A lot of prey animals give birth at the end of November in the Kruger, just in time for the wet season when lush grasses can help them grow quickly. It makes for a great time to visit as there are many cute creatures around and also plenty of prey to tempt the iconic predators of the savannah.
I am not sure whether this has huge artistic merit but it certainly does have comedic value. I just wonder what this impala is chewing on.
The steenbok is one of the most common antelope in Kruger national park, but that doesn't mean that getting a good portrait is easy. They are quite skittish and run off with the least provocation.
While it is easy to photograph the larger animals in Kruger National Park, the smaller ones are rather difficult to get up close to given the lack of permission to leave vehicles in parks. However given the protection the park receives, there is abundance of all creatures and so just a bit of patience works wonders. Smaller creatures will come close to you eventually.
Warthogs might not be everybody's idea of a beautiful creature. I think though that some can have a bit of charm.
These two young brown snake eagles got into a fight over a leopard tortoise. I had been watching one alone for quite a while as he struggled to get at the interior of the tortoise's shell. Once he flew up to the tree the second came along to steal dinner.
It is amazing that these creatures, that are build like a tank, would be threatened by anything. However humans have created weapons that easily out gun rhinos. 150 years ago when rifles were weak rhinos were considered one of the stronger animals. Today though we have to look after them as all rhino species are endangered.
The Kudu is the symbol of Kruger National Park. However it is the male version with his horns that is instantly recognisable. I think the female is equally graceful
The secret to photographing small birds that move quickly is to do so near where people eat. At one of the campgrounds in Kruger I met two glossy starlings that were not afraid to sit on a tree with me only a few meters away. They proved to be quite bold swooping down for crumbs from the picnickers in the rest area.
The drought of the last few years in the Kruger has left a lot of rivers dried up. This woodland kingfisher was captured above one of these dry rivers. At the moment he is reduced to 'diving' for insects rather than fish.
The woodland kingfisher isn't too worried about drought in the Kruger. They have adapted to living in dry areas and often the dry season leaves empty rivers for part of the year. They 'fish' for insects when the rivers are dried up.
Travelling in Africa just makes everything red. It is such a dusty and red continent. The dry season makes this even worse and a herd of zebras can make quite a dust storm.
The grey African hornbill is often portrayed as a comical bird. I wouldn't have believed the stereotype was based on reality until I met these two who spent nearly half an hour looking at their reflections in the cars shiny plastic. They really are intelligent and curious birds.
This lioness might not have eaten in a long time before I met her. Lions look powerful from a distance but up close you can really see when they are weak and hungry. However there is still a lot of reserve power in their hunting muscles.
This lioness was encountered on the famous S100 road in Kruger National park. I hadn't seen very many predators in my week there but when I got to this area I had lions all morning long.
This lioness was a little bit isolated from her pride but they were not too far away. It was just the long grasses that hide them so well when they are hunting that prevented me from photographing the others.
