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“Zebra Crossing”
Sorry! I couldn’t avoid the obvious pun. 😉
There is an irony in being able to see animals better in the wild than you can at a zoo.
My husband and I had grandchildren visiting over the Christmas break, so we took the opportunity to spend a day at Sydney’s beautiful Taronga Zoo. Now, I love this particular zoo (see: A Tale of Two Tarongas): you get plenty of exercise walking up and down its hilly terrain and the views over Sydney Harbour are magnificent. But, the animals can be a bit shy. As we walked around, trying to spot the zebras and lions, I couldn’t help but remember the wonderful days I spent in Etosha National Park in Namibia (see: Birds and Beasts; At the Waterhole; and Elephant Waltz).
Wildlife watching in Etosha is almost cheating, the animals are so prolific. From the minute we rode out in our pop-top trucks, we would catch sight of beasts on the veld, or around the various waterholes, or in the scrub, or even crossing the roads in front of us. We camped on the eastern side of this huge national park, near the King Nehale Waterhole, and all manner of animals literally came to us. I found it all so exciting I could hardly sleep at night – well, excitement, plus the yelping of jackals in the tent next door, as they fought over jerky some unwise person had left behind, and the vibrating roar of the male lions in the distance …
As yet I’d only heard those lions, but as we drove out of camp before the sun was up on our third day in the park, the guides were buzzing: Lions had been seen!
They – and all the other animals Etosha has to offer – were magnificent!
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View from the Truck
Mornings are early on photo tours: it was six thirty, and we were already in the truck looking for game.
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“Ostrich Crossing”
It is not long before a wild animal crosses our path – quite literally!
Lion Hiding
Lions don’t seem so well disguised in a zoo, even when they manage to hide. But, in Namibia, the morning sun bounces off the young male’s mane in exactly the same way as it bounces off the leaves on the almost-bare trees.
Three Young Male Lions
Lions are the most social of the wild cats. Male lions are expelled from their maternal pride around age two or three, when they reach maturity. These three are probably siblings or cousins who have grouped together for companionship and to improve their ability to hunt.
Young Male Lion
The lion’s mane starts growing when he is about one year old, and darkens with age. This male looks to be the eldest of the trio, and wears battle scars on his back.
The Male Gaze
As I aim my camera from the open roof of our jeep, I feel like one of the males is making direct eye contact: it is a breathtaking moment.
Sun in the Lion’s Mane
In mythology, lions are associated with the sun: because of their strength, their golden-brown colour, and the male’s ray-like mane.
Lion on the Road
These magnificent creatures are kings of the park! They stride across the road knowing full well that they are at no risk.
Red Hartebeest at a Waterhole
The morning sun casts these African antelopes in the same shades as the scrub behind them.
Male Kudu
The striped pelts of the kudu help keep them camouflaged in the scrub, but with their long, magnificent twisting horns, the solitary males stand out at the waterhole.
Waterhole Tableau
Black-Faced Impala – Aepyceros Melampus Petersi
Lines and Curves
I grew up thinking zebras were black and white, but the Burchell’s zebras, which are the most numerous in Namibia, feature brown shading between their black stripes. The stripping makes them less visible to predators, especially in the half-light of dawn and twilight, and protects them from tsetse flies, which apparently don’t like contrasting colours.
Here’s Looking at You!
Zebras might be one of the most common animals in Africa, but they are also one of my favourites. With their strong, stocky equine bodies, zebras are compact beasts. Did you spot the male kudu in the scrub behind them?
Zebra Portrait
I love their punky manes and quizzical expressions. Despite their obvious appeal, zebras have resisted domestication – unlike their closest relatives, horses and donkeys.
Kudu Crossing
A group of kudus stop us in our tracks; young ones first, a large male in the middle, and the smaller adult female bringing up the rear.
“Look Both Ways!”
Zebra on the Verge
Warthogs
The common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) is hardly the best-looking of creatures, but at least we can say we have seen them! They’ve seen us too, and run away with their tails in the air.
Springboks
Later in the morning, at another waterhole, we find another of my favourites: dainty springboks (Antidorcas marsupialis).
Elephants
A group of elephants bathes and splashes in a nearby pond. I could watch these beautiful creatures forever!
Elephants
In the heat of the late morning, we watch as a mother and calf slosh away through the mud …
Elephants Wallowing
… and others stay behind to wade, splash and play in the water.
An “Implausibility of Gnus”
Wildebeests (Connochaetes) are, as James Lipton suggested when he coined the phrase an “implausibility of gnus” in 1968, truly implausible beasts! I can’t look at their big shaggy heads and skinny legs without smiling – and humming the chorus of Flanders and Swann’s comical song, “I’m a g-gnu, spelled g-n-u. You really ought to k-know w-who’s w-who!”
“Confusion of Wildebeests”
Of course, a “confusion” is just as apt a collective – even when it is not migration season!
Giraffe
As we leave the waterhole in search of our own lunch, a giraffe watches us go.
I hardly needed food: I was so full of the morning’s experience: so many different animals – in plain sight, in spite of their attempts at camouflage!
But, we were going back in search of lions after lunch – so I ate. 😉 And out we went …
Happy travels!
Photos: 21August2015
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