Leopard Hills, Sabi Sands, South Africa — October, 2015

[Tom Kellie]

@@Tom Kellie

A beautiful leopards and beautiful photos. In some of those taken through the bushes you can see the advantage of manual focus.

 

@@deano

Our guides in Kenya said the same about Hyena cubs. It sounds plausible but I wonder if the babies were called cubs before these relationships were described by science ? (I have no evidence for that ) In the UK, baby foxes (related to dogs) are called cubs. I have heard baby Jackals described as "Cubs" and as "Puppies". I think language is gloriously inconsistent (actually I can only speak about the English Language!)

 

Addition: I have just looked at Wikipedia (not always reliable I know) about hyena. "When the hyena was discovered in the medieval times, it was found categorized under several odd names. The Striped Hyena, for instance, was referred as Water Wolf because of its wolf-like appearance and often showing up at the coasts lurking for food even in the water."

I wonder if this led to calling the babies "cubs" as we do talk about wolf cubs?

Sorry for going off topic, but the lovely hyena baby pictures in the report made me think!

 

~ @@TonyQ

 

Thank you so much for your kind comments about manual focus.

I agree with you that manual focus is especially advantageous when the subject is obscured by branches or grass.

Through carefully focussing on the subject, to a certain degree the obscuring vegetation ‘melts away’, thereby yielding a satisfactory image.

As it happens, leopards are especially well-suited for manual focus as their rosettes provide focus point targets.

Not so with the dark charcoal-hued hyena cubs. Fortunately, they didn't move about much, thus facilitating manual focus portraits.

A Zorilla scampering about in evening darkness would be one of the most challenging manual focus subjects, along with zig-zagging bats.

Both you and @@deano have considerably enriched this trip report through developing the understanding of the antecedents of hyena babies being designated as ‘cubs’.

I greatly appreciate that, which expands my limited understanding and offers information to any readers sharing our interest in hyena nomenclature.

With Appreciation,

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

A life without politics or finance,

No security checks or passwords,

Leopards don't give Web sites a second glance,

Given their lives as free as the birds.

Male Leopard Pelage

Plotting His Course

Elegant Carnivore

Walking Through Spring Vegetation

All Feline, All the Time

Arrangement in Rosettes and Spring Green

[Tom Kellie]

Torchwood crosses a dry riverbed,

An expanse of light-colored sand.

Living without a roof overhead,

He's used to living on the land.

Beside a Charred Log

Approaching a Dry Riverbed

Leaving Pawprints

After Crossing the Dry Riverbed

Off to Other Adventures

[Tom Kellie]

When a leopard leaves, what does it portend?

Perhaps nothing serious at all,

For all sightings must soon come to an end.

Leopards thrive whatever may befall.

Poised

Riverbed Wall

Blooms in a Boulder

Intent Gaze

Leopard at Rest

Examining All Possibilities

A Leopard in a Forest

[Tom Kellie]

Greater Kudu females I'd seen in the past,

Clambering up hillsides, then they'd disappear.
Suddenly a male Greater Kudu at last,
Who'd've expected such spiraled horns up here?

Unexpected Sighting

Encountered on a Remote Slope

Greater Kudu Bull

Solitary Forest Denizen

 

[Tom Kellie]

What force is required to split a great stone?

What power do a tree's roots have within?

Enough strength to cleave a boulder-like throne,

Enough brute power to finally win.

Slow Motion Drama

Cleft Stone

Split Rock

Tree-in-a-Rock

Ample Shade

Sabi Sands Forest Cover

[Marks]

 

Wonderful pics of the tiny hyaena cubs! The mother looks very tired too!

 

~ @@Big_Dog

 

When the hyena den observation was underway, I mentioned to the ranger that I had two Safaritalk friends who might be interested in the images.

I specifically was thinking of @@Marks and you.

 

 

Thank you for bringing these posts to my attention! I especially like the adolescent, fluffier hyena.

Your leopard sequences are equally pleasing.

 

[deano]

@@Tom Kellie - really liking the leopard images, particularly those of him patrolling his patch. I am amazed how clean he has got after his fishing expedition especially since they haven't had much in the way of rain in Sabi Sands. I bet you gave him a rinse off so that he looked his best on your Zeiss lenses didn't you? Nice stuff with the kudu also.

 

kind regards

 

deano.

[Tom Kellie]

Boulders Drainage is a lovely glade,

Where a few buffalo were found,

Grazing beneath spring foliage in shade,

Their faces low to the ground.

Buffalo in Boulders Drainage

Springtime Buffalo

Buffalo Grazer

Boulders Drainage

Placid Buffalo

A Leopard Hills Spring Morning

[Tom Kellie]

Thank you for bringing these posts to my attention! I especially like the adolescent, fluffier hyena.

Your leopard sequences are equally pleasing.

 

~ @@Marks

 

I'm both surprised and pleased that you liked the fluffy juvenile hyena.

When I saw it, I felt that it was one of the most comely hyenas I'd ever seen.

That someone else noticed its pleasing appearance is oddly reassuring.

Thank you for your kind comment about the leopard images.

While photographing Torchwood I felt elated at having such a superb sustained opportunity to observe at close range.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

@@Tom Kellie - really liking the leopard images, particularly those of him patrolling his patch. I am amazed how clean he has got after his fishing expedition especially since they haven't had much in the way of rain in Sabi Sands. I bet you gave him a rinse off so that he looked his best on your Zeiss lenses didn't you? Nice stuff with the kudu also.

