This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
I usually know what bird or mammal I photograph but, even after some time on the internet, this bird has stumped me. Anyone know what bird this is riding on the back of a zebra? Benard answered my question on my facebook site. It’s a wattled starling. Thanks Benard.
Lionesses on the Hunt
On my safari in Tanzania last fall this lioness is the only animal I saw that was collared.
A male elephant walks near a wetland in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.
Tarangire National Park is known for elephants and baobab trees. When I was there on a photography safari last September, we saw a good number of each. The safari, which included Serengeti, was sponsored by Nature’s Best Photography and the African Wildlife Foundation and it was hosted by Thomson Safaris. They are running another with Thomson this September. If you’ve been thinking of doing a safari in Tanzania, this would be an excellent choice. Thomson is based in the Boston area. https://thomsonsafaris.com/
A Superb Starling
The European starling that we have here in the United States is not at the top of my birds list, but I do love the look of the superb starling. Well named. I saw this bird many times in Tanzania.
Leopard, Serengeti National Park
We saw this leopard lying under the palm tree two days in a row. We wondered if it was a female with newborn cubs. When we stopped on the third day, the leopard was gone and the palm tree trunk was lying in her place. Hopefully, the leopard wasn’t hit by the tree as it fell and any cubs survived uninjured. For a larger view click to go to my portfolio.
Here are just a few of the 2,200 photos I took of thousands of wildebeests crossing the Mara River one morning in late September of 2018.
Wildebeests Stampeding Down the South Bank of the Mara River
Our guide, John, got us to the Mara River early in the morning and told us that there was no guarantee we would see any of the thousands of wildebeests we were watching actually cross the river into Kenya. We crossed our fingers. Many people wait for days without witnessing a crossing.
Some of the Thousands of Wildebeests that Crossed the Mara River
My two safari mates and I were standing and looking out the top of our Land Rover taking photos of the many wildebeests around us when John shouted “get down, get down”! He had spotted one or two individuals start to move down the steep bank of the river and he knew in a few seconds thousands of wildebeests would follow them and stampede to and across the river. John raced to a spot near the river’s edge where we could witness the crossing. In all my years of photographing wildlife this was the first time the word “pandemonium” came to mind, but that’s what it was. It was truly a moving experience. Thousands of wildebeests and a few zebras raced by for over 30 minutes.
A bottleneck occurred because animals were arriving at the far side of the river faster than they could climb the steep bank.
In addition to the still photos I shot many videos of the crossing. One shows animals falling down the bank either because they lost their footing in their steep climbs or they were forced off edges by too many animals in too little space. Some fell on others below. I had heard of animals breaking legs in these crossings, but all the ones we were watching made it across without any obvious injuries. There were no crocodiles where they crossed. John told us later that the water was too shallow there. Crocodiles prefer to grab their prey and drown them and this area was too shallow for that. I don’t know if the wildebeests crossed here for that reason.
After the dust settled, we drove upriver a ways and saw two wildebeests wedged between rocks in a rocky section of the river trying to free themselves. As we watched, it became clear they were never going to get free. None of their legs could touch bottom. There was a large crocodile watching them and just biding its time.
Two Cheetahs Rest
These two cheetahs were resting under a tree along the border with Kenya. It’s often hot in Tanzania and a good place to look for cheetahs and lions is under trees. For a larger version of this image, go to my portfolio.
