Still Waters!
Chobe River
A typical early morning scene on the Chobe River looking east to west upstream of the town of Kasane.
This is my absolute favourite wildlife destination. The photographic productivity of this magical place is unmatched!
Food for the soul!
Double Trouble!
Chacma Baboon Papio ursinus
The Chacma Baboon, also known as the Cape Baboon, is one of the largest of all monkeys.
Located primarily in southern Africa, the chacma baboon has a wide variety of social behaviors, including a dominance hierarchy, collective foraging, adoption of young by females, and friendship pairings.
In general the species is not threatened, but human population pressure has increased contact between humans and baboons. Hunting, accidents and trapping kill or remove many baboons from the wild. This has reduced baboon numbers and disrupted their social structure.
The little ones are very playful!
This image was captured on the Chobe River, near Kasane, northern Botswana, Southern Africa
Angry Skies!
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, or a thundershower, is a type of storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth’s atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the thunderstorm is the cumulonimbus. Thunderstorms are usually accompanied by strong winds, heavy rain and sometimes hail, or no precipitation at all.
Thunderstorms result from the rapid upward movement of warm, moist air. They can occur inside warm, moist air masses and at fronts. As the warm, moist air moves upward, it cools, condenses, and forms cumulonimbus clouds that can reach heights of over 20 km. As the rising air reaches its dew point, water droplets and ice form and begin falling the long distance through the clouds towards the Earth’s surface. As the droplets fall, they collide with other droplets and become larger. The falling droplets create a downdraft of cold air and moisture that spreads out at the Earth’s surface, causing the strong winds commonly associated with thunderstorms, and occasionally fog.
This image was captured on a stormy afternoon on the Chobe River, near Kasane, northern Botswana, Southern Africa.
Handsome!
Lechwe Kobus leche
The Lechwe, is an antelope found in Botswana, Zambia, southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, northeastern Namibia, and eastern Angola, especially in the Okavango Delta, Kafue Flats and Bangweulu Swamps.
Lechwe stand 90 to 100 cm (35 to 39 in) at the shoulder and weigh from 70 to 120 kg (150 to 260 lb). They are golden brown with white bellies. Males are darker in colour, but general hue varies depending on subspecies. The long, spiral-structured horns are vaguely lyre-shaped, they are found only in males. The hindlegs are somewhat longer in proportion than in other antelopes, to ease long-distance running in marshy soil.
Lechwe are found in marshy areas where they eat aquatic plants. They use the knee-deep water as protection from predators. Their legs are covered in a water-repellant substance which allows them to run quite fast in knee-deep water.
Lechwe are diurnal. They gather in herds which can include many thousands of individuals. Herds are usually all of one sex, but during mating season they mix.
[Ref: Wikipedia]
This image was captured on the Chobe River, near Kasane, northern Botswana, Southern Africa.
Rocket Man
White-fronted Bee-eater Merops bullockoides
This is a species of bee-eater widely distributed in sub-equatorial Africa. They have a distinctive white forehead, a square tail and a bright red patch on their throat. They nest in small colonies, digging holes in cliffs or earthen banks but can usually be seen in low trees waiting for passing insects from which they hunt either by making quick hawking flights or gliding down before hovering briefly to catch insects.
[Ref: Wikipedia]
The background to this image is the bank of the river where the nesting holes of this colony were situated. The colony were hunting insects.
This image was captured on the Chobe River, near Kasane, northern Botswana, Southern Africa.
Off for breakfast….
African Darter Anhinga rufa
The African Darter is a member of the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to American (Anhinga anhinga), Oriental (Anhinga melanogaster), and Australasian (Anhinga novaehollandiae) darters. The male is mainly glossy black with white streaking, but females and immature birds are browner. The African darter differs in appearance from the American darter most recognisably by its thin white lateral neck stripe against a rufous background colour.
[Ref: Wikipedia]
This fellow has grabbed himself a quick take-away breakfast and is on his way home to enjoy it in peace.
This image was captured alongside our boat on the Chobe River, near Kasane, northern Botswana, Southern Africa.
Going Down!
Leopard Panthera pardus
The leopard is a member of the Felidae family with a wide range in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa, West Asia, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia to Siberia. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List because it is declining in large parts of its range due to habitat loss and fragmentation, and hunting for trade and pest control.
The leopard is the smallest of the four “big cats” in the genus Panthera. Compared to other members of the Felidae, the leopard has relatively short legs and a long body with a large skull. It is similar in appearance to the jaguar, but is smaller and more slightly built. Its fur is marked with rosettes similar to those of the jaguar, but the leopard’s rosettes are smaller and more densely packed, and do not usually have central spots as the jaguars do. Both leopards and jaguars that are melanistic are known as black panthers.
The species’ success in the wild is in part due to its opportunistic hunting behavior, its adaptability to habitats, its ability to run at speeds approaching 58 kilometres per hour (36 mph), its unequaled ability to climb trees even when carrying a heavy carcass, and its notorious ability for stealth. The leopard consumes virtually any animal that it can hunt down and catch. Its habitat ranges from rainforest to desert terrains.
[Ref: Wikipedia]
This image was captured on the Chobe River, near Kasane, northern Botswana, Southern Africa.
Cleared for landing…….
Spur-winged Goose (Plectropterus gambensis)
The Spur-winged Goose is a large bird in the family Anatidae, related to the geese and the shelducks, but distinct from both of these in a number of anatomical features, and therefore treated in its own subfamily, the Plectropterinae. It occurs in wetlands throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
This species often occurs in open grasslands with lakes, seasonal pools, rivers, swamps and river deltas. Large inland rivers and lakes are perhaps most commonly inhabited, with saline lakes and upland areas generally being avoided, although the species can occur to an elevation of 3,000 m in eastern Africa. It is also absent from arid zones.
The spur-winged goose is a common bird of African wetlands. Perhaps the main threat to the species is development and destruction of wetland habitats and unregulated hunting. This bird is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
This image was captured on the Chobe River, near Kasane, northern Botswana, Southern Africa.
Hanging with friends…..
Yellow-billed Stork Mycteria ibis
This guy was having a peaceful cruise around Sunset Dam, Kruger National Park, South Africa.
Swift Descent!
White-faced Whistling Duck Dendrocygna viduata
This is a whistling duck that breeds in sub-Saharan Africa and much of South America. This species is gregarious, and at favoured sites, the flocks of a thousand or more birds arriving at dawn are an impressive sight. As the name implies, these are noisy birds with a clear three-note whistling call.
This species has a long grey bill, long head and longish legs. It has a white face and crown, and black rear head. The back and wings are dark brown to black, and the underparts are black, although the flanks have fine white barring. The neck is chestnut. All plumages are similar, except that juveniles have a much less contrasted head pattern.
The white-faced whistling duck has a peculiar disjunctive distribution, occurring in Africa and South America. It has been suggested that they may have been transported to new locations by humans. The habitat is still freshwater lakes or reservoirs, with plentiful vegetation, where this duck feeds on seeds and other plant food.
[Ref: Wikipedia]
This image was captured on the Chobe River, near Kasane, northern Botswana, Southern Africa.
Duncan's Nature Photography 