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Great White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias,Gansbaai, Western Cape, South Africa, Africa
ONE MORE WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY STORY 03 // UNA HISTORIA MÁS DE FOTOGRAFÍA DE NATURALEZA 03
................ “Yes, of course, it is also the story of the protagonist of the picture, but…..there is................... one more story”.
Well, I totally agree with that girl of intelligent eyes. Behind a "wildlife picture", apart from many factors on which most of us agree, I think there's something else, there is a story..... And as that girl thought, not regarding the story of the protagonist of the image, which I also think is really important, of course (I think it's just what most photographers try to tell with their pictures , other thing is to get it). In this occasion I refer to the story behind the photographer, the story that crosses space and time with the story of the protagonist of the image and which can arise a good "wildlife picture".
Yes, because there is also a story behind the photographer……………
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................ “Sí, claro, también está la historia del protagonista de la fotografía, pero….hay……una historia más”.
Pues, estoy totalmente de acuerdo con aquella chica de ojos inteligentes, detrás de una ‘foto de naturaleza’, aparte de muchos factores en los que casi todos estaremos de acuerdo, creo que hay algo más, hay una historia… Y como pensaba aquella chica, no me refiero ya la historia del protagonista de la imagen, que también, por supuesto, y que creo que es lo realmente importante (pienso que es justo eso lo que intentamos contar con nuestras fotos casi todos los fotógrafos; otra cosa es que lo consigamos). En esta ocasión me quiero referir a la historia que hay detrás del fotógrafo, a la historia que se cruza en el espacio y el tiempo con la historia del protagonista de la imagen y de la cual puede llegar a surgir una buena ‘foto de naturaleza’.
Sí, porque también existe una historia detrás del fotógrafo……….
Image Licensing Website www.albertocarrera.com
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The arrow-marked babbler lives in social groups of between 3 and 15 birds (six being the average) that defend large territories, with the size of the territory being dependent upon the number of individuals in the group. They feed on insects, spiders and sometimes snails and lizards, as well as fruits. Foraging occurs near the ground, sometimes in association with other babblers or bulbuls. A dry gurgling babble “gra-gra-gra-gra-gra” is given by multiple birds, keeping the group together.
Pied crows are generally encountered in pairs or small groups, although an abundant source of food may bring large numbers of birds. The species behaves in a similar manner to the hooded and carrion crows. All of its food is obtained from the ground, trees, etc. including injured wildlife such as insects and other small invertebrates, small reptiles, small mammals, young birds and eggs, grain, peanuts, carrion and any scraps of human food and fruit.
Alert
Lionesses are the primary hunters of the pride. They are smaller and more agile than males and they use teamwork to bring an animal down. After a successful hunt, all the lions in the pride share the meal. But there is a pecking order, with the adult males eating first, followed by the lionesses and finally the cubs.
The crowned lapwing is an adaptable and numerous species, with bold and noisy habits. Crowned lapwings and the more localized black-winged lapwings sometimes associate and do not show mutual aggression, even within breeding territories. Different crowned lapwing males do however posture aggressively when nesting territories are established. The loser in an encounter assumes a special posture to signal his defeat.
Southern Ground-hornbills are both culturally and ecologically important. They are hailed across their sub-Saharan range as the thunderbirds or rainbirds. They are also a valuable flagship species for the savannah biome as they are easily recognizable and with such large spatial requirements, any successful conservation action in even one of their expansive territories benefits all the other savanna and grassland species, including threatened species such as vultures, wild dog, and cheetah. Their populations continue to decline towards being "Critically Endangered" in South Africa. The reasons for their decline are predominantly loss of habitat to bush-encroachment and development, overgrazing, large-scale monoculture, loss of large nesting trees, besides secondary poisoning, lead toxicosis from spent lead ammunition, and electrocution on transformer boxes.
Info sourced from ground-hornbill.org.za/
Photo capture date & Location: 2017-02 Bushtime at Mabula
Ancient cultures in Africa revered the giraffe, as some modern cultures do today and commonly depicted it in prehistoric rock and cave paintings. Unknown outside of Africa, early written records described the giraffe as "magnificent in appearance, bizarre in form, unique in gait, colossal in height and inoffensive in character." The giraffe's high shoulders and sloping back give the impression that its front legs are much longer than the hind legs, but they are in fact only slightly longer. The giraffe has a distinctive walking gait, moving both legs on one side forward at the same time. At a gallop, however, the gait changes, and the giraffe simultaneously swings the hind legs ahead of and outside the front legs, reaching speeds of 35 miles an hour. Its heavy head moves forward with each powerful stride, then swings back to stay balanced. Giraffes have "horns"; not true horns but knobs covered with skin and hair above the eyes to protect the head from blows.
