Sometimes you pop around a corner and come face to face with a leopard. That’s what happened on this occasion in the Olare Orok Conservancy, a private concession of the Masai Mara in Kenya. We had seen this female earlier in the day, but lost sight of her until she suddenly appeared just in front of our safari vehicle.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/400th of a second
This tiny little lion cub kept leaving his mother to get a better look at us. He’d make a bit of a half-hearted charge and then return back to her. We were in the Olare Orok Conservancy which is a private concession on the northern border of the Masai Mara in Kenya.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/640th of a second
I spotted this serval on the final night of our trip to Kenya. The sun had long since set but there was still just enough light to capture the cat slowly creeping through the grass in the blue hues of dusk. Servals are medium-sized cats with small heads, long ears and necks. They also have the longest legs of any wild cat relative to body size. They hunt smaller animals like rodents, birds, and frogs and are great leapers — often jumping more than six feet above the ground before pouncing on their prey.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 160mm) ISO 1600, f/2.8 at 1/80th of a second
Hyenas are interesting in that they are genetically more closely related to felines, but behaviorally more like canines. Similar to canines, they are non-arboreal (don’t climb trees) and they hunt by running to catch prey with their teeth rather than their claws. There are other similarities in behavior as well, but ultimately hyenas are neither cats nor dogs but rather their own unique family in the order carnivora. But when they roll around on the ground like this girl was doing in the Masai Mara of Kenya, they certainly look like a few dogs — and cats — that I’ve known in my day.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second
Much more to come from Thailand, but it’s about time to mix up the posts again with looks at the rest of the world. Places like the Masai Mara in Kenya, where this lion cub was really going to town on that foot. Perhaps he had an itch, or maybe it just tasted good, who knows.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/500th of a second
Well, here we are at 12:43 AM east coast time. I can’t post the donkey I had lined up. Nor an elephant. But a baby cheetah? Now that you can post any time. I posted a different shot of this guy in the past — that one without so much tail in his face. Enjoy. This will be the last post for about a week and a half as I head to Thailand tomorrow for a six night adventure camping in the jungle.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/40th of a second
Last month, I posted a white rhino. This is the more rare and endangered black rhino (not that the white rhino isn’t in trouble as well). But the black rhino is currently listed as “Critically Endangered.” I saw this one at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya, which is working hard to save these amazing beasts from extinction by protecting them from poachers and other dangers.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/125th of a second
A mother reticulated giraffe and her calf pose for the camera in Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/4.5 at 1/2000th of a second
A baby baboon rides on its mother’s back during a rain shower in the Ol Pajeta Conservancy, Laikipia, Kenya.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/400th of a second
Cape buffalo are all attitude. No creature on the African plains stares you down quite like these guys do. This one was doing his thing in Ol Pajeta Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 1600, f/2.8 at 1/500th of a second