WILDLIFE BLOG

.....is not normally recommended, but it can produce some nice effects.

When fleeing from predators (and sometimes even just for fun) antelope make giant exaggerated leaps to put distance between themselves and the hunter, and to display how fit and healthy they are. We call this behaviour "stotting", and it's well known across African species and some from elsewhere, such as sheep and deer. This impala's bouncing leaps were so graceful and balletic, that at one point, he closed his eyes and appears to have got lost [...]

As the rains come to an end, and the grass dies off in the back-country, elephant herds which have been living in the grasslands begin to move towards the riverine strip. The increased access to water and fresher vegetation draws them from the protein-rich dambos to the riverbanks where they will spend the majority of the coming months. It's a great time to photograph them as they file slowly across the open plains, adult females leading [...]

They're not the most inspiring of our antelope, and they've got a bad rep for being a bit smelly (German sausage-like if you can get the wind right), but there's more to Waterbuck than meets the eye. Dominant bulls employ the services of younger bulls as Generals, defending (on their behalf) areas of their range which are further from the core territory. This arrangement of shared territorial behaviour leads to very interesting interactions between males within [...]

It must be tough to be a young elephant bull watching as your larger companions effortlessly reach into the branches of Tamarind, Winterthorn and Acacia trees. We watched this pair of bulls as they gently made their way from the grasslands back towards the river in the evening, stopping regularly to feed on the abundant vegetation available at the end of the rains. As the sun dropped lower in the sky, the bulls started to head [...]

It's been a while since I updated my blog, but it doesn't mean it's been quiet in the National Park. We spent a lovely morning watching a small herd of giraffes in an open dambo recently. The youngsters were quietly sitting on the ground, legs folded underneath, but the older males remained standing - perhaps their old joints make it harder to get up and down! As males get older, specialised skin cells deposit more bone [...]

In failing light, we found this beautiful leopard cub resting in a tree last night. She was escaping the flies and enjoying the cool breeze of evening. After some time, she came down and began hunting a couple of Spur Winged Geese which had landed at the side of a nearby lagoon.

Bateleur eagles are one of the most readily recognisable of all our raptors, identifiable at a glance by their rocking, unstable flight. Having a very short tail makes them highly maneuverable, but reduces their stability in the air, leading to a flight pattern that appears similar to a tight-rope walker on a wire. Adults have striking black and white plumage, with a red face and legs. Juveniles, as with many large raptors, take a number of [...]

We don't have names for many of the animals here (in fact it's only one leopard and a few lions). But Alice is probably the most well known of all of them. She's an adult female leopard who's marked out an area of territory just across the river from camp. We see her at least once a week, and often daily. Recently, she's been very visible with her two year-old cubs. I was guiding on Monday [...]

.....it's all just a bit too much for a young baboon. One of the best reference books on baboon behaviour was written by a well-known animal scientist called Shirley Strum. After years living with Olive baboons in Kenya, she compiled her findings into a very readable book called "Almost Human". It's a wonderful account of her life as one of the troop. She carefully documents the ever-changing behaviour of individuals towards one another, trying to keep [...]

When the river's very high, as it has been over the last couple of weeks, we can get out in the boat and enjoy a beautiful, water-level view of the Luangwa. As we floated downstream, we passed pods of hippos on all sides and watched abundant bird-life making the most of the plentiful prey during the summer months. A Village (or Spotted-backed) Weaver was busy building his nest on a branch overhanging a lagoon. A young [...]

See UPDATE below. I was out driving yesterday and came across a group of zebras feeding in the long grasses just by the road. One male was separate from the rest of the herd and revealed, as he turned towards us, a dreadful wound on his hindquarters. The bright, fresh, red flesh stood out dramatically against an otherwise green environment, and we could immediately see how distressed the animal was. He was trying to feed but [...]