Info source: www.sa-venues.com/wildlife/wildlife_giraffe.php
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The photo was taken during February 2018 at Mabula Private Game Reserve, Rooiberg, Bela-bela, Limpopo, South Africa.
The blue wildebeest is a herbivore, feeding primarily on short grasses. It forms herds which move about in loose aggregations, the animals being fast runners and extremely wary. The mating season begins at the end of the rainy season and a single calf is usually born after a gestational period of about 8.5 months. The calf remains with its mother for 8 months, after which it joins a juvenile herd. Blue wildebeest are found in short-grass plains bordering bush-covered acacia savannas in southern and eastern Africa, thriving in areas that are neither too wet nor too arid.
African elephants have two finger-like tips on the end of their trunk which allows for extreme dexterity (Asian elephants only have one). The trunk is an amazing limb containing an estimated 100,000 muscles and tendons. The elephant’s tusks will continue to grow throughout its life making use of them for digging, foraging, and in the male's case, fighting. Just as people can be either right-handed or left-handed, elephants are either right-tusked or left-tusked as they will favor using one over the other.
The lion is the most social of all wild felid species, living in groups of related individuals with their offspring. Such a group is called a "pride". Groups of male lions are called "coalitions". Females form the stable social unit in a pride and do not tolerate outside females. Membership changes only with the births and deaths of lionesses, although some females leave and become nomadic. The average pride consists of around 15 lions, including several adult females and up to four males and their cubs of both sexes. Large prides, consisting of up to 30 individuals, have been observed.
The red-knobbed coot or crested coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is a resident breeder across much of Africa and in southernmost Spain on freshwater lakes and ponds. It builds a nest of dead reeds near the water's edge or more commonly afloat, laying about 7 eggs.
Eland are found in grassland, mountain, sub-desert, acacia savannah and miombo woodland areas. They distance themselves from deserts, forests and swamps. Herbivorous, they feed in areas where shrubs and bushes provide the leaves they prefer. They use their horns to bring twigs and branches into reach. Also known to consume tuberous roots. They use their horns to bring twigs and branches into reach.
Info sourced from www.sa-venues.com/wildlife/wildlife_eland.htm
Photo capture date & Location: 2018-02 Bushtime at Mabula
Rhino horns are used as weapons against predators and for dominance and threat displays in contact with other rhinos. White rhinos have two horns: The Northern White Rhino’s larger front (anterior) horn is usually between 37″-40″ long, whereas the Southern White Rhino’s can reach 79″; while the smaller rear (posterior) horn of both subspecies reaches up to around 22″. As with all rhino species, the horns grow from the skin and consist of compressed strands of keratin (like fingernail fibres). They are not attached to the skull but rest on bone pedicels at the dorsal part. The horns are continuously growing and if broken away, will subsequently grow back.
Grazing
Active mainly at dawn and dusk, springbok form harems. In earlier times, springbok of the Kalahari desert and the Karoo migrated in large numbers across the countryside, a practice known as trekbokking. A feature, peculiar but not unique, to the springbok is pronking, in which the springbok performs multiple leaps into the air, up to 2 m above the ground, in a stiff-legged posture, with the back bowed and the white flap lifted. Primarily a browser, the springbok feeds on shrubs and succulents; this antelope can live without drinking water for years, meeting its requirements through eating succulent vegetation.
Swallows are able to produce many different calls or songs, which are used to express excitement, to communicate with others of the same species, during courtship, or as an alarm when a predator is in the area. The songs of males are related to the body condition of the bird and are presumably used by females to judge the physical condition and suitability for mating of males. Begging calls are used by the young when soliciting food from their parents. The typical song of swallows is a simple, sometimes musical twittering.
The Zebra belongs to the horse family. Its distinguishing marks are its unique black stripes, akin to the fingerprints on humans.
A brown duck with a vividly yellow bill and white scalloping on the feathers, giving it a scaly appearance, especially on the underparts. A common resident and nomad through Africa’s freshwater and brackish wetlands, where it forages for plants and invertebrates. The similar African Black Duck differs from Yellow-billed Duck by being darker overall and having white spots on the upperparts, a bull-neck, and a pale-pink-and-black bill.
