3042 — The tenderness shown towards the baby elephants is heartwarming, every time I experience it.

DSCF0691 copy-Edit — If this happy baby doesn’t make you smile, you are definitely visiting the wrong blog! The joy that this little one shared with us, and the excitement about the stick, was contagious. Everyone on our vehicle was grinning ear to ear.

June 26, 2019

2019-06-26: Wordless Wednesday

June 24, 2019

2019-06-24: Monochrome Monday

There is definitely more to see in South Africa than just wild animals on safari. On some previous trips, I had the pleasure of spending time in Cape Town. On this trip, I got to do a day trip of the Panorama Route. Here are a few images showing some of the beautiful scenery in the area.