View allAll Photos Tagged bigfive
with this fascinating mother hippo and her still very young offspring, who were able to keep their heads above water with skillful swimming movements.
A wonderful moment!
Maasai Mara - Kenya
All rights reserved. © Uli Assmann
So erlebte man normalerweise den Park - ein großer Reichtum an Säugetieren, die sich hier tummeln.
Besonders die Elefanten sind hier einzigartig.
Nach einer sehr schwierigen Dürrezeit in den letzten Monaten in der viele Tiere verendet sind, scheint sich die Situation in Amboseli wieder zu verbessern.
Es hat geregnet und der Pflanzenwuchs kehrt zurück - die Lebensgrundlage für die dort lebenden Massai und die vielen Säugetiere.
Amboseli's elephants
This is how you would normally experience the park - a great wealth of mammals that congregate here.
Especially the elephants are unique here.
After a very difficult drought period in the last months in which many animals died, the situation in Amboseli seems to be improving again.
It has rained and the plant growth is returning - the basis of life for the Maasai living there and the many mammals.
All rights reserved. © Uli Assmann
Elephants (Loxodonta africana) are the largest land animals on Earth, and they're one of the most unique-looking animals, too. With their characteristic long noses, or trunks; large, floppy ears; and wide, thick legs, there is no other animal with a similar physique.
A baby elephant is called a calf. It weighs about 250 pounds at birth and stands about three feet tall. Calves can't see very well at first, but they can recognize their mothers by touch, scent, and sound.
Baby elephants stay very close to their mothers for the first couple of months. The calves drink their mother's milk for about two years, sometimes longer. They drink up to 3 gallons of milk a day! At about four months old, they also begin eating some plants, like adult elephants, but they continue to need as much milk from their mother. They keep drinking milk for up to ten years!
This beautiful Elephant family was captured on a photography safari during an early morning game drive in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya.
The Kruger National Park lies in the north-east of South Africa and runs along the border of Mozambique in the east, Zimbabwe in the north, and the southern border is the Crocodile River. The park covers 20,000 square kilometers and is divided in 14 different ecozones, each supporting different wildlife. It is one of the main attractions of South Africa and it is considered the flagship of South African National Parks (SANParks).
The infrastructure of the park is outstanding by African standards and roads inside the park are of very good quality and potholes on the main roads are rare. Smaller sidetracks are close to the originals landscape, but manageable with a normal car, although a 4x4 offers probably a better comfort on this type of terrain. KNP roads have speed limits range from 20 to 50 km/h and it is not wise to go much faster, because game tends to cross the roads out of nowhere.
Die Sonne war noch nicht ganz aufgegangen - feine Wassertröpfchen bilden sich noch auf dem Gras - da machte sich dieser wunderschöne junge Löwe auf zum Jagen.
Masai Mara - Kenia
In the morning dew
The sun had not yet fully risen - fine water droplets still forming on the grass - as this beautiful young lion set out to hunt.
Massai Mara - Kenia
All rights reserved. © Uli Assmann
ThirdBridge | Botsuana
This male lion is part of a double-team he forms with his brother. To big lions, working together and with best chances to become on of the dominant duos of the region, when they find themselves a pride.
The boss of the lion pack has everything under control
Masai Mara - Kenya
All rights reserved. © Uli Assmann
Elephants are the largest land animals on Earth, and they're one of the most unique-looking animals, too. With their characteristic long noses, or trunks; large, floppy ears; and wide, thick legs, there is no other animal with a similar physique.
A baby elephant is called a calf. It weighs about 250 pounds at birth and stands about three feet tall. Calves can't see very well at first, but they can recognize their mothers by touch, scent, and sound.
Baby elephants stay very close to their mothers for the first couple of months. The calves drink their mother's milk for about two years, sometimes longer. They drink up to 3 gallons of milk a day! At about four months old, they also begin eating some plants, like adult elephants, but they continue to need as much milk from their mother. They keep drinking milk for up to ten years!
