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WILDLIFE BLOG
Wildlife: South Luangwa 10 – 16 June 2020
Zambia's experience of COVID continues; cases are increasing slowly and active cases rise only very gradually as many are recovering well. 11 deaths have been recorded so far. Of course there is much speculation about whether the lack of testing is revealing only a fraction of cases; or whether the virus is really spreading much more slowly due to the lack of high-speed transport links across Zambia. Whatever the situation with testing, we are not hearing [...]
Wildlife: South Luangwa 3 – 9 June 2020
Winter is really setting in here in Zambia. Temperatures are falling to 12 or 13 degrees celsius overnight and morning safaris in open-topped vehicles are very cold! But the warm, sunny days are a blissful relief from the hot, sticky days of March and April. I love this time of year. The cool days do affect the behaviour of wildlife; baboons, birds and antelope can be found sunning themselves in the early mornings, sometimes to the [...]
Wildlife: South Luangwa 27 May – 2 June 2020
It's hard to imagine that anything could knock COVID-19 off the top of the news headlines. Last week, however, awful news from Minneapolis achieved this, for all the wrong reasons. The death of George Floyd, apparently at the hands of State Police, seems all the more shocking when set against many nations' spirited collective fight against COVID. There are many things wrong with George's death, quite apart from the tragedy for his family and friends, but [...]
Wildlife: South Luangwa 20 – 26 May 2020
It is a huge relief to see great progress being made in many countries to curb the COVID-19 crisis. Many European nations are starting to re-open their economies and return to something that resembles the life that we enjoyed before COVID-19. Of course, we all hope that the new normal, which we have been given a unique chance to create, will include dramatic shifts in priorities; the natural world, and our planet generally, should be valued [...]
Safari Destinations with Edward Selfe Photo Safaris – Kafue
With so much game so easily accessible in the Luangwa Valley, where I have spent many years as a guide, I prepared myself to be slightly disappointed in the Kafue, expecting that it would feel rather empty by comparison. It is known for many things; for its diverse range of antelope species, for its size, for its tsetse flies and for its vastness and wildness. To some extent, all of these are true but they only [...]
Through the Lens: Canon EF 200-400mm f4 IS USM EXT
While I was in the UK in January, I searched the online camera retailers' second-hand listings for Canon's EF 200-400mm f4 IS USM + 1.4 TC lens. I was very pleased to find one at a good price, with all its original packaging and in excellent condition. While this is not an inexpensive lens by any measure, buying second hand is a very sensible solution for most. Many online retailers have excellent second-hand listings and buying [...]
Wildlife: South Luangwa 13 – 19 May 2020
The world's COVID experiences are changing on an almost daily basis; while Australia and New Zealand emerge from lockdown with an incredible record of virus containment and Europe starts to see the end of its awful peaks of deaths, Zambia's cases increase at an erratic rate, largely due to the inconsistent level of testing here. In many ways, we are fortunate to have been in Zambia during this period. This is our home so we would [...]
Safari Destinations with Edward Selfe Photo Safaris – Lower Zambezi
The Lower Zambezi National Park is justifiably regarded as one of Southern Africa's finest reserves. With superb scenery, excellent camps - ranging from wild & immersive to luxurious & grand - and the mighty Zambezi running through, there is much to love about this special little park. Flying into Lower Zambezi is an experience in itself as the size and beauty of the park becomes clear. With a few exceptions, most of Africa's great parks are [...]
Wildlife: South Luangwa 6 – 12 May 2020
Zambia's COVID-19 experience continues. As the country develops the capability to test suspects, many more cases are being discovered. In a test of c. 350 people in Nakonde, the northern border post with Tanzania, nearly half were found to be positive for COVID-19.... This extreme prevalence of the disease is partly because it's a border post area but is an indication that the virus is already much more entrenched than is believed. I had several long [...]
Photo Safari Skills: Selecting from a Burst of Photos
We all love to take lots of action shots, especially in the heat of the moment. We all hope that we've set the camera up correctly and that majority will be sharp! But then comes the time when you have to sort through the resulting photos and try to select the best! The following two series came from a blog a while ago where I watched a leopard chase two impalas who were fighting during their [...]
Wildlife: South Luangwa 29 April – 5 May 2020
Thank you to so many of you who have written to me after reading my weekly wildlife update blogs. It's clear that this virtual window into the Luangwa Valley is restorative for many people who are in lockdown across the world. Being able to go into the bush is certainly restorative for me, which is why I have chosen this way of life, so I share my experiences for those who want to follow along. There's [...]
Safari Destinations with Edward Selfe Photo Safaris – Kasanka & Bangweulu
Zambia's COVID-19 journey continues; 64 cases have been confirmed in Zambia at the time of writing, mostly in the Lusaka area. With a relatively small population of international travellers in Zambia, it might be that it's possible to trace the Nation's outbreak back to that one starter infection and work from there to contain it. Each day there are more cases but not an increasing rate, so maybe there is still a chance to prevent it [...]
EDWARD SELFE
I organise & run photographic safaris in the finest wildlife areas on Earth.
