WILDLIFE BLOG

During the dry season, elephants cross the river regularly to access better feeding opportunities on the other side. It's always a beautiful sight, but sometimes everything comes together to give something more special. Here I loved the dead trees in the water and the way that the elephant herd is spread across the river.

We spent last weekend up at Lion Camp in the north of the park where I run some of my photo safaris during the year (have a look at the link at the top of the page for more info). This is the very best time of year for photography as there's lots of game around and not yet too much dust in the atmosphere. But we weren't prepared for the amazing weekend that we had. [...]

I found this yearling female leopard when she had just killed a baboon. We kept well back as their adrenalin levels are very high at such a time, and their behaviour unpredictable. However her mother, an old female, was not so cautious and began to approach the carcass while the youngster was standing over it. Whether she was hoping to share, or to take it back in repayment for all the times she fed her daughter, [...]

I recently had a group of guests who were mad-keen bird enthusiasts and hoped to get great sightings of as many species as possible. We had a lot of fun tracking down some of the Luangwa's specialities and visiting some of the less well-known areas. On the last evening, we decided to hunt for Owls which we had missed up to that point. An area of the park around Mushroom Lagoon gave us some great results. [...]

In a very intense sighting last week, we found this young leopard and waited while she approached us. Making use of another vehicle's spotlight, we enjoyed some nicely side-lit photo opportunities.

On an all-day safari in the north of the park, we found part of a large pride of lions, known locally as the Mwamba Pride after the river which runs through their territory. It was quite late in the morning, so we decided to leave them to rest, and return when the light was softer and they might be a bit more active. We continued our safari, watched some elephants, had a long picnic lunch and [...]

We enjoyed watching this female and her calf crossing the river in the last light of evening. She was always careful to keep herself between us and her youngster, but we managed to catch glimpses of him behind her as the mother walked ahead.

As the last remaining lagoons dry up, hundreds of fish-eating birds come flock together to hoover up the remaining fish in the ever-reducing volume of water. One of the largest lagoons in the area has been playing host to this astonishing spectacle over the last few days, and we've been there regularly to watch. Here's the scene at Luangwa Wafwa. The density of feeding birds is hard to imagine - this image shows just one small [...]

As the sun sets on another day in the Luangwa, we continue our safaris with a spotlight, seeking out creatures that are mostly active after dark. White-tailed Mongooses are a foraging predator which cover large distances at night searching for small rodents, insects and occasionally snakes. I once unknowingly disturbed one which was attacking a cobra.

Often referred to as Silly Fowl for their apparent desire to rush out in front of vehicles on regular occasions, Guinea Fowl are nonetheless a charismatic and numerous personality in the bush! During the dry season, we find them in large flocks with their immature chicks from last rainy season. Nothing scares them more than the sight of an eagle landing in a nearby tree or the shape of a large bird of prey circling overhead. [...]

While watching a group of Red Billed (Green) Wood-hoopoes yesterday morning, we heard a Puku whistling nearby. Initially we couldn't work out what she was worried about since she wasn't looking in any particular direction and had probably just got the scent of something scary. Eventually, we spotted a leopard which was moving in the long grass under the trees nearby. We watched as it stalked and then lay down in the shade of a tree. [...]