Patience Makes Perfect

These waters birds have so much patience. They'll stand in one position, not moving an inch, for what seems like an eternity as they wait for a fish to cross their path. This particular bird is a grey heron.

When these birds stand on one leg like this it always reminds me of the joke; why did the heron stand on one leg? ... Because if he stood on none he'd fall over!!! 

Yes I know... it's a terribly lame joke.

Grey Heron

The Entrancing Zebra

There's something mesmerising about the patterns and stripes of a zebra. Kinda makes you want to stare endlessly at it. I only recently learned this, but a zebras stripes are used as a kind of camouflage that confuses predators at long distances. These colours also help them keep their core temperatures down in the blistering heat. A bit like a hybrid eco/defensive horse. Pretty cool!!!

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Zebra Portrait

The Lonely Hyena Cub

This is a baby hyena, not normally an animal known for its cuteness. But this little guy just makes your heart melt. We found him alone on the side of the road, driving back to our camp in the Kruger National Park. Either it was his time to leave his mother and fend for himself, or he had somehow lost his family. Whichever case it may have been, he looked so sad, with his head resting on his paw. It was very hard not to put him in the car with us and take him home.

Hyena Cub

Weekly Photo: Lookout Point

This was a lovely moment in the Kruger National Park. For those of you who might not know, this is a Klipspringer, translated; Rock Jumper. It is a small antelope about the size of a medium build dog. Naturally that makes it the perfect target for some predators midday snack. This particular guy was fully aware of this, and made sure that he had the best spot to keep watch for potential danger. I love this shot because it give great perspective of this little guys life in a big world.

Klipspringer Gazes Across the Landscape

The hippo you may have taken for a terrapin

On my recent visit to the Kruger National Park there was a small dam off the main road that was home to a lonely hippo (and a whole bunch of terrapins). I went to this dam twice while in the Kruger, and both times this poor fellow was the only hippo around. He did however have companionship in the form of dozens of terrapins that would climb on his back so as to absorb the sun. This he didn't seem to mind to much, until his head was overloaded with green fellas. He would then rise out of the water and flop himself back in so as to disperse the crowd.

This seemed like a pointless task, as minutes later his back was covered with terrapins again. But it was very entertaining to watch!