Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Time to change
Saturday, March 27, 2010
One glittering eye
This old boy was in a thicket close to a pan where he had a drink and mud bath. We waited quite a long time for him to go out in the open but he just kept on staring us down with his one eye. His right eye is missing, so he will be even more grumpier then normal.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Some black and whites for the weekend
This was Sepoko in Tswana it means "ghost" this is one of 5 caramel coloured leopards that have been recorded in Southern Africa, Quite a rare sighting. He is lying on the branch telling us that we are extremely lucky to see him. He layed still for 2min then got down and disapeared in the thickets.
Enjoy the weekend
Grant
Always expect the unexpected
When you go on safari you never vreally know what to expect. We ( rangers ) always think that it is safe to stop in certain areas for sundowners or comfort breaks. These images are proof that you must always expect the unexpected. We found these three young lions on the edge of Madikwe plains and followed them for quite a while. I then saw the vehicle in the distance and tried to radio the other guide to warn him.....but I had no response. Luckily they saw the lions early enough to get all the guests safely on the vehicle.
It must have been the lion lager.............:)
So keep your eyes on the surrounding bushes next time you enjoy your Gin and tonic in Madikwe
Cheers
Grant
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Worth Watching
Friday, March 12, 2010
Some random images of the last 2 days
This is one female you dont want to argue with. I love the look and the whole body posture of this image.
The light was perfect this morning with us just in the right place and right time.
It is clear that there are a very tight bond between the female and cubs. They have just returned from an atempted hunt on some wildebeest.
For me the difference in good lion images are nr. 1: good light and nr.2: eye contact from the lion to the camera. Lions dont always make eye contact and when they do your camera must be ready to fire.
This is on of the kagala etali males. He is the father of the youngsters above. Yesterday the perfect shot would have been to get eye level with this animal, although I dont think he would have appreciate me lying on the ground a few metres in front of him.....maybe one day I will get that shot who knows.
Cheers for now
Grant
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Lions : Brutal or amazing ?
Watching lions kill something are for many people where they draw the line. Yes they are very brutal but if they are not brutal they wont survive. Just witnessing the pure brute and power they exert are mind blowing. Have you ever seen wildebeest and zebra run at full speed ? Now lions are capable of stopping them dead in their tracks by literally tackling them with either breaking their necks or suffocating them. Watching a lion kill can be very intense and it is a great privilege to witness the whole event unfold in front of you. To be honest it happens so quickly that you don't have time to pick your camera up, especially if you don't expect it.
You have to ask yourself are they brutal or amazing ?
This specific morning we were tracking this pride for quite sometime. We arrived at Tau dam and found the youngsters alone in the centre of the dam. We knew then the mothers were hunting. We sat with them for about 10 min. when we heard the contact calling of the lionesses. We followed the cubs directly to where one female was busy killing the wildebeest. She just finished to suffocate the animal when we arrived there..
As you can see even mom can get irritated by the youngsters.. They all just want to get in there as soon as possible and start eating. This is where they will learn their place in the pride, mom will only talk once after that one warning their will be consequences.
The female on the left was the one that killed the wildebeest. She only just joined in after she's gotten her breath back. The amount of energy a lion exerts on a kill is really tiring. It takes a while for her to get her breath back.
After they are finished with this they will start eating the carcass inside out. It is easier to get to the meat from the inside. They all know not to waste to much time because the risk of scavengers and other lions taking their meal are great. Later that evening the pride males joined in and finished of what was left.