A characteristic of the Blesbok is the prominent white blaze on the face and a horizontal brown strip which divides this blaze above the eyes. Body colour is brown with a lighter coloured saddle on the back, and the rump an even lighter shade. The legs are brown with a white patch behind the top part of the front legs. Lower legs whitish. Both sexes carry horns, ringed almost to the tip. Female horns are slightly more slender. It was once one of the most abundant antelope species of the African plains, but Blesbok have become scarce since 1893 due to relentless hunting for their skins and meat.
The garden snail (Helix aspersa) is a terrestrial gastropod mollusc and one of the best-known species in the world. It is so common that it is one of the most proliferated terrestrial molluscs. The garden snail is a terrestrial species with nocturnal habits; it does most of its day-to-day activities at night or very early in the morning, but if it rains during the day, it usually goes out.
Info sourced from www.snail-world.com/garden-snail/
Photo capture date & Location: Garden
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Commonly known as the red hartebeest, it is the most colorful hartebeest, with black markings contrasting against its white abdomen and behind. It has a longer face than other subspecies, with complex curving horns joined at the base. The average weight of a male is about 150 kg, and the female is 120 kg. Their average shoulder height is 135 cm, and horns are 60 cm long. The life expectancy of a red hartebeest is around 19 years. The red hartebeest is closely related to the tsessebe and the topi.
Info source URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_hartebeest
Photo capture date & Location: 2018-02 Bushtime at Mabula
Elephants are the largest land mammals on earth and have distinctly massive bodies, large ears, and long trunks. They use their trunks to pick up objects, trumpet warnings, greet other elephants, or suck up water for drinking or bathing, among other uses. Both male and female African elephants grow tusks and each individual can either be left- or right-tusked, and the one they use more is usually smaller because of wear and tear. Elephant tusks serve many purposes. These extended teeth can be used to protect the elephant's trunk, lift and move objects, gather food, and strip bark from trees. They can also be used for defense. During times of drought, elephants even use their tusks to dig holes to find water underground.
Fights between Zebra males usually occur over mares and involve biting and kicking. In plains zebra, stallions fight each other over recently matured mares to bring into their group and her family stallion will fight off other males trying to abduct her. As long as a harem stallion is healthy, he is not usually challenged. Only unhealthy stallions have their harems taken over, and even then, the new stallion gradually takes over, pushing the old one out without a fight.
Info sourced from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra
Photo capture date & Location: 2018-09 Rietvlei Nature Reserve
A characteristic feature of the horns of adult male African buffalo (southern and eastern populations) is that the bases come very close together, forming a shield referred to as a "boss". From the base, the horns diverge downwards, then smoothly curve upwards and outwards and in some cases inwards and or backwards. In large bulls, the distance between the ends of the horns can reach upwards of one metre (the record being 64.5 inches 164 cm). The horns form fully when the animal reaches the age of 5 or 6 years old, but the bosses do not become "hard" until it reaches the age of 8 to 9 years old. In cows, the horns are, on average, 10–20% smaller, and they do not have a boss. Forest-type buffalo horns are smaller than those of the savanna-type buffaloes from Southern and East Africa, usually measuring less than 40 centimetres (16 in), and are almost never fused.
Info source URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_buffalo
Photo capture date & Location: 2017-07 Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Greater kudus have a lifespan of 7 to 8 years in the wild, and up to 23 years in captivity. They may be active throughout the 24-hour day. Herds disperse during the rainy season when food is plentiful. During the dry season, there are only a few concentrated areas of food so the herds will congregate. Greater kudu are not territorial; they have home areas instead. Male kudus may form small bachelor groups, but they are more commonly found as solitary and widely dispersed individuals. Solitary males will join the group of females and calves only during the mating season.
Hippos are the third-largest living land mammal, after elephants and white rhinos. Their feet have four-webbed toes that splay out to distribute weight evenly and therefore adequately support them on land, and their short legs provide powerful propulsion through the water. They have very thick skin that is virtually hairless except for the thick bristle-like hair on their heads and tails. The outer layers of skin are quite thin, making them prone to wounds from fighting. Their flat, paddle-like tail is used to spread excrement, which marks territory borders and indicates the status of an individual. Their powerful jaws are capable of opening up to 150 degrees revealing their enormous incisors.
The long-tailed widowbird, also known as the "Sakabula", is a medium-sized bird and one of the most common in the territories it inhabits. Adult breeding males are almost entirely black with orange and white shoulders, long, wide tails, and a bluish-white bill. When flying, male long-tailed widowbirds are readily visible due to their extremely long tails. Between six and eight of their twelve tail feathers are approximately half a meter long. The tail during flight display is expanded vertically into a deep, long keel below the male as he flies with slow wingbeats 0.5 to 2 meters above his territory.
