Natural splendour, real musics, wines, wordpower
“Intelligent, opportunistic, cooperative, yet also aggressive/territorial, highly attentive parents, omnivorous, oft-monogamous, very vocal, highly adaptable.”
Homo sapiens?
Yes, the “cap” fits, but not exclusively.
It is also a good description of another species – one which many humans revile, resent, defame and kill.
One CommentWhen even the most ardently water-wise member of our own species has a thoroughly enjoyable bath, water may not be wasted, but it is necessary.
Some other species, however, have hugely-enjoyable baths without getting damp, at all.
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My camera registers the time that each photo is taken.
It was 6.30 pm when I took the immediately-preceding post’s final image; Lila had then just ceased “snacking” and was sitting still.
Directly in front of Lila, probably still warm, also motionless, was her kill.
It was still 6.30 pm when Lila had completed the demanding task depicted in the sequence which begins with the featured image, then continues with the next three photos.
Almost certainly, I will never witness a more prodigious physical feat.
From “red hartebeest calf carcass, stationary, flat on the ground” to “carcass securely stashed in the tree’s crown” took Lila circa thirty seconds to achieve.
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The featured image – photographed by fellow traveller Ian Millar, to whom my thanks – shows John M (a very capable nature guide/driver/researcher/educator) radio-tracking a leopard.
All of the leopards in Okonjima are 100% wild animals, but some have been “darted”, then fitted with radio-transmitter-equipped collars.
Okonjima, in central Namibia, is centrally focused on wildlife conservation and research, which is in large part funded by tourism.
At the time Ian took the featured image John had located unmistakable evidence of a leopard having very recently dragged his/her “kill” across the track on which “our” vehicle was driving…
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As is true of not a few other “country clubs”, the one in Namibia’s capital city is in fact well inside an urban “footprint”.
The Windhoek Country Club Resort offers luxurious accommodation, decent food, a casino, an 18 hole golf course, a gym, and extravagantly “Afrokitsch” reception and dining spaces.
To the astonishment of this non-gambler, non-golfer – and non-fan of Afrokitsch – my beloved and I there enjoyed an unforgettable wildlife experience, just a couple of human footsteps away from “our” room!
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This post’s actual footprints come from bears in Alaska, birds on the Indian subcontinent and continental Australia, a Tasmanian wombat, and humans in an African desert and Australian suburbia.
The musical bonus is courtesy of one of the greatest jazz musicians – equally so as composer, virtuoso instrumentalist and inspired improviser.
There’s also a metaphorical footnote which involves New Zealand’s largest farm…
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Gnu/wildebeest are bona fide antelopes.
However, as the Blue Wildebeest’s scientific name – Connochaetes taurinus – suggests, most human newcomers assume that wildebeest are bovine beasts.
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From a very sensible “5 Quick Tips For Better Wildlife Shots”, which is worth reading:
One very important rule when photographing wildlife is to focus on the eyes of your subject.
As you can see, today’s photo breaks this rule…to its advantage, I think.
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The expression comes from the USA, and is usually applied to places like Montana or to ruggedly handsome “big” men in America’s “Wild West”.
”High, wide and handsome” perfectly describes a deal of Namibia, especially western Namibia’s Brandberg massif.
It covers circa 650 square kilometres, has a circumference of circa 140 kilometres, and Its high point – Namibia’s highest peak – is a deal taller than Australia’s Mount Kosciuszko.
Unlike the Great Wall of China, which is not in fact readily discernible to an astronaut’s naked eyes, the Brandberg is clearly visible from the International Space Station.
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This post’s photo was not taken in a national park, nor on a “game drive”.
In northwestern Namibia – in fact, just about anywhere in Namibia – an interesting wildlife encounter is never a certainty, but is almost always a less-than-remote possibility.
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