September 21, 2016
Chacma Baboons, Leopards, and Brown-Hooded Kingfisher in Kruger National Park, South Africa

I've completed my stay in the northern part of Kruger National Park, South Africa. It was a little bit slower than previous visits, but I did have some nice encounters and I made some nice images. I started with two nights at Shingwedzie and it was extremely slow, but I did see some lions which was unusual for the northern part of the park. My favorite image from my stay there was made on my last morning. It's this Chacma Baboon (Papio ursinus) comforting a young one.

Then I spent four nights at Letaba and it was pretty rainy. In fact, it started drizzling as soon as I left camp on the afternoon of my second full day, but I decided to press on. I came across this Leopard (Panthera pardus) feeding on a Cape Porcupine or South African Porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustralis) carcass. It must have been her (I think) first experience with a porcupine because she had a quill stuck in her mouth, one in her cheek, one in her neck, and several in her legs and belly. In this image, she had finished eating and had tried to remove some of the quills.

I made a run to town for groceries in the middle of my third full day. I came across this very laid back male Leopard (Panthera pardus) resting on the shoulder of the road, and the solid overcast provided some great light to photograph him. I learned from another vehicle that there was a female in the area and that they were mating. When the big guy finally got up, he headed towards the female through a fairly open area that would have been good for photography, but she didn't come join him. Instead, they went into some thick brush and out of sight and I only heard them mate. Still, that was the closest I've been to seeing leopards mate!

I had a great time photographing this Brown-Hooded Kingfisher (Halcyon albiventris) that was extremely cooperative. It moved from perch to perch looking for prey, and would occasionally pop down to the ground to catch something. As soon as it landed on this perch, I knew I had a winner!

I'm currently in the central part of Kruger National Park, and I'll tell you about that next time.