The honey badger (Mellivora capensis) is famously fearless and tough, often taking on animals much larger than itself—including lions, if provoked. It has incredibly thick, loose skin that allows it to twist and bite even when a predator has it pinned. Known for raiding beehives despite painful stings, honey badgers love honey and larvae, but their diet is wildly varied. They’ll eat everything from snakes to fruit. I came face to face with this one years ago on my first trip to Botswana, in the Kalahari desert. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/200th of a second.

Karen and I are currently planning a trip for a private group to visit Botswana in December of 2026. One of the species that’s always possible is the African wild dog. I’ve had luck with at least one sighting on each of my previous trips to Botswana. Here’s hoping the streak continues. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 340mm) ISO 400, f/5 at 1/500th of a second.

Red lechwe are specialists of flooded, marshy areas, making them well-adapted to the flooded savannas of the Okavango Delta in Botswana. This is a female. The males have long, spiral horns. Living in knee-deep water is a defense mechanism against predators. They even have a water-repellant substance that covers their legs allowing them to run faster in the shallow water. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 220mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/400th of a second.

African wild dogs are a specialty of our trips to Botswana. We don’t always see them, but chances are much higher than on our East African trips. On this particular afternoon in northern Botswana, we caught up to a pack of twenty or so wild dogs as they were winding down for the day. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 260mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/400th of a second.

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.

One species we definitely won’t be seeing next week in Kenya is the meerkat. Their range is in the southern part of Africa. I took this photo on my first trip to Botswana back in 2011. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 25mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/640th of a second.

There are seventeen recognized species of genet. This is the extravagantly named common genet. I’ve only seen these guys a few times while in Africa. They are nocturnal and crepuscular (which if you’re a close follower of this blog, you know means active at dawn and dusk). This one came creeping around at dinner time, attracted no doubt by the smell of food at the camp we were staying at in Botswana. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 270mm) ISO 640, f/4 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-900 flash units.

This was one of the smallest elephants I’ve ever seen. And the poor little guy appeared to have a foreshortened trunk — perhaps an injury where he lost the bottom half of it. Nevertheless he/she was doing just fine and playing with the other elephants in the herd. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/400th of a second.

One of my favorite sightings of all time was this pangolin that Karen and I came across on our honeymoon trip to Botswana. It wasn’t just the pangolin — there was also a young leopard playing with the pangolin as if it was his toy. The pangolin would curl into a ball, using its hard armor for protection. The leopard kept falling asleep and the pangolin would start to sneak away, only to have the leopard wake again and pounce. This went on for a few hours before the pangolin finally outlasted the leopard and made the final escape into the Botswanan night. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/5 at 1/400th of a second.

I posted a sunset shot of a black-backed jackal a few weeks ago. Here’s one early morning, prowling through the dry grasslands of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana. These guys have a varied diet and are opportunistic when it comes to finding the next meal — everything from crickets and termites, to rodents and other small mammals. They also love to get in on a larger kill after lions and other predators have moved on. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 550mm with 1.4 teleconverter) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/1250th of a second.