BELOVED KALAHARI - Our Home Away From Home

[ExFmem]

We had six sightings of cheetahs this trip, though none were of any real action, nor of more than a single cheetah at a time. Nonetheless, each one brought a smile and elevated our spirits.


Our first sighting was on day two of the trip, a few kms. south of Leeudril. This was our well known and beloved mama, Hanri.













In addition to the increased number of honey badger sightings this year, there were also more steenboks than we'd encountered in past years. A sampling...














Misc. birds

[ExFmem]

Eland were plentiful, and made up the vast majority of prey the lions caught while we were there.






















Spotted hyenas

[ExFmem]

Grassland Antlions





Tree-hole Antlion









Green Lacewings





Ribbon-wing Lacewing

[Lisbeth]

Hanri is her usual self

The steenboks are so pretty

The wings of the lacewings and similar are artworks of nature

Un which surfaces are the antlion and lacewings? It looks like carpets and a doormat ...there is also a glass plate or
What kind of bait did you use? That's probably why Charlie Fax was angry

The eland with the fur on the face looks so funny I have never seen an eland But my husband once ate an eland steak and thought it was delicious

[Pumbaa]

WoW ExFmem,

always love your insect shots - They are fantastic

What brilliant cheetah sighting as well as lucky you to see that mana elands so close and for sure fantastic bird shots as well

[Mel]

Too many photos at one time. I don't know which one I liked best. Apart from the cheetahs that is. Those come first always.

Astonishing how well you captured the delicate wings of the insects. Those of the tree-hole antlion are particularly pretty

[Richprins]

You really saw everything, Ex!

Superb photos as always, and the insects are amazing!

I've been reading old SP Koedoe journals I got for my birthday, during loadshedding, and there are oodles of articles on KTP from the 1960s and 70s. It seems eland migrate a lot between KTP and Botswana and other areas, so it is luck of the draw?

[ExFmem]

Sis- thank you, as always. The surfaces the insects are on vary with the camp, and simply where they land. At KK there is a mat by the front door they may land on, as well as the wood door and side walls of the enclosure. At the Uri honeymoon tent, I take a spare blanket out to the car and cover the hood so they have a place to land. The glass pics are just the car's front windshield, and since it's at night, the background is black and reflective. There is no bait, just the light that attracts them. The lights are not the usual BRIGHT white lights I used to set up when I was collecting insects, so there are far fewer than I wish, but most people don't want to be bombarded w/ creepy crawlies....

I don't think I've had eland for dinner, but have certainly tried other antelopes (springbok, etc etc) and they were yummy!

Pumbaa- thank you.

Mel- Yes, the wings of the insects are little works of art, part of the reason I'm so mesmerized by them.

RP- Yes, the elands do migrate from Botswana, supposedly especially in times of drought, in search of water. It certainly varies trip by trip.

[ExFmem]

A few pics of the iconic Gemsboks...

There were quite a few young gemsboks this year.







Periodic skirmishes


















Another iconic Kalahari animal-

[ExFmem]

Owls








Giant Eagle Owl



Spotted Eagle Owl



Pearl-spotted Owl



(He's flirting with me...)


Our first Leopard sighting was Botshelo at Dertiende. Handsome brute, huh?