Botswana

    Not every creature you see on safari has the distinction of being one of the ugliest animals in Africa.  But the warthog is part of that fraternity, known as the "Ugly Five", which also includes the hyena, vulture, wildebeest and...

  Wildlife safaris are generally conducted at dawn and dusk, when animals are most active and your chance of seeing them is optimized.  During the heat of day most animals go into the bush and rest.    (scrambled eggs anyone?)...

  It's hard to forget the first time you see a marabou stork because of how extremely unattractive it is.  I spotted my first marabous in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park, a group of them feasting on the dead remnants of what I believe was...

The sun was settling on the horizon after our first evening game drive in Botswana's Okavango Delta.  It had been a great evening, with hundreds of animals spotted (and photographed)!  Our guide knew exactly where to take us to enjoy the...

  There's something both fascinating and oddly repulsive about bats.  Mostly we never see or hear them, except perhaps at dusk when they fly into the night to feed on insects and other things.  They are champions at pest control and...

    Everyone remembers the giraffes, lions and elephants they see, but on our last safari in southern Africa the kudos also left quite an impression.   I was especially fond of my photo of the bull kudo highlighted above.  A large...

I'm not sure I've ever had a more enjoyable vacation that being on safari in Africa!  There are a number of countries where animal viewing is good, these photos being highlights of some of the larger animals we saw during a week spent in...

While everyone enjoys the beautiful large animals of Africa, there's a plethora of bird life that's easy to overlook when studying the splendid lions and kudu and giraffe.  The oasis of the Okavango Delta is a natural magnet for all types of...

 One of the rarest animals I've ever encountered in nature is the African Wild Dog.  While on safari in Chobe National Park our guide took us to a pack of them living near the park boundary and we spent a half hour quietly studying them....

   We encountered large troops of baboons while on safari in Africa, nowhere more so than in Chobe National Park.  There were large numbers of lions in Chobe and the baboons on the whole were nervous and on edge, very alert to the...

Hippos Hippos are massive creatures usually seen bobbing in the water or heard making a deep laughing-type noise -- an eerie sound at night.  They graze on land but generally do so when it's dark.  It's rare to see a hippo walking about...

 Surrounded by the brown sands of the Kalahari Desert is a large oasis of green and blue, the Okavango Delta.  An inland delta with no outlet, its waters sustain all life here, including large numbers of fish, birds and mammals. When...