This very cute looking baby Elephant, was captured on a photography safari during a game drive, following its mother in Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya.
Leopard sightings are always a highlight of each safari. In the South Luangwa NP, Zambia, sightings are not rare at all, daily sightings almost guaranteed. But not often they pose as nicely as here.
...für diese Löwin in der Masai Mara.
Es ist immer wieder faszinierend und Motivation zugleich, schon weit vor Sonnenaufgang das Camp zu verlassen, um auf gute Motivsuche zu gehen. Mit Hilfe eines sehr guten Guide's hat man auch fast immer Erfolg!
Masai Mara - Kenia
A new day begins...
...for this lioness in the Masai Mara.
It is always fascinating and motivating at the same time to leave the camp well before sunrise to go on a good motif search. With the help of a very good guide you almost always succeed!
Masai Mara - Kenya
All rights reserved. © Uli Assmann
Featured on Flickr Explore #27 on 2023-01-23,
During a recent trip to the Maasai Mara, we were lucky to sight Jilime, daughter of Luluka, late in the evening. Jilime is over 2 years old and is turning out to be a successful Leopard in the wild having gained her independence from her mother.
Queen Jilime posing on a tree was captured during a photography safari on a late evening game drive in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya.
...is missing on my photostream! I can't believe it, there is not a single image of a rhino and I've got plenty of rhino images! Before I leave again my stream needs a few rhinos:-)!!!!
© Cosmopolitan Photography | All rights reserved.
Do not use, copy or edit any of my images without my written permission.
Featured on Flickr Explore #69 on 2021-03-05
Elephants (Loxodonta africana) are the largest land animals on Earth, and they're one of the most unique-looking animals, too. With their characteristic long noses, or trunks; large, floppy ears; and wide, thick legs, there is no other animal with a similar physique.
A baby elephant is called a calf. It weighs about 250 pounds at birth and stands about three feet tall. Calves can't see very well at first, but they can recognize their mothers by touch, scent, and sound.
Baby elephants stay very close to their mothers for the first couple of months. The calves drink their mother's milk for about two years, sometimes longer. They drink up to 3 gallons of milk a day! At about four months old, they also begin eating some plants, like adult elephants, but they continue to need as much milk from their mother. They keep drinking milk for up to ten years!
This beautiful Elephant family was captured on a photography safari during an early morning game drive in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya.
Featured on Flickr Explore #40 2022-01-21
Pride lionesses (Panthera leo) often synchronise their reproductive cycles and communal rearing and suckling of the young, which suckle indiscriminately from any or all of the nursing females in the pride. The synchronisation of births is advantageous because the cubs grow to being roughly the same size and have an equal chance of survival, and sucklings are not dominated by older cubs. Weaning occurs after six or seven months. Male lions reach maturity at about three years of age and at four to five years are capable of challenging and displacing adult males associated with another pride.
Captured on a photography safari on a late evening game drive in the Rekero area of Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya.
Have you ever been stalked by a leopard?
This look? The decisive moment for Samson, the Amur Leopard right before he tried to attack me!
Not something on my bucket list... Not something I thought I'd ever face... But...
I was taking pictures of Samson, the four year old Amur Leopard at Brookfield Zoo. He was quite active this day - roaming his habitat - going for birds if they strayed too close. I hoped to get some good action shots. He's grown quite large now - 5 feet? 100 lbs? A sizeable cat - much larger than his mom, Lisa.
It was cold and in the middle of the week - there were very few people around - in fact, I was alone with him. He was high up on the rocks - a typical place, and I moved over by the netting on the right side, and leaned in to minimize the appearance of the netting in the image capture.
He suddenly, intently focused on me, then moved along the rocks, toward the angled log that lets them climb up and down on that side of the habitat. Running first, then slowing, as he moved down the log - leading to the look you see.
I didn't realize it at the time, but he was stalking me. Judging that maybe, just maybe I was close enough to get at. Sizing me up.
Me? I was oblivious as to his intent - I was happy to get some big cat action!