Info source URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-tailed_widowbird
Photo capture date & Location: 2017-12 Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Rhino horn is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, but increasingly common is its use as a status symbol to display success and wealth. Rhino horns are similar in structure to horses’ hooves, turtle beaks, and cockatoo bills. They are made of keratin – in rhinoceros horn, it is chemically complex and contains large quantities of sulphur-containing amino acids, particularly cysteine, as well as tyrosine, histidine, lysine, and arginine, and the salts calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate.
The Burchell's Zebra lives in small family units, which typically consist of one stallion and one mare with their foals. Non-breeding stallions occur in bachelor groups. Herd stallions are between four to 12 years old. Water holes in conjunction with favoured grazing areas attract family groups which collectively congregate in large numbers. They are often seen in close association with Wildebeest, other plains Antelope and Baboons. Non-seasonal breeders, foals may be born in any month. However, under optimal conditions, more foals are born during summer. After a gestation period of 360-390 days, a single foal is born, which weighs 30-35 Kg. Foals are weaned at the age of 11 months.
Info source: www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_burchells_zebra.html
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The photo was taken during July 2017 at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
Red-eyed Tree Frog, Agalychnis callidryas, Tropical Rainforest, Corcovado National Park, Osa Conservation Area, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, Central America, America
ONE MORE WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY STORY 04
UNA HISTORIA MÁS DE FOTOGRAFÍA DE NATURALEZA 04
………..the story behind the photographer, the story that crosses space and time with the story of the protagonist of the image and which can arise a good "wildlife picture".
Yes, because there is one more story, there is also a story behind the photographer, and of course behind each and every one of the images that take the "wildlife photographers", a story that nobody remembers. Yes, there is a story, there is a story plenty of difficulties, a work story, a study story, a story of sacrifice, loneliness, devotion, risk, commitment, effort, dreams, planning, illusion, danger, fear, stumbles, exhaustion, adversity, perseverance, suffering, scares, patience, nerves, failure, dehydration, pain, diarrhea, cold very cold, hot very hot, itchy very itchy, sweat a lot of sweat, sleep a lot of sleep, discomfort, hunger, thirst, scratches, shocks, infections, falls, dizziness, stings, bites, wounds, vomits, loss, damage, resignation, despair, unpleasant surprises,….....and…....frustration, frustration......and for sure, some other things that many of my colleagues would say. And there are many times, often a lot, when things get ugly, in which you wonder; "but.......what need do I have to .........?.”
Well, all of this is more or less easily carried……………
………a la historia que hay detrás del fotógrafo, a la historia que se cruza en el espacio y el tiempo con la historia del protagonista de la imagen y de la cual puede llegar a surgir una buena ‘foto de naturaleza’.
Sí, porque hay una historia mas, también existe una historia detrás del fotógrafo, y en mayor o menor medida detrás de todas y cada una de las imágenes que realizamos los ‘fotógrafos de naturaleza’. Una historia de la que nadie se acuerda. Sí, hay una historia, una historia plagada de dificultades, una historia de trabajo, una historia de estudio, de sacrificio, de soledad, sueños, dedicación, riesgos, empeño, esfuerzo, planificación, ilusión, peligro, miedo, tropiezos, agotamiento, adversidad, perseverancia, sufrimiento, sustos, paciencia, nervios, fracasos, deshidratación, dolor, diarreas, frío mucho frío, calor mucho calor, picor mucho picor, sudor mucho sudor, sueño mucho sueño, malestar, hambre, sed, arañazos, golpes, infecciones, caídas, mareo, picaduras, mordeduras, heridas, vómitos, extravíos, averías, resignación, desesperación, sorpresas desagradables,…...y……….frustración, frustración.…. y seguro algunas otras cosas que aportarían muchos de mis colegas. Existen muchas ocasiones, muchas, cuando las cosas se ponen feas, en las que te preguntas; “pero………… ¿qué necesidad tengo yo……..?”.
Bueno, al final todo eso se sobrelleva más o menos bien.………………
Image Licensing Website www.albertocarrera.com
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If you see a yawning hippo you might think it is sleepy and even cute, but in reality, the yawning of a hippo is a warning sign, it shows the jaws and its long, sharp teeth to demonstrate its strength and aggressiveness. Even the sounds made by a hippo, similar to a deep and demonic laugh, are a warning and do not represent a funny situation. Despite its funny appearance, the hippo is among the most dangerous and aggressive animals of the African savannah, the long sharp teeth can grow to a length of over 50 centimetres. The hippo holds a record, the widest mouth opening of all land animals belongs to the hippo, Hippopotamus amphibius, that can open its jaws up to 180 °.
