On safari-- wildlife and nature photos


Oxpecker, zebra stripes & scars
More browsers & grazers






--an oxpecker's eye view: scars of survival on a zebra's rump. Click the image to enlarge


Greater kudu portrait  Greater kudu  Greater kudu pair  Greater kudu

The stately male greater kudu-- for me, the stand-out of the African antelope world


Africa's wilderness areas are home to more than 70 species of antelope, as well as other browsers and grazers such as the giraffe, zebra, elephant, hippo and buffalo. Nowhere else in the world has such a variety and concentration of large mammals

Roan antelope  Roan antelope    Sable antelope drinking   Sable antelope drinking  Impala herd at water  Impala alarmed ©Yvonne Milbank   Impala herd  Bachelor impala

Among the less common or more elusive antelopes are the handsome roan and sable. They usually don't appear in areas of permanent water until the back-country pans have dried out. The roan is shy, difficult to get close to. By contrast, the ubiquitous impala, favoured prey of wild dog and leopard, seems always to be around

Unlucky roan antelope

This roan was unlucky. Somehow it broke a leg and fell easy victim to lion on the Selinda spillway. More photographs of this incident can be seen on the Lions of Selinda page

Female kudu   Female kudus  Kudu browsing

Female kudus are as notable for their big ears as the male is for his magnificent horns

Zebra dust  Zebra and wildebeest at sundown  Zebra closeness   Blue wildebeest   Giraffe & 
blue wildebeest  Blue wildebeest

Although not seen in the same numbers as in East Africa, wildebeest and zebras do tend to mix in northern Botswana. One, two or more blue wildebeest may be seen in a zebra herd, perhaps for safety in numbers. And like others challenged for height, they sometimes seem to find comfort in the presence of giraffe which enjoy a bird's eye view of the surroundings

Red lechwe  Male red lechwe  Female red lechwe  Reedbuck in hiding  Young waterbuck  Steenbok

The red lechwe, often the prey of wild dog in the Okavango Delta, lives in areas of permanent water. Not seen often are the reedbuck, a relatively slow-moving antelope which lies up during the day; the common waterbuck, which bears a striking "toilet seat" design on its backside; and the small, delicate steenbok

Warthogs  Warthog bliss  Crested porcupine  Young chacma baboon  Tree squirrel

Then there's the warthog! Ugly, maybe...but endearing and courageous. When running, its tail will be erect like an aerial, leading to the name "radio-controlled pig". And seen occasionally at night, the porcupine, a formidable foe even for lion. The lion might kill it, but its sharp spines will give the lion something to remember it by. Finally, a chacma baboon--which lives in large troops feeding on a wide variety of plants and animals--and a diminutive tree squirrel
NEXT PAGE   Selinda's birdlife

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Where the photos were takenCameras, lenses and film used at Selinda: Canon EOS1n and EOS5, with Canon 300/2.8 & 400/2.8 lenses and extenders, 100-400 IS zoom lens, Sigma 17-35/2.8-4 lens, Canon 540 EZ & 580 EX flash; Fuji Sensia 100, Velvia (50 & 100 ISO), Provia 100F & 400F, and Agfa RSX II 200. Yvonne used a Canon EOS 1D Mark II with 100-400 IS lens The Maplink on the left shows where the photos were taken. Go to the links below for more photographs from Africa and from Australia


Index of chapters

  • Portfolio (5 pages)
  • African slideshows
  • Australian slideshow
  • Guest photographer
  • Spots 'n' blotches
  • Browsers & grazers
  • Okavango Delta
  • Walking in Zimbabwe
  • Zambia
  • The Outback (3 pages)
  • The River Murray
  • Wildlife carers
  • The Linyanti
  • Cheetah brothers
  • Selinda's birdlife
  • Masai Mara
  • Big cats
  • Faces on safari
  • The Adelaide Hills
  • Aussie birds
  • Niugini days
  • Lions of Selinda
  • Heavyweight herbivores
  • Kwando Reserve
  • Kenya:Samburu
  • Elephants
  • Kangaroo Island
  • Victoria
  • About Afrigalah
  • Links
  • Photo sales information

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    ©2000- 2008 Copyright photographs, graphics and text: John Milbank, except where otherwise denoted.