Then he raced down the log, bounded to the ground, right toward me! I was just trying to keep him in the frame, but couldn't see his actions clearly, he was moving so fast!
Before I knew it, he leapt and hit the netting, bowing it way out toward me - he was going for my head! I backed away, the netting held, and he had a disappointed look on his face.
If you've seen Encanto, in the "Don't Eat Those" scene, the Jaguar has the same expression - I should post it.
Playing? Hunting? Both? I oddly did not feel frightened by this - but it could have been dangerous.
He did variations of this charge a few more times, but none as powerfully as that first leap. A couple of times he snuck up on me and was next to me before I knew it - again on the netting. After a while, he went up on the rocks for a nap, and I left...
A crazy encounter for sure. Hopefully I provided him some novel entertainment - a respite from his usual life. I won't soon forget it!
Head on view of a large male Cape buffalo with its huge set of horns, taken from the relative safety of a safari vehicle (they can and have rammed a vehicle, especially when feeling threatened). They weigh up to a ton and are considered one of the most dangerous of the African Big 5 to encounter in the wild due to their unpredictability, their huge size and dangerous horns. They can attack ferociously without warning and with surprising speed.
24/10/2025 www.allenfotowild.com
Selten lässt die sich Blicken -und plötzlich kommt sie unverhofft aus dem Gebüsch auf dich zu - das ist Bahati!
Masai Mara - Kenia
The mysterious leopardess
Rarely does she show her face - and suddenly she comes out of the bushes towards you - that's Bahati!
Massai Mara - Kenya
All rights reserved. © Uli Assmann
Featured on Flickr Explore #50 on 2022-03-31
The leopard is the most elusive of all the big predators. They are well camouflaged making the sight of them even more rewarding.
Females give birth in a cave, crevice among boulders, hollow tree, or thicket to make a den. Cubs are born with closed eyes, which open four to nine days after birth. The fur of the young tends to be longer and thicker than that of adults. Their pelage is also more gray in colour with less defined spots. Around three months of age, the young begin to follow the mother on hunts. At one year of age, leopard young can probably fend for themselves, but remain with the mother for 18 - 24 months.
The beautiful Luluka, female Leopard, gave birth to Baby Jilime in August, 2020. They normally move their dens every 2-3 weeks, so as to keep other predators away from the cub. Luluka was seen holding her cub in her jaws and moving dens nearly 3 kms away. Photo captured during a photography safari on an early morning game drive in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya.
In the lush wetlands of Chobe National Park, Botswana, an African elephant cools off in the shallows, showering itself in water and light. The close-up captures both the raw power and the tender precision of this iconic animal as it grazes and bathes—an intimate moment in one of Africa’s most wildlife-rich landscapes.
Featured on Flickr EXPLORE #38 2021/06/03
Some lions are "nomads" that range widely and move around sporadically, either in pairs or alone. Pairs are more frequent among related males who have been excluded from their birth pride. A lion may switch lifestyles; nomads can become residents and vice versa. Interactions between prides and nomads tend to be hostile, although pride females in estrus allow nomadic males to approach them. Males spend years in a nomadic phase before gaining residence in a pride. A study undertaken in the Serengeti National Park revealed that nomadic coalitions gain residency at between 3.5 and 7.3 years of age.
Half Tail, a well known nomad from Maasai Mara, has quite the reputation with the females of the region as he was seen mating with all three lionesses of the Rhino Ridge Pride whose resident males were away patrolling their territory.
Captured during a Photography Safari on a late evening game drive in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya.
2 lions of the "Hollywood Pride" in the South Luangwa NP, Zambia
All rights reserved. © Thomas Retterath 2015
Welcoming among neighbors
Die Begrüßung zwischen einzelnen Elefantenfamilien verläuft immer wieder wahnsinnig herzlich und innig. Treffpunkt solcher Begegnungen sind meistens die wenigen Wasserlöcher.
Eng umschlungen mit ihren Rüsseln begrüßen sich diese zwei jungen Elefantendamen - der Jüngste der Truppe möchte schon mitmachen.
