Red-Knobbed Hornbill
This is a red-knobbed hornbill from Tangkoko National Park in Sulawesi, Indonesia. From the top of the head to the tip of the tail, these hornbills can be four to five feet long. It was quite a sight to see (and hear) them flying through the forest. Usually timid of humans, this particular bird allowed me to take quite a few photos before flying off.
Wildebeest
Wildebeest don’t get much respect. In fact, their awkwardly gangly appearance has led to the description — made up of all the unwanted parts from all the other animals on the savannah. They also happen to be very tasty to top predators like lions. Usually they roam in large herds, but this guy was walking alone across the desert in the Central Kalahari — an area not particularly teaming with predators, but certainly not devoid of any either.
Meerkat Running
Every now and again, the meerkats would make a mad dash across the open sections of the salt pan. It was in these grassless areas that they were more susceptible to predators. I was never quite sure which direction they would run, but occasionally I guessed right and was able to get into position to get shots of them running toward camera.
Impala Running
Impala were easily the most common animals that I saw in Botswana, and as such, they were often overllooked. That being said, they really are an elegant looking antelope. Usually they sat patiently while I took portraits of them looking at the camera, however, this one gave me a bit of an action shot when he ran across the savannah.
Squirrel Monkeys
Back to Costa Rica for today’s photo of the day. These two squirrel monkeys were photographed just outside the lodge that I was staying at in Pavones, near the Panama border. Squirrel monkeys travel in large troops, sometimes up to 500. They are very small, growing to just about 13 inches (not including the tail) and weighing just 2 and a half pounds. Falcons and eagles are their main predators, but the fact that they travel in such large groups enables them to fend off most attacks. And just in case you needed one more wikipedia interesting fact of the day — “Female squirrel monkeys have a pseudo penis that they use to display dominance over smaller monkeys, in much the same way the male squirrel monkeys display their dominance.” Just in case you were wondering.