Southern African bush culture. Once again, color in the natural environment of Southern African at its best. Above, a hooded vulture waits its turn to feed. Photo settings included. The Majingilane had taken down a buffalo but had moved off, and two hyenas were enjoying the leftovers while the vultures perched eagerly nearby. This photo is interesting in that one can see the Nictitating membrane of the vulture covering its eye. f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 640.
A beautiful scene at one of the river crossings, as an African Fish Eagle overlooks two Hamerkops paddling around in the fast flowing water. It was only after looking at this image on a computer screen that I noticed the water monitor lizard on the rock below the fish eagle. f3.5, 1/500, ISO 1000
The cubs of the Tamboti female peer out from the long grass on the banks of the Tugwaan drainage line. Although their mother had stashed them here while she went hunting, they weren’t very good at remaining hidden, as loud rustling and a wildly flailing Tree Wisteria, Bolosanthus speciosus, that they were attempting to climb, gave their position away as we drove past. f4, 1/640, ISO 640
A close-up of a Nile crocodile that was lying in the rapids at a river crossing, hoping to snatch a quick fish meal for its dinner. f2.8, 1/1000, ISO 640
A herd of elephants drinks at Shingalana Dam. The dry season is upon us, and elephants, who have to drink everyday, are forced to focus their movements around the major waterholes and rivers. f6.3, 1/320, ISO 640
A giraffe bull snatches a quick drink a Circuit Pan while his companion keeps watch. Giraffes are very vulnerable when they put their heads down to drink, and as a result are extremely cautious when approaching a waterhole in case predators are lurking in the thickets. f6.3, 1/640, ISO 160
The cub of the Mashaba female receives a lesson in stalking; without adequate cover, your chances of a successful hunt are effectively zero. These guinea fowl were in no danger, and their raucous alarming brought the Mashaba female hurrying along to usher her cub back into the bushes. f3.2, 1/640, ISO 1600
Two hyena cubs at the Xidulu Densite enjoy the afternoon sun. The Hyena population is on the resurgence again, and this same evening, 10 were found feeding on a giraffe carcass nearby. f3.5, 1/800, ISO 500
The smallest carnivores in the Lowveld, dwarf mongooses groom each other outside their termite mound refuge. f4.5, 1/1000, ISO 500
Female impala alarm call as one of the Majingilane moves past one chilly morning. As soon as the element of surprise is lost, hunters like leopard and lion are far less likely to catch anything, and so animals like impala would rather keep them under observation, alarming all the time, than have the predator disappear into the bushes and maybe try an attack from a different angle. f6.3, 1/800, ISO 640
Male lion conflict is never resolved.
Tracks in the sand told the story of how the Mashaba female and her cub had been chased by two of the Tsalala lionesses during the night. The cub was perched on a dead leadwood branch directly above our heads, obviously confused by these crazy people driving in circles beneath it. Soft light filtering through the smoke of a bushfire added enormously to the scene, as the next two photos show.
The cub is young, and the evening after being chased for its life by lionesses it had gotten over it and was wonderfully relaxed. f4.5, 1/400, ISO 1000
Moving back into the branches of a Jackalberry tree, the cub still managed to line itself up in the most beautiful gaps in the foliage for us! f3.2, 1/1250, ISO 1000
Photographed by James Tyrrell
Rich Laburn is filmmaker, photographer and writer who is based at Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa. Spending his time capturing scenes of the wild and communicating the beauty of the African bushveld, he runs the Londolozi Blog as a way to entertain and engage people wishing to visit these wild lands.