Before unleashing their speed, cheetahs use exceptionally keen eyesight to scan their grassland environment for signs of prey—especially antelope and hares. This big cat is a daylight hunter that benefits from stealthy movement and a distinctive spotted coat that allows it to blend easily into high, dry grasses.
Info source URL: www.nationalgeographic.com/anima…/mammals/c/cheetah/
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Photo capture date & Location: 2018-05 Ngwenya Lodge
Alberto Carrera, Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, Guepard, South Africa, Africa
About Advertising Photography and Wildlife Photography 8 // Sobre Fotografía Publicitaria y Fotografía de Naturaleza 8
But perhaps the greatest difficulty is not the use of complex equipment, but the conditions outside the photographer. Wildlife photographer depends..........
Pero quizás la mayor dificultad no sea el uso de equipos complejos sino los condicionantes ajenos al fotógrafo. Y es que, el fotógrafo de naturaleza depende...............
@albertocarrera#wildlife#wildanimal#wild#wildlifephotography#naturephotography#nature#naturelovers#fauna#animal#instaanimal#biodiversity#conservation#environment#earth#photography#photographer#photographylovers#earth#animallover#travelphotography#instagood#africa#cheetah
The bridge across the Crocodile River, visible from the rest camp, once formed part of the Selati railway line that wound its way through the Park to Skukuza. Construction of the bridge started in 1894 and was completed just before the end of the 19th century. The bridge continues despite being damaged in severe floods during February 2000. When the Sabie Reserve (a forerunner of the Kruger National Park) was proclaimed in the late 19th century, Crocodile Bridge was one of the first 4 ranger posts.
Ostriches are omnivores and eat a diverse array of roots, flowers, bulbs, grasses, grains and fruits, as well as insects, lizards and small rodents. An adult ostrich typically needs around 1kg to 1.8kg of food every day, which means they’ll generally eat anything available to them. They do lean towards being vegetarians, however. Whilst ostriches are omnivores, more than 50% of their diet is made up of plant matter. 20% is made up of stones, sand and grit, which ostriches use to grind up food in their gizzards - a specialised muscular stomach. This helps them digest pretty much anything they can swallow.
The King Cheetah - this unusual looking cheetah, also known as Cooper's Cheetah, was once thought to be a separate sub-species. But it is actually an African Cheetah exhibiting a rare fur pattern mutation. A recessive gene must be inherited from both parents in order for this "blotchy" pattern to appear. First discovered in Zimbabwe in 1926, this very rare animal has been seen in the wild only 6 times. It has been known to exist in Zimbabwe, Botswana and in the northern part of South Africa's Transvaal province. The DeWildt Cheetah Research Center in South Africa specializes in breeding this Cheetah.
The rock hyrax, also called Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (in the Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the dassie (/dasiː/). Rock hyraxes weigh between 4 kilograms (9 lb) and 5 kilograms (11 lb) and have short ears and tail. The rock hyrax is found at elevations up to 4,200 metres (13,800 ft) in habitats with rock crevices allowing it to escape from predators. Along with other hyrax species and the manatee, this species is the most closely related to the elephant.
Info source URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_hyrax
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Photo capture date & Location: 2018-02 Bushtime at Mabula
The long-tailed widowbird, also known as the "Sakabula". Adult breeding males are almost entirely black with orange and white shoulders (epaulettes), long, broad tails, and a bluish-white bill. When flying, male long-tailed widowbirds are readily visible due to their extremely long tails. Between six and eight of their twelve tail feathers are approximately half a metre (about 20 inches) long. The tail during flight display is expanded vertically into a deep, long keel below the male as he flies with slow wingbeats 0.5 to 2 metres (20 to 78 inches) above his territory.
Giraffe often rest while standing up, but new research shows that they lie down more often than previously thought. When lying down, they fold their legs under their body but mostly keeping their necks held high. Giraffe have been known to continue browsing and ruminating in this resting position. Occasionally, and only for very short periods of normally not more than 5 minutes, a giraffe can sleep with their head resting back on their rump. This is an extremely exposed and vulnerable position, hence this is only seen rarely and for short periods of time. Research in zoos has shown that giraffe go into REM sleep when in this position.