Kenia - Amboseli
The greeting between individual elephant families is always insanely warm and intimate. Meeting point of such encounters are mostly the few water holes.
Closely embraced with their trunks, these two young elephant ladies greet each other - the youngest of the troop already wants to join in.
Kenya - Amboseli
All rights reserved. © Uli Assmann
A powerful close-up of an African elephant in Botswana’s Chobe National Park. The texture of its wrinkled skin, the curve of its ivory tusk, and the delicate movement of its trunk reflect both the strength and vulnerability of Africa’s giants.
Pride lionesses (Panthera leo) often synchronise their reproductive cycles and communal rearing and suckling of the young, which suckle indiscriminately from any or all of the nursing females in the pride. The synchronisation of births is advantageous because the cubs grow to being roughly the same size and have an equal chance of survival, and sucklings are not dominated by older cubs. Weaning occurs after six or seven months. Male lions reach maturity at about three years of age and at four to five years are capable of challenging and displacing adult males associated with another pride.
The Queen of Rekero was resting in the grass nearby as her three very cute cubs were busy playing with each other. Photographed on a late evening game drive in the Rekero area of Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya.
Featured on Flickr Explore #103 on 2022-12-03
The lion (Panthera leo) is a species in the family Felidae.
Lions live in large groups called prides. A pride consists of multiple related females and their dependent offspring along with two or three unrelated males. A typical pride has about 15 members, although some prides as large as 40 members have been observed.
Lions spend much of their time resting; they are inactive for about 20 hours per day. Although lions can be active at any time, their activity generally peaks after dusk with a period of socialising, grooming and defecating. Intermittent bursts of activity continue until dawn, when hunting most often takes place.
Female lions, sisters, live together for life. Their female cubs also stay with the pride, even after they’re grown, but male cubs must venture out on their own once they reach maturity.
This beautiful Lionesses of the Enkoyanai Pride were on hunting mission and was captured during a photography safari on an early morning game drive in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya.
Featured on Flickr Explore #45 on 17/12/2021
The lion (Panthera leo) is a species in the family Felidae.
Lions live in large groups called prides. A pride consists of multiple related females and their dependent offspring along with two or three unrelated males. A typical pride has about 15 members, although some prides as large as 40 members have been observed.
Lions spend much of their time resting; they are inactive for about 20 hours per day. Although lions can be active at any time, their activity generally peaks after dusk with a period of socialising, grooming and defecating. Intermittent bursts of activity continue until dawn, when hunting most often takes place.
Female lions, sisters, live together for life. Their female cubs also stay with the pride, even after they’re grown, but male cubs must venture out on their own once they reach maturity.
This beautiful Lionesses of the Enkoyanai Pride were on hunting mission and was captured during a photography safari on an early morning game drive in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya.
Featured on Flickr EXPLORE #36 2021-12-01
African leopards (Panthera pardus pardus) are one of the two big cats, along with the lion and included in the big five of Africa, that inhabit the continent of Africa.
Queen Lorian, a very famous and senior female leopard, was found dead yesterday morning, mauled to death by either Lions or another Leopard. She has left behind a 14 month old son, Roho who shall to fend for himself in the wild.
This was my latest sighting of her during a photography Safari on an early morning game drive in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya.
I have been remiss in posting wildlife photos of late. I have been dedicating more time to my pottery passion and less availability to travel has also been a hindrance. I have also been going through my archives and noticing shots that I hadn't taken note of in the past. This group of lion cubs presented wonderful opportunities that I will always remember.
Although the annoying flies accompany the lioness every time she moves, she looks with a very clear gaze in search of food for herself and her offspring.
Kenya - Maasai Mara
Klarer Blick!
Obwohl immer wieder die lästigen Fliegen die Löwin bei jeder ihrer Bewegung begleiten, schaut sie mit sehr klarem Blick auf der Suche nach Fressbarem für sich und ihrem Nachwuchs.
Kenia - Maasai Mara
All rights reserved. © Uli Assmann