WILDLIFE BLOG

I found this huge Golden Orb Spider or Golden Orb Weaver out in the park yesterday. It had built a huge orb web, stretching about 5m across and about 3m tall. The spider itself was over 15cms long and was sitting, alert, at the middle of the web. It had position a leg on each of the main strands of the web waiting to feel if an insect became caught in the sticky strands. While not [...]

I've been watching a pair of Crowned Cranes nesting in the long grasses of a swampy area over the last few weeks. When I drove past yesterday, I was a bit surprised not to find them there. I thought that perhaps they were nestled down in the grass, or perhaps had been chased off by a predator. What I had not considered was that they had reared the chicks and they were out foraging together! The [...]

I first noticed this baboon because he was staring intently in one direction for some time. If you can spot this behaviour, it can tell you more about what's going on than we can see or hear. Baboons have fantastic eyesight and rely on it more than any other sense. So if they tell you there's danger, it possible that we can see it too. In this case, he had sensed something and was assessing whether [...]

And particularly when watching baboons! I spent about half an hour enjoying watching a troop of baboons as they slowly congregated at the base of the huge ebony which they use as a roosting site. Females and males groomed each other, the youngsters played and even the youngest babies let go of their mothers and explored their immediate surroundings. These two were playing on top of a termite mound, wrestling gently with each other. As I [...]

.....not quite as inspiring as African wildlife! I spent some time in the UK recently, at home in Dorset, and tried a couple of times to photograph some of the local inhabitants. A combination of poor light, almost continuous rain and nervous animals led to some slightly disappointing results! Looking at this washed out image of a young sika stag-calf made me realise (again) how lucky we are to live in this beautiful place.

.....can actually look attractive and interesting when there's a nice green environment around them. Here a female Red-backed Shrike and a Southern Grey-headed Sparrow use exposed perches to advertise their territorial presence.

I've been waiting years to see one of these. Most of the other guides have seen them, although only very rarely, and I was finally lucky last night when I found one crossing the road from a lagoon where it had been drinking. Amazingly, it stood for long enough for me to take some photos, even if they weren't very good in the failing light! We don't think that Bush Pigs are rare in the Luangwa, [...]

I was out driving in the park last night at that time of day when everything looks golden! I came across this warthog who was feeding on the short, fresh grass near a small lagoon. Instead of running away when I drove up, he approached with his head held high and his tail swishing. He was frisky, almost fiesty! I took a few photos while he stood resplendent in the sunshine. As I started the engine [...]

I watched this young leopard for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon. She was very relaxed up in the tree but when the temperature dropped, she decided to come down. Having fed not long before, she had a very full stomach so made a bit of a mess of her descent! I followed her as she scouted around the area and scented various bushes, presumably picking up the spray-marks of the territorial adults in the area. [...]

All small antelope are overlooked because they are plentiful, spend most of their time feeding and don't kill anyone else! But they're very smart creatures (particularly the females) and will often be the first to alert others to danger approaching. I watched this female and a few others feeding in the lush grass yesterday afternoon. Almost at once, they all looked up and gazed in one direction. I didn't think too much of it to begin [...]

We have a large number of visiting migrant birds during the rainy months when the insect life is at its peak, and provides the best source of food. Woodland Kingfishers come all the way from Senegal in West Africa to spend 5 months breeding and feeding in the Luangwa Valley and elsewhere in Southern Africa. They are often found on exposed branches early in the morning, to catch the morning sunshine and advertise their presence to [...]