Male Greater Kudu in Tree Savanna

Kudu's are big antelopes with twisted horns. I think this fellow is between 2 and 6 years of age because he doesn't have the full 2 1/2 horn twists yet. Males can weigh between 420 and 600 lbs. and are quite a bit larger than the females.

Resting Cheetah

This beautiful large cat was enjoying a little shade and natural cover. The cheetah does not adapt well to changes in environment and efforts to protect it by breeding in zoos have had little success. Recently some zoos have had succeeded by introducing a dog as playmate and guardian to make the cheetah more comfortable. Cheetahs are not "true" big cats, they can purr, but cannot roar.

Lioness Leading her Cubs to the Kill

She is following the scent of her kill, which was not where she left it. She appeared to me to be moving with fierce determination. Her ability to follow the scent must be very powerful, there was no hesitation in her movements.

Sibling Lion cubs

These cubs are following their mother to a meal The siblings fooled around and behaved like the babies they are while mom made a bee line for her treasure.

Lion Cub Pauses to Study a Tree for Movement

The lioness ultimately retrieved her warthog meal. It appears a leopard dragged it to a tree and tried to haul it up. The leopard did not waste any time in escaping up into the tree. One of the cubs stops eating to study the tree.

Sharing a Meal

The lioness keeps an eye out for the leopard who would take her kill. Her face and paws are covered with blood.

On Guard

Even while mother digs in this young cub has learned to watch out for trouble lurking in the tree.

Lioness with Cubs Sharing a Meal

These wild animals have a tolerance for tourist vehicles and tend to go on about their lives as if we were not there, but this image shows this mother lion's wariness extends to us as well. It is an enormous privilege to get this close to wild life and I think we all respected that. We try not to add stress to the animals' environment.

Male Leopard in a Tree

The Big Eye effect, this leopard sees the photographers lens. He is a big boy, with a thick role of skin around his neck and shoulders. He also has his last meal on his paw and face. He is up a tree and stayed there looking around until he decided to come down stretch and trot off, not that differently from the way a domestic cat might come down off a kitchen perch.

Sunset with Hippopotamus

Sunset on the Okavango River with a yawning hippopotamus. The yawn is a threat gesture, and we witnessed a lot of it before everything quieted down with the hippos. Hippopotamus skin is very sensitive to the strong sun and so they spend much of their day in the cooler water.

Spotted Hyena Pup

Large spotted hyena pup at attention. Although hyenas look like dogs they are closer to cats. They are really quite wonderful. They are intelligent and as parents very caring. Their social group can be as big as 90 individuals and is called a clan.

Spotted Hyena Pup

Large spotted Hyena pup taking in the camera. You can see this pup's brain working. I think this is a beautiful face. This animal might be a yearling.

Hyena Pup Portrait

Big liquid eyes and an intelligent expression on this little brown baby hyena make her irresistible for me.

Hyena Pups at Play

These two hyena pups were very busy, curous and playful.

Hyena Pups vie for a Branch

Hyena culture is "intelligent, noisy and gregarious". (From the IUCN Hyaena Specialist Group). They have strong jaws for breaking through bones, the stick is a stand in practice toy.

Vervet Monkey and Fuit

Of course monkeys remind us of ourselves. This Vervet's behavior, perched in a tree holding a piece of fruit with his paws, while crossing his feet, is displaying something we might do just as well. These little guys don't get a lot of respect, they are around a lot and can be very bothersome at meal times, but for a traveler they are a delight.

Lions and an Afternoon Nap

This lion pride favors this large termite mound as an area for afternoon rest. This group contains two immature male lions. Male lions often form "coalitions" and stay together for life, whether in a pride or as nomads. They will leave between the ages of 2 and 4 years old.

Nomad Lion, Late Afternoon

This beautiful adult male lion with a black mane was with his brother. They are a known coalition in this part of Botswana's Chobe National Park. He is about 10 years old and in his prime. They were both totally relaxed and hanging out together. There is no doubt that he is smiling.

Big Male Cape Buffalo

We know this is a big male because of his "boss" or fused horns and white eye rings. His job is to protect the young and the females and he certainly let us know that. Cape Buffalo are undomesticatable because they are so unpredictable, but I have read that they also have long memories and can behave with affection towards people they've known years earlier.

Young Cape Buffalo Bulls

These are bachelor males, which form a sub-heard of individuals 4 to 7 years of age. During the dry season they are a bachelor herd, but rejoin the females for the duration of the wet season to mate and protect the calves. Adult males "play and spar".

Female Cape Buffalo and Calf

No "boss" or shield on her head and a reddish coat, not to mention the presence of the calf, makes these cape buffaloes the core female herd.

Southern Ground_Hornbill

The Southern Ground Hornbill, lives in in a family group, needs savannah and is the largest of the ground hornbills. The bright red patches of bare flesh are thought to protect the bird's eyes from insects as it forages. The landscape of the Chobe savannah is variable and fascinating. Elephants and termites are responsible for a lot of it's features.

Elephant Family

Female elephants form a matrilineal family group, with 10 or more members; 3 pairs of mothers, their young and led by the eldest female. On the right is a tiny baby behind her mother's hind leg. The elephant on the left, only half in the picture appears to be the matriarch.

Tiny Baby Elephant

Very young little elephant moving with mother and family. This family were bathing in a waterhole but were too far to really capture with my lens. The intelligence and inter-relatedness of the elephant is readily apparent and adds to the preciousness of their survival as a species.