March 20, 2017
Vervet Monkey, Black Rhinoceros, and Black Wildebeest in Mountain Zebra National Park, South Africa

Jan and I spent three nights in Mountain Zebra National Park, South Africa. It was quite slow, but we did have some nice photo ops. The first good photo op was with a group of about fifty Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) at the end of our first day. There were several youngsters, and two of them posed fairly nicely on a downed tree trunk.

The most exciting encounter was of two Black Rhinoceros or Hook-Lipped Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) at the beginning of our first morning. I had heard reports of them in the park many years ago, but had never seen one, so it was a very special encounter. They were close to the road when we found them and didn't move too far off before first light illuminated them.

We had several opportunities to photograph animals while running, and my favorite image is of this Black Wildebeest or White-Tailed Gnu (Connochaetes gnou).