While in Botswana years ago, my guide predicted the daily rounds of a particular honey badger near a local village. We quickly created a makeshift blind out of cardboard boxes and I crawled inside. It didn’t take long for the honey badger (also known as a ratel) to show up and start sniffing around. Here’s one of the many portraits I captured that day. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 300mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/320th of a second.
Dik diks are the smallest of all the antelope species in Kenya. I’ve mentioned it in several previous posts — it’s hard to imagine their size without a frame of reference. To me, they resemble a jackrabbit (in stature not looks) when running across the savanna. This is a Kirk’s dik dik, taking a moment to look back at our safari vehicle and granting me a close up portrait. Of note, that nice flip of hair that looks like it’s been gelled. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 9000, f/5.6 at 1/200th of a second.
I guess this is the week for large African mammals. Yesterday it was the hippo, the third largest land animal in Africa by weight. Today it’s the white rhinoceros, the second largest. Only the elephant is bigger. These three were grazing while I carefully set the camera on the ground for a bottom up perspective. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens (at 24mm) ISO 450, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second.
This hippo was lurking in the bushes just outside our camp. There was another nearby hippo in a small pool that this one was likely keeping a close eye on. Photographed in the Masai Mara of Kenya.Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 3600, f/5.6 at 1/1600th of a second.
The secretary bird is pretty common on the savannas of sub-Sahara Africa. They look like a raptor on stilts. They are quite large and can grow to over 4 feet tall. This secretary bird was taking a stroll through a herd of zebra at the end of the day in Kenya. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 450, f/5.6 at 1/800th of a second.
After four years of occasional glimpses and near misses, my camera trap finally captured an in-focus shot of a short-tailed weasel. I usually see a blurry butt shot as the weasel chases a chipmunk across the fallen tree. Weasels are carnivores and this one was likely stalking its prey which includes the aforementioned chipmunks, as well as voles, rats, shrews, rabbits, and birds. Also known as a stoat or an ermine, a short-tailed weasel will change the color of its fur from brown to completely white as the winter approaches — all the better camouflage for sneak attacks when the snow starts to fall. I’m still hoping for the weasel and chipmunk shot, but until then this will have to do. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 20mm lens, ISO 500, f/14 at 1/200th of a second, Camtraptions camera box, triggers and trail monitor with two Nikon SB-900 flash units.
Coatis can be locally common throughout their range, but always exciting to come across one… or two, or twenty on a hike through the forest. I found this skittish coati in the dry forest of Guyana’s Rupununi region. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 5600, f/5.6 at 1/500th of a second.
Always fun to see a gerenuk’s head pop up from behind a bush. This is a young male. He took a moment to check us out before getting back to feeding. Photographed in Samburu National Reserve in the north central region of Kenya. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500m PF lens, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/2500th of a second.
Monk sakis are really interesting looking primates. Although, they seem a bit over dressed for the hot and humid Amazonian rainforest weather — but to each his own. These two were keeping watch from high in the canopy of the northern Amazon basin in Peru. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/320th of a second.
We like to add Samburu National Reserve to our Kenya tour itineraries for a chance at species we don’t see in other areas of the country. One of those species is the Somali ostrich. The males have an almost bluish tint to their necks and legs. This big boy was doing a lot of preening and I caught him with one of his wings outstretched as if telling us where to go. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 2000, f/5.6 at 1/1600th of a second.