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Game Warden

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@@Peter Connan, great family shot of yet another animal I didn't even know existed, all creatures great and small, great to see.

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Thank you @@elefromoz and @@PCNW.

 

The pigs must have been quite aware of us, as there were about 8 people babbling excitedly.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Africalover

Life is cruel, don't leave the safety of the migration. I sad with a lionpride on a Kopje in Moru - Serengeti march 2016, for several hours. They were well fed and resting.Part of the migration was a few hundreds meter away. Suddenly this crazy wildebeest came a long and thought - the grass is greener on the other side of the Kopje.post-19633-0-50907800-1458158527_thumb.jpegpost-19633-0-63300900-1458158699_thumb.jpegpost-19633-0-54026800-1458158842_thumb.jpgpost-19633-0-69069900-1458159112_thumb.jpeg

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~ @@Africalover

 

What a spectacular series!

Your images effectively tell the full story, from start to finish.

Thank you for sharing these. It's easily one of the most dramatic posts I've seen.

Tom K.

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Peter Connan

No.5 is my favourite, but I would love to have taken just one of these. Any one.

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Africalover

Thanks everybody for your kind comments. It was a magic and tense moment

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offshorebirder

@ Peter Connan - wow, great photos of a great Bushpig encounter. And you got babies - two rare sightings for the price of one.

 

@@Africalover - such a great series of photos. What a cool experience!

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Game Warden

another such animal of which I can find no hardly any mention on Safaritalk at all

 

@@Peter Connan, corrected the above for you... have a look here. :)

 

Your photos however are much better...

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Peter Connan

Thank you @@Game Warden, both for reminding me of that beautiful trip report and for the compliment.

 

Must say though, mine were taken under much easier conditions!

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  • 2 weeks later...

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Two Young Wildebeest



Photographed at 5:50 am on 24 January, 2016 at Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sands, South Africa, using an EOS 1D X camera and an EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II super-telephoto lens.


ISO 800, 1/500 sec., f/2.8, 400mm focal length, handheld Manual exposure.


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~ Dew coated grass with a shimmering crystal effect. We were waking up after tea, juice, sliced fruit and baked snacks. A herd of wildebeest was the first sighting, grazing together in the open.


The ranger and tracker smiled at our enthusiasm, watching us adjust camera settings for morning light, the two young wildebeest our primary subject. They'd seen this many times before but understood our delight.

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  • 6 months later...

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One of a Pair



Taken on 1 October, 2014 at 7:22 am in Meru National Park, Kenya, using an EOS 1D X camera with an EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II super-telephoto lens


ISO 1,000, f/3.2, 1/2000 sec., 400mm handheld Shutter Priority shooting mode in a safari van guided by @@Anthony Gitau of Bigmac Africa Safaris.


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~ Although photographed two years ago, this image is placed under ‘latest sightings’ as it only came to light today, after having been misplaced after returning from Africa.


Anthony and I decided to use our final morning game drive in Meru National Park, immediately prior to driving to Samburu, for exploring where we'd overlooked during previous days.


The skies had dramatic black clouds, which yielded lovely dawn images. There were no wildlife sightings of note, which we mistakenly attributed to mere happenstance.


We turned to drive along a seldom-used grassy track near a stream. I soon heard a startling cacophony of loud screeches and bird calls in trees lining the stream.


Perched on top of the tallest trees were numerous Vervet Monkeys, sitting motionless, without eating. I mentioned this to Anthony who drove slower, scanning the area.


A young giraffe bolted, atypically running alone at full tilt away from the stream, across the track. When I noted that, Anthony said: “Something's here”.


Seconds later we both spotted an adult leopard casually sauntering between bushes in grass near the stream. This image shows its passage.


What's not seen is the second leopard which appeared seconds after the first one. It was slightly smaller, seemingly following after the other one, as an adolescent cub with the mother.


Anthony and I high-fived one another, jubilant at a double leopard sighting at the end of our stay in Meru.


The KWS guards and staff at the Murera Gate saw our photos, telling us that such a double leopard sighting in Meru was a special occasion.



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  • 4 months later...

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Nuptial Pair on a Rainy Afternoon



Taken on 16 February, 2017 at 2:23 pm in Kruger National Park, Kenya, using a Sony RX1 R camera with a fixed Zeiss 35mm f/2 lens


ISO 100, f/11, 1/80 sec., 35mm handheld Automatic shooting mode in a safari vehicle during steady rain


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~ This lion pair were resting in tall grass beneath a large shrub when I spotted them out of the left window of a safari vehicle. We stopped at a respectful distance to observe, after which they walked to this position.


There no other vehicles around as the passing cyclone had reduced the number of visitors to Kruger National Park as most unsurfaced tracks were closed. The male lion was attentive to the female despite the inclement weather.


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“I Itch, So I Scratch, So What?” — Ma Kettle



Taken on 20 February, 2017 at 9:35 am in Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa, using an EOS 1D X camera with an EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II super-telephoto lens


ISO 3200, f/2.8, 1/1600 sec., 400mm handheld Manual shooting mode in cool conditions with intermittent light drizzle


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~ This is ‘Totoa’, a 2 year old female leopard living in the southernmost sector of Sabi Sands Game Reserve. She was initially observed in a thicket, after which she walked through tall grass to climb a tree.


The overcast skies and her position in a thicket resulted in a higher-than-usual ISO setting. She's a relaxed leopard, seemingly at ease with the attention her presence receives.
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@@Tom Kellie From the colourful vegetation it would seem that the Kruger has had plenty of rain unlike East Africa.

 

The date on your image suggests you have returned from safari very recently...

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@@Tom Kellie From the colourful vegetation it would seem that the Kruger has had plenty of rain unlike East Africa.

 

The date on your image suggests you have returned from safari very recently...

 

~ @@JohnR

 

Thank you so much for your kind comment.

I returned home to my faculty apartment in Central China two hours ago.

Departure of the long non-stop flight from Johannesburg to Beijing was delayed by heavy snowfall in northeastern China. I used the extra hours to peruse wildlife books in the two bookstores on O R Tambo International Airport.

The cyclone which devastated southern Mozambique passed over Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, dumping substantial rain over several days. It was the largest cyclone in the area since 2000.

Both the Sabie and the Sand rivers rose to very high levels. Nearly every unsurfaced gravel or sand track in Kruger National Park was closed due to the days of heavy rain.

The inclement weather had no adverse effect on safari viewing, as I observed and photographed the full ‘Big Five’ multiple times on many days, as well as wildflowers, insects, birds, reptiles and smaller mammals. It was one of the most productive safaris I've had.

This was the third consecutive year that I've had the great pleasure of meeting ace bird photographer @@Peter Connan, including enjoying braai at his home.

Below is a portrait taken beside a surging waterfall and a flower which was in full bloom in many locations.

Tom K.

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At Lisbon Falls, Mpumalanga, South Africa

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Bauhinia galpinii

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@@Peter Connan I just love the photos of the bush pig sow and piglets. I've never seen one before so I have to place it high on my list of dream animals.

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@@Tom Kellie

 

I returned home to my faculty apartment in Central China two hours ago.

 

What dedication to Safaritalk! It usually takes me months or even years in the case of my last visit to Namibia to have some images to post. There's so much catching up to do when returning home. All those hundreds of emails to read demanding reports to write.

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@@Tom Kellie, it was wonderful to be able to spend time in your company again. I look forward to the next time.

 

@@optig, thank you for your kind compliment. I do hope you see a family of bushpigs soon!

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@@Tom Kellie , those are very different colours to those we have experienced in October! Looking forward to see them more.

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