WILDLIFE BLOG

I came across this confident-looking male Waterbuck in the park a couple of days ago, and enjoyed the contrast of his dark coat against the red topped grass.

This Cookson's Wildebeest has been hanging around this area recently, which is very unusual since we don't tend to find them this far south. What is even more strange is that he is on his own! They are herd creatures and rely on the protection on the eyes and ears of everyone in the herd for safety, so I suggest this animal simply got lost and couldn't find his herd. He joined a herd of Zebra [...]

I'm not in the habit of taking photos of animals or birds that are simply portraits. I tend to look for 'wildlife in its surroundings' and photograph that instead. However, this Open-billed Stork was too tempting a prospect as it dried its feathers in the sun after a session of water bathing in the lagoon below.

Recently we found a dead giraffe behind the camp. When we found her, she was still warm and there was no obvious cause of death. We discussed the various possibilities but could only conclude that she must have been killed by an acute injury because she was in good condition and showed no sign of sickness. During the first night, hyaenas came and opened up the belly and began feeding on the carcass. The following day, [...]

Today I spent a while watching a Burchell's Coucal foraging in the leaf litter around the base of an Ebony tree. It had a fairly successful time, first finding a centipede and then a small snake which I think is a Cape Centipede Eater, although without a good view of its head, I wouldn't be sure.

When I arrived back from a road trip around the area, I spotted this odd looking creature in a nearby tree. It flew like a Cuckoo but didn''t look like any cuckoo I''d ever seen before. After taking a couple of photos, and playing with the idea that it might be a very rare Long-tailed Cuckoo, I decided that I think it is a rare hepatic morph of the Eurasian Cuckoo, and is a colour variation [...]