Natural splendour, real musics, wines, wordpower
Reportedly, this species – a southern African arid/semi-arid savannah/grassland specialist – will sometimes fly 120 kilometres from its nest, in order to find water.
Happily, for many Burchell’s sandgrouse this is no longer necessary; boring humans – well, humans who sink bores – have proved a boon to Pterocles burchelli.
Named after an English naturalist, they are somewhat pigeon-like in appearance…but not in their abilities and behaviour.
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Q #1: what has driven some animals to become so remarkably tall?
Q #2: what drove plants to become taller than they might otherwise be, in open woodlands and savanna?
Look at this post’s featured image, and you may have – in part, at least – answered both questions…
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…was an extraordinarily close one.
Prior to November 2022 I had never imagined that I would ever find myself so astonishingly near to a wild leopard, let alone that such an experience would prove the least exciting of four leopard encounters, all within a span of about ninety hours.
This post’s photos are in chronological sequence; the first three were taken within a single minute, and the final image’s “moment” occurred a whisker less seven minutes after the first.
Comments closedThis post’s musical bonus really is astounding, I think.
November 4 2022, at Okonjima, was one of the most rewarding days of our lives.
The immediately-preceding post’s leopard encounter was its most electrifying moment, but we also saw another leopard, giraffes galore, cheetahs, many other animals, and some beautiful country.
Circa 7 pm, we adjourned to a hilltop, to enjoy “sundowners”…and/or the actual sundown.
I took the featured photo at 7.06 pm.
The other images, below, are in chronological order.
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This post is the “morning after” sequel to the one that showed Lila stashing her “prize”, shortly after she had killed a Red Hartebeest calf, late in the afternoon of 03 November 2022.
I took the featured image, above, at 7.55 am on 04 November 2022, when we returned to the relevant tree.
As you can see, Lila’s kill was quasi-intact, still “safe” in the tree’s canopy.
“When will Lila return to it?”, we wondered.
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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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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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At least during the festive season, Australian human behaviour is sometimes surprisingly similar to certain fleeter-footed – but also well-fed – Namibian cats’…
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Many of Africa’s “acacias” – particularly those commonly known as thorn trees/bushes – have a great many very fierce thorns, designed to deter browsing animals.
Nesting birds – usually, one of the weavers – are undeterred, and the feathered home-builders also often get a “free kick” from those thorns.
Birds who nest in the thick of thorns are deploying the tree’s weapons to defend themselves (and their young) from bird-eating predators.
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