We get our weekend off to a great start with third in our latest Photo Journal series: a wonderful collection of images sent to us by long-standing friend Tony Goldman, from his latest visit to Londolozi.
Enjoy…
A female Black-backed Puffback. The male of the species has an amazing display to attract her, erecting a collection of back and rump feathers into a beautiful puffed out ball.
Blue Waxbills are some of the prettiest birds at Londolozi, but being so small are often overlooked, so their powder-blue colouring can go unappreciated.
Mating giraffes is a rare sight. Although both sexes are impressively large, one can properly get a sense of how much bigger males are than females during their copulation.
A young white rhino that has recently rolled in both mud and elephant dung. With the rains having returned since Tony’s visit at the end of the dry season, the rhinos are enjoying a bounty of pans and pools in which to wallow.
The Tatowa female (left) and her cub. No sign has been had of the cub for awhile now, but given the scarcity of sightings of the Tatowa female herself, she may still be raising it successfully.
A stunning portrait of a male nyala. Preferring denser habitats, nyalas have large ears in relation to their head size, being highly dependent on their sense of hearing to detect danger.
Leopards are somewhat restricted in the tress they can climb, as their technique of wrapping their forelegs around the trunk and projecting themselves upwards with their hind legs is limited to trunks they can actually wrap their forelegs around. The trunk has to be the right combination of width and angle else the forces of gravity start becoming a much harder factor to overcome.
A remarkable tug-of-war between age old adversaries; hyena and leopard. The leopard was likely pressured into hoisting the kill quickly, not having time to choose a good enough tree, and once having fed, the carcass would have broken up a bit and been hanging a bit lower, putting it within reach of the hyena below.
A young Vervet Monkey with a contemplative thought on its face.
Crocodiles are limited in winter, with many of the larger waterbodies having shrunk after no rain for a few months. They regularly move between pools, although most often at night, so getting a photo of one moving in the day is a rarity.
A young white rhino trots after its mother, still glistening from a recent mud bath.
Lycaon pictus, the African Wild Dog. These carnivores were once viewed as vermin by conservationists across Africa, but thankfully that stigma has changed now, and they are highly protected across their range.
Impala reflections.
A nervous time for the herd as they all put their heads down, vulnerable to attack. They would all be on a hair trigger right now, ready to leap up and dash away at the slightest hint of danger.
The intense stare of an African Hawk Eagle. These birds are reported to be Africa’s fastest eagle, often hunting in pairs and focussing their attacks on game-birds like guineafowl and francolins. This one has bagged a scrub hare; probably one that didn’t choose a good enough hiding spot to lie up in during the day (scrub hares are nocturnal).
The full Ntsevu pride; an incredibly impressive collection of lions.
Love getting close-ups of the nyala around the camp. Despite their sharp hearing ability, they are very calm as humans approach.
As always your talent shines in each one of these captures. My thanks for sharing them!
Anthony, I especially liked the giraffes mating, and pictures of the birds.
Actually I liked all the photos🤗
Tony,
Another great post; just wanted you know that they are appreciated.
I am also a physician in Florida and count on the daily Londolozi blog to see the raw beauty of Africa and keep me grounded.
Very nice collection of photos, especially the birds that I struggle to capture successfully on a consistent basis. A long lens would help me I’m sure…..,
Absolutely FABULOUS of collection of pictures! Thank you!
Remarkable photos, Tony! I’m especially fond of the “portraits.” Thanks fir sharing!
Fantastic collection Anthony and love the one of the Ntsevu Pride with the Birmingham Male in the background!
Another set of awesome pictures Anthony. The birds are beautiful. Hard to pick a favourite – all excellent. Thank you for sharing with us.
Thanks everyone for the kind comments 🙂