 

~ @@deano

 

Funny that you'd mention cat cleanliness.

I've wondered how it is that soon after eating from a bloody carcass, or ploughing through a muddy patch, big cats seem to turn up presentable.

Granted, domestic cats fastidious grooming habits are widely familiar, yet the big cats have an uncanny ability to tidy up after acquiring caked layers of grime.

The sudden sighting of the adult male Greater Kudu occurred as the safari vehicle was jolting down a forested incline after having bid farewell to Torchwood.

Yours truly wouldn't have dared to have requested a photo stop at that point, thus the handheld, manually focussed images were made while on the move.

Thank you for offering such encouraging comments!

Tom K.

[Big_Dog]

The entire Torchwood sequence was glorious.
The rock-splitting tree was also a nice little marvel.

@@TonyQ - Animal baby names are a vast topic! With Canidae it is pups (can be turned into puppy usually for domestic dogs) but interesting for foxes it is called a kit.
Small cats are kittens, pantherinae are cubs I believe.
Really cool to hear about the 'Water Wolf', i didn't know that. The brown hyaena was known as the 'Strand wolf' (beach wolf) by Afrikaans. I wonder why it became the brown hyaena and yet we left the Aardwolf as it is, instead of naming it the 'Earth Hyaena' or 'Burrowing Hyaena' or something to that effect.

[Tom Kellie]

A Syncerus caffer calf, horns and all,

Its fur and hide in russet-brown tones.

Steady on its hooves but not very tall,

Drinking mother's milk, all skin and bones.

Morning Nursing

Approaching the Source

Quadrupedal Feeding Station

Profile of a Mother Buffalo

A Buffalo Mother's Work is Never Done

[Tom Kellie]

The entire Torchwood sequence was glorious.

The rock-splitting tree was also a nice little marvel.

 

~ @@Big_Dog

 

I'm very glad that you liked the images depicting Torchwood's morning activities.

He's a strong, confident young male who is neither flighty nor lethargic.

Last month I requested a return visit to the rock-splitting tree.

Not much change!

Thank you for discussing animal names with @@TonyQ.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

A tree trunk's knotty growth shows,

Where plant tissue was disrupted.

Yet who really, truly knows,

Why it was interrupted?

Burl

[xelas]

Does anyone else is seeing the face of Kermit the Frog in this photo?? Right part of the burl.

[Tom Kellie]

Does anyone else is seeing the face of Kermit the Frog in this photo?? Right part of the burl.

 

~ @@xelas

 

“Kermit the Frog”?

A cartoon character?

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

After spotting a male, three females were displayed,

With the soft side stripes of Greater Kudu.

There the trio stood, standing together in shade,

Unsure as to what they or we might do.

Drawing Attention

Relatively Near the Track

As Reticent As Ever

Several Female Greater Kudu

[xelas]

@@Tom Kellie

 

Not exactly the cartoon character. Kermit is the main character of The Muppet Show, created by puppeteer Jim Henson. It was aired first between 1976 - 1981 in UK.

You should know him, you are not that much "younger" than me .

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@xelas

 

Perhaps you're right...perhaps I should have known him.

I was in graduate school at that time.

Then and now I didn't watch any television of any kind for any reason...likewise no films.

I read books then as entertainment, which is what I continue to do today.

I'm rather unfamiliar with all forms of pop culture, having had almost no exposure to it throughout my life.

Nevertheless, I appreciate expanding my understanding.

If “Kermit the Frog” is in the burl, that adds to the image's interest, which is great!

Thank you for enlightening me!

Tom K.

[xelas]

"Then and now I didn't watch any television of any kind for any reason" - the approach that I am slowly starting to understand ... and follow ... if not for sport events.

[Tom Kellie]

"Then and now I didn't watch any television of any kind for any reason" - the approach that I am slowly starting to understand ... and follow ... if not for sport events.

 

~ @@xelas

 

The plain reality has been that there's been a steady flow of engrossing research and employment-related tasks which have kept me happily engaged.

I've enjoyed outdoor nature activities, as well as slow, careful reading in evenings while enjoying Western classical music and jazz.

There wasn't time to do everything, thus television and pop culture never entered into my life. There was far too much to enjoy outside or through involvement in creative activities.

By inclination and temperament, I lean toward being more of a producer than a consumer...at least in many contexts.

However, I may have missed out through not becoming acquainted with Mr. Kermit of the Leopard Hills tree burl!

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

Wait! Look over there! Is that a rhino?

A welcome finale for the game drive,
Its bulk was massive above and below.
Truly wonderful to view it alive!

Unmistakable Presence

Tutelary Oxpecker at the Ready

Massive Yet Quiet

Forest Grazing

 

[Tom Kellie]

Why are rhino sightings an occasion,

For feeling that it's truly a special day?

For visitors of any persuasion,

Observing a rhino enhances their stay.

Ears on Alert

Tailswing to the Right

Pausing While Grazing

Mild Curiosity

Dried Mud

Rhino Ramble

Beside the Wooded Track

[Tom Kellie]

In the Lowveld, Spring's advent is bright green,

Punctuated with floral color here and there,

Accentuating the bucolic scene,

With botanical marvels scattered everywhere.

Seed-bearer

Lion's Eye Blooms