World Elephant Day

The elephant has to be one of my favourite animals!

While they can get defensive if you invade their personal space, they are some of the most placid and beautiful natured creatures.

I remember once camping of the banks of the Kariba and in the middle of the night a large male elephant decided to eat from the tree that our tents where pitched under.

We were all terrified of this massive creature ripping off huge branches. But the irony was that the elephant could not have been less worried, and didn't show an ounce of aggression.

It is for this reason and many other great memories that I remember these wonderful creatures on World Elephant Day.

A Hungry Leopard

This has to be one of my favourite animals to see when I go to a game reserve. The thought of seeing a leopard excites me. But to see a leopard, with its kill, in a tree, that is something special!

I actually took this shot as a 3-bracket HDR. This is not the conventional way of shooting wildlife, and I wouldn't normally do this. But since the leopard was in a tree with lots of shadows across its body, I thought I'd use the opportunity to extract as much light as possible.
I think it was a good choice

Leopard eating an impala