Info source URL: giraffeconservation.org/facts/do-giraffe-lie-down/
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Photo capture date & Location: 2018-02 Mabula Timeshare
The Southern Red Bishop is 10–11 centimetres long and has a thick, conical bill. The breeding males are brightly coloured with red (occasionally orange) and black plumage. The forehead, face and throat are black and the rest of the head is red. The upperparts are red apart from the brown wings and tail. The upper breast and under tail coverts are red while the lower breast and belly are black. The non-breeding male and female have streaky brown plumage, paler below. The females are smaller than the males, the bill, legs and feet are pale pinkish. The eyes are dark brown. Southern Red Bishops have various twittering calls and a nasal contact call; the male has a buzzing song.
Info source: www.sanbi.org/animal-of-the-week/southern-red-bishop/
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The photo was taken during November 2017 at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
A large and powerful bovine, the African Buffalo reaches shoulder heights of up to 1.5 m and a mass of 750 kg. Both sexes have horns, those of the bulls are characterised by a heavy boss and upward curved horns. Buffalo herds can have a significant ecological impact on the veld. Being bulk grazers, they are responsible for converting long grasslands into short grassy environments conducive to other browsers with more selective feeding habits. When a herd member is attacked, others will rush to its defence. Collectively a number of buffalo are more than capable to stave off an attack by an entire pride of lions. A wounded buffalo bull is regarded as the most dangerous by hunters and is one of the reasons why this animal is included in the so-called "big five".
Like most other waterfowl, yellow-billed ducks undergo a molting process in which they lose all flight feathers at one time leaving them flightless for three to four weeks. This leaves them especially vulnerable to predators and makes foraging difficult. Yellow-billed ducks lose considerable (about a quarter) body mass during the first half of molting.
Red hartebeests are grass feeders, which is evidenced by their long snouts, which give the advantage of an improved cropping ability to acquire and masticate grasses more efficiently. During the rainy season in southern Africa, the grass species Andropogon is in abundance and is the main source of dietary consumption. As grazers, their diets fluctuate seasonally, as they consume higher-quality, green primary production in wet seasons, and lower-quality sheath material in the dry seasons. Hartebeests are considered less water-dependent than most, only needing to drink water when melons and tubers are inaccessible.
Info source URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_hartebeest
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Photo capture date & Location: 2018-09 Rietvlei Nature Reserve
A characteristic feature of the horns of adult male African buffalo (Southern and Eastern populations) is that the bases come very close together, forming a shield referred to as a "boss". From the base, the horns diverge downwards, then smoothly curve upwards and outwards and in some cases inwards and or backwards. In large bulls, the distance between the ends of the horns can reach upwards of one metre (the record being 64.5 inches 164 cm). The horns form fully when the animal reaches the age of five or six years but the bosses do not become "hard" till 8 to 9 years old. In cows, the horns are, on average, 10–20% smaller, and they do not have a boss.
Info source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_buffalo
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The photo was taken during July 2017 in Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
The nyala is mainly active in the early morning and the late afternoon. It generally browses during the day if temperatures are 20–30 °C (68–86 °F) and during the night in the rainy season. As a herbivore, the nyala feeds upon foliage, fruits and grasses, with sufficient fresh water. A shy animal, it prefers water holes rather than open spaces. The nyala does not show signs of territoriality, and individuals' areas can overlap. They are very cautious creatures.
Zebras are single-hoofed animals that are native to Africa. Zebras are very closely related to horses and donkeys; in fact, they are in the same genus, Equus. The most prominent feature of zebras is the bold patterns on their coats. Zebras have white stripes next to black or brown stripes, with the stripes ending at their bellies and the inner side of the legs, which are white. However, zebras have black skin under their coats. Each species of zebra has a different general pattern of stripes. The Grevy's zebra has very thin stripes. The mountain zebra has vertical stripes on its neck and torso, but horizontal stripes on its haunches. Some subspecies of plains zebras have brownish "shadow" stripes between the black stripes.
The African darter, sometimes called the snakebird, is a water bird of sub-Saharan Africa. The male is mainly glossy black with white streaking, but females and immature birds are browner. The African darter differs in appearance from the American darter most recognisably by its thin white lateral neck stripe against a rufous background colour. The pointed bill should prevent confusion with cormorants. It is an 80 cm long cormorant-like fish-eating species with a very long neck, like other anhingas.
Info source URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_darter
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Photo capture date & Location: 2017-12 Rietvlei Nature Reserve