Today we have the penultimate set of photos from reader Joe Dickinson’s trip to Africa in 2012. His notes are indented:
It is pretty common to see a warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) kneeling to graze. You can tell from the hose in the background that this one is on the grounds of one of our hotels.
The African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) is in the same genus as our bald eagle.
I’m putting below two shots of a Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus). The first is sharper, but the second nicely shows the forked tongue. It is my understanding the this feature allows the lizard to follow a scent trail (or is it taste?) by biasing it’s path toward the side with the stronger signal.
Here is a baby bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) nursing.
The African reed cormorant (Microcarbo africanus) reminds me of our anhinga.
This is not a five-legged elephant. That is all.
Here are some more nice elephant encounters while we were boating in Chobe National Park, Botswana.
A Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus).
And, finally, a hippo (Hippopotamus amphibius), seen while boating in Chobe.
Really thrilling to see these photos.
Great way to start the day!
Thank you…
I love the Nile Monitor and Nile crocodile.
Agreed. The monitor is gorgeous. As much as I love warthogs, hippos, and five-legged elephants, I don’t think the reptiles of Africa get their due.
Beautiful photos of wonderful creatures. These will always bring back memories of your trip. Thank you for sharing.
Most enjoyable African fauna. Nile monitors are cool…so are monitors in general.
Great shot of the fish eagle. The white is like a bib. Perhaps he’s a messy eater of fish.
Super interesting photos. Thanks!