Such an amazing animal to spend time with on safari. The social dynamics of the wild dog packs are fascinating to watch, though if they are on the move, it is nearly impossible to keep up with them. This pack member looks on while some other members were starting to get up and ready themselves to set off.
African Wild Dog – Okavango Delta, Botswana. May 2017.
The photo prompt of the week is smile; either an image of a smile, or something that makes you smile. Since baby animals are a universal crowd pleaser, here are a fewer images of youngsters that have made me smile.
I hope you enjoy!
A trio of cheetah cubs braving a late afternoon windstorm. Their mother was nearby, definitely ill at ease because of the weather.Looks at the big full bellies of these lion cubs. They were going back and forth between the females, greeting each with affection.A pair of leopard cubs playing amongst the fallen branches in a ravine. These two were all over the place; there Mom definitely had her work cut out for her.The tiniest lion cubs I have had the privilege of seeing. Their Mom had brought down a giraffe calf, but these two were more interested in playing than feeding. They were under 3 weeks old.An elephant calf having a go at the balance beam He came pretty close to ending up in a heap on the ground, but recovered from it well.I don’t think I have ever seen anyone smiling as much as our ranger when we were at this sighting. To say he was thrilled is a complete understatement. A dream come true, once in a lifetime moment on safari.This is where mama leopard stashed her two youngsters. The hollowed log didn’t make for the best photo opportunities, but it did make for a very safe spot for these leopard cubs to stay hidden and out of danger.
Does this bring back memories of childhood for anyone else? Of the times when your sibling was being a complete jerk and Mom looked on and told you to sort it out for yourselves???
Happy Monday Everyone!
Got your tail! A pair of leopard cubs play under the watchful gaze of their Mom. Londolozi, May 2017.
The topic this week and last are very similar for me. Last week, I told you that I’d rather be on safari and this week I’m going to tell you that my favourite place is being amongst the elephants in the African bush. I must admit, I don’t really like the concept of a favourite place per se, because it feels like it discounts so many amazing experiences over the years. But, I have often said if I could only limit myself to traveling to one place the rest of my life (and even so far as if I had to choose only one animal to spend the rest of my days with) it would be in Africa amongst the elephants.
There is just something about being in the proximity of elephants, feeling their rumbles, listening to their calls, watching them interact and go about their days that fills me with such peace and joy.
I hope you enjoy my selection of images this week.
Elephants playing in the Boteti River in Botswana.A large bull elephant at Nxai Pan in Botswana.A pair of bull elephants at a small waterhole on Phinda Game Reserve in South Africa.An elephant family drinking at a broken water pipe on Londolozi in South Africa.Pushing on the tree to shake down fruits in the Okavango Delta.Part of a larger herd that I spent time with one morning on Phinda Game Reserve.A desert adapted elephant seen near the Skeleton Coast in Namibia.
I had a completely different image ready to go, but something about it just wasn’t sitting right with me. So I started scrolling through my photo catalogue, and came across the series of images I took of a pride of lions that had treed a leopard, seen during my safari in 2015. That sparked my creativity in a whole new direction.
I wish I would have thought of creating a composite image like this when I was originally editing the series and creating a blog post about it. I think this image captures the essence of the sighting in a way the individual images were unable to. If you didn’t catch the story of the lions versus a leopard the first time around, you can fid it here. There was definitely a lot going on that morning!
I hope you enjoy this last instalment of my multiple exposure project. Next month, on to something new.
There’s a simple answer to the question posed in this week’s photo challenge “Where would you rather be?”.
I’d rather be on safari!
I’d rather be watching the sun set over the bush with a glass of wine in hand, and great company to have a chat with.I’d rather be watching the birds from the shade of a lodge veranda.I’d rather be looking out at the vast expanse of the universe, listening to the sounds of the bush at night.I’d rather be taking the opportunity to discover new cultures.I’d rather be out learning and experiencing different ways of life.I’d rather be looking at this view over lunch, than working away on my computer. I’d rather be dealing with this type of traffic while out for a drive.And of course, I’d much rather be hanging around with elephants.