Sunday, September 9, 2012

Rhino and Hyaena

More pics from a trip to Etosha:


Two Zebra sparring - Spring is in the Air!


These two Gnu were locked in mock-battle - we stopped to watch them ...


... after about a minute, as if on cue, they both paused and turned to stare at us ...

Gnu are You?



It was a chilly morning and the wind was blowing hard ... we didn't expect to see much.

Suddenly, a young male Spotted Hyaena lying in the grass just off the road ...



... and a Rhino appeared from across the open plain.


The Rhino stopped to graze on some bushes and also mark his territory.


Hyaena started following the Rhino ...

... it was then that we spotted the pride of Lion in the distance to the left and on either side of the central tree - it was likely a kill ...

the Lion were watching the Rhino.



Rhino became irritated and started chasing the Hyaena ... it was not a serious charge and soon ended.


The Hyaena slunk away and went to lie down in the grass again.


A few minutes later we encountered another young male heading in the direction of the Lion.

He took fright at the car, turned around and came charging back across the road.

Hyaena have a really strange gait, their hind legs appear weak.


I was really chuffed about the Spotted Hyaena because I'd never seen them before ...

... not bad for a day when we expected to see nothing at all.

Blog buddy Joan, at SA Photographs, recently did an informative post on these fascinating creatures - check it out here.

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26 comments:

  1. A surprise for you & a treat for us--great photos AGAIN!!

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  2. What a great series of photos. Cheeky hyena messing around with a rhino! The hyenas do a great job of tidying up the countryside but they are not nice animals. We reared one at the Vet Lab where I worked in Rhodesia days and it was VERY untrustworthy!! Non of us wanted to tangle with those bone crushing jaws!!
    Love the photos of the zebra and gnu, you were also lucky to see the lion in the distance.
    Have a good day Diane

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    1. Thanks Diane - yes, Hyaena don't have a good reputation ... we also get the Brown Hyaena in Nam and which I've only seen once fleetingly in the moonlight and also as roadkill ...

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  3. Fantastic action shots, Graham. Just stupendous. I was surprised to hear you use the word "chuffed". I thought only English people in England said that. LOL

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    1. Hehe thanks Penny - and there I was thinking 'chuffed' was southern African slang ... just goes to show ...

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    2. Graham I Know this word from S.A. as well, not sure I have heard it in the UK!

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    3. Hehe Diane, looks like chuffed has gone viral ... :)

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  4. Fantastic photos. National Geographic has a photo competition on $10,000 first prize + a trip to Washington. You should enter some of your photos.

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    1. Thanks Phillip - there are so many really good nature photographers out there I wouldn't stand a chance ... maybe someday I'll get that million dollar shot ... :)

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  5. What a day you had! I guess the hyena was bored and got up to irritate the rhino just for fun. That's the way it looked. The pictures are fabulous as always.

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    1. Thanks Inger - yes, I was wondering if perhaps the Hyaena was hoping the Lion would move away from their kill if the Rhino approached them ...

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  6. Great serie indeed!!!
    It seems you were very close to the action.

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    1. Thanks Andrea - yes, most of the pics were taken from about 30 - 50 meters away ...

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  7. Your travel adventures with nature are so interesting. Not that I would ever plan to be very close to a rhino, your photo shows a very strong spray out the backend of that beast which I would not want to be the target of.

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    1. Hehehe Bill - indeed, I wouldn't want to be too close to either end of a Rhino ...

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  8. You always have such great photos, thanks for sharing

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  9. A stunning series of action shot Graham. It is always amazing to see this kind of interaction and be able to capture it.

    Thanks for the link. :)

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    1. Thanks Joan - yes, the action usually happens so suddenly ... I've missed numerous shots through not being fast awake ... :)

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  10. Wow that first picture - I can just hear them squealing! On my visit to Kruger park many years ago I don't think I saw that much drama. Being the wuss that I am I would probably have wanted to hide under the seat. ("Chuffed??" Nope!!)
    Caroline

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    1. Hehe Caroline - if I recall correctly you were zapped by a Scorpion on that trip ... nope, I wouldn't have been chuffed either ... :)

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  11. These are sooo AWESOME. My son and I love these. His favorite animals are rhinos ;)

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  12. Hi,fantastic wild life photos especially the elephant ambling along the roadway (taking the easy option)?!The cairns are certainly mysterious but mabe as your header said its a form of kilroy was here and you can keep looking for your own certain spot to erect your one.

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  13. Thanks Peggy - yes, I'll keep looking for a special place to make my little mark ... :)

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