Saturday, October 2, 2010

A Few Bucks ...

A few of the Buck to be seen in Namibia's Etosha National Park:


Kudu - Tragelaphus strepsiceros
Widespread throughout Namibia.




Damara Dik-Dik - Modoqua kirkii
A tiny buck, with a shoulder height of about 40 cm.




Black-faced Impala - Aepyceros melampus
Restricted to an isolated population in northeastern Namibia.




Gemsbok - Oryx gazella
Widespread throughout Namibia, even in the desert.



Springbok - Antidorcas marsipialus
Early travelers relate that they saw herds of hundreds of thousands of these buck which took hours to pass.



Steenbok - Raphicerus campestris
Solitary animals ... I've not seen many of them but they are widespread throughout the subregion.



Sorry, I just couldn't resist posting this lucky shot of a young Kudu jumping again.

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14 comments:

  1. Magical photos that bring back many memories of when I worked for the wild life research officer in Zim. I love the first and the last, Kudu are probably my favourite. The last one is superb while he is jumping for joy. Diane

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  2. Great photos and I great help for me to learn how to recognise the different herbivores.

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  3. Thanks Diane - Kudu are such beautiful creatures but I must admit, I just love the Dik-Dik's eyes ... Yeah, the jumping Kudu is one of my favorite 'chance' photos.

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  4. Thanks lgsquirrel - the smaller species are sometimes difficult to tell apart at a distance, I'm learning as I go along too ...

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  5. Thanks Monica ... :) ... glad you liked them ...

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  6. Beautiful, beautiful photos. They look so nice and pretty but I just have to ask. Do people hunt these animals for consumption? I read earlier on Lynda's and Jo's blogs that there is something called biltong. I'm assuming it is made out of some or all of these animals.

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  7. Thanks Penny - yes, all of these buck are hunted and poached for their meat ... biltong (or 'jerky' in American English) is made from the Kudu and Gemsbok - these two buck are often on the menu of restaurants and, as a carnivore myself, I must say that Kudu steak is my favorite ...

    ...I may be wrong, but I think the Dik-dik is a protected species in Namibia ...

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  8. The black faced impala is magnficent & so unusual - I don't think I have ever seen one of them.

    Dik Dik are my favourite - we get them alot here, too. I think it's so special that they are one of the few animal/mammal species which mate for life. (Goodness, not even us humans can manage that ;)

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  9. Yeah Lynda, the Dik-dik are gorgeous little creatures, they seem so gentle ... I didn't know that they mated for life, thanks for the info ... :)

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  10. At camera club last week our speaker showed his pictures of travels through all the Tanzania and Kenya national parks, and lovely though they were (and very bird orientated) with his use of a 500ml lens, yours are still better, and I simply love that prancing one at the end. I know how difficult it is to get a moving subject sharp and with the light in the right place!
    Hope you have lots more in your archives...
    Caroline

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  11. I loved them all, but that black-faced impala was just gorgeous. What a picture! His face, ears and horn made for a perfect composition.--Inger

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  12. Thanks you Caroline - yes, I have many more images - it's always difficult, when creating a post, to select only one image ... too many and the post may be boring or hard to load on slower connections ...

    ... the young Kudu jumping is one of my faves and was a lucky shot - one of the reasons I love digital - I can just shoot away without worrying about the cost of developing and printing ...

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  13. Thanks Inger - the Black-faced Impala were seriously endangered by uncontrolled hunting at one time and, it's taken an effort by dedicated conservationists to get their numbers up again ...

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