Africa Wild

Posted: **Sat Dec 23, 2017 12:16 am**

Kruger National Park - Sept. 2017

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While I love visiting the KTP, Kruger is home to an incredible variety of animals - an alphabet soup of species.

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We visited for the month of Sept. I was trying to see how many different species

I could photograph during the trip. As I haven't ID'd all animals down to species level, there are certainly more than the 150+ that I could ID.

(My bird IDs are always problematic, so please correct them as necessary)

Posted: **Sat Dec 23, 2017 12:23 am**

(I'll go alphabetically to try to keep some form of organization)

A

ANTS

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Ever industrious, toiling away to drag their prized possessions back to the nest.

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I think these are Ocymyrmex sp., which have a cool common name - Bearded Hotrod Ants. "Hotrod" because they are some of the fastest ants, and bearded because they have bristly hairs beneath their heads which seem to be used for moving or removing sand grains to/from their nests.

The curious habit of angling their abdomen into the air while drinking perhaps serves to regulate temperature while at rest. Raising the gaster into the slightly cooler air and/or decreasing the surface area exposed to the sun while stationary aids in thermoregulation.

Posted: **Sat Dec 23, 2017 12:30 am**

yes ! a new TT

nice pictures... except for one

Posted: **Sat Dec 23, 2017 12:40 am**

B

BABOONS

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Their antics are often comical…

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and the little ones are so endearing. I could (and did) watch them for hours.

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...to be continued (My "baboon" wants his dinner now, too

)

Posted: **Sat Dec 23, 2017 1:37 am**

Who needs a Jungle Gym when you have a mom as patient as mine?

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I've even got my very own "Uber-Mom"

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Posted: **Sat Dec 23, 2017 4:00 am**

One morning we watched as youngsters nervously jumped into the water to cross and rejoin their family. There were varying degrees of hesitation, but their leaps and subsequent hop, skip, and a jump was so funny. Still photos don't do them justice, as they were so animated, but here they are:

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"I'm calling the child abuse hotline..."

It still makes me laugh to this day.

Posted: **Sat Dec 23, 2017 7:36 am**

Wow, ExFmem...some stunning pics!

In the first ant pic is it carrying a spider leg?

Posted: **Sat Dec 23, 2017 8:34 am**

Wonderful

Posted: **Sat Dec 23, 2017 8:56 am**

too much Boons... but I have to say they are entertaining and photogenic

Posted: **Sat Dec 23, 2017 9:02 am**

Yay, another Ex trip!

Superb pics!

Ja, the baboons are "terrified" of water one day, then will quite happily swim the next!

Africa Wild

Kruger's Motley Crew

Kruger's Motley Crew

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