Snarl by MarselvanOosten

Well, not really. Quite often when you see a photograph of a yawning lion, the photographer will try to make you believe that it was snarling. When a lion starts yawning, the first part of the yawn will clearly look like a yawn, but at the very end of it, the expression on the face of the lion will indeed look like a growl or a snarl.

To make people believe that a lion is snarling when it is actually yawning, will spread the wrong idea about these cats, and will unnecessarily portray them as monsters. Humans like to monsterize predators, and that’s why we get Predator Week, Shark Week, The Deadliest This and The Deadliest That on television. It’s a shame, because these beautiful animals are so much more than just killing machines.

This lioness looks pretty vicious, but you guessed it – she’s yawning. Lions spend most of the day sleeping. A male may sleep from 18 to 20 hours a day. However following a large meal, these male cats may actually sleep an entire 24 hours of a day. Female lions are not far behind their male counterparts. They will easily sleep 15 to 18 hours a day. They spend more time caring for the pride and hunting.

In just a few months, I will lead two photo tours in Botswana where we will focus our attention on lions, and especially on lions hunting buffalo.

One of the places we will visit is Duba Plains, an island in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. The island has a herd of about 2,000 Cape buffalo, and a large pride of lions. Both buffalo and lion got there over a decade ago in a year when crossing the channels was possible. Since then both have pretty much been trapped on the island. For reasons nobody fully understands, the Duba lions mainly hunt during daylight – the reverse of the situation in most parts of Africa. This is obviously perfect for photography and our chances to see some lion action are much bigger here than anywhere else in Africa.

If you’ve never been to Botswana, then you absolutely should. It’s wildlife photography heaven. Our first tour is fully booked, but we have three openings on the 25 April – 4 May trip.

If you’re interested, then please check out our website for more information on this trip:
Buffalo, Lions & Wild Dogs

Hope to see you there!

Marsel

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©2016 Marsel van Oosten, All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.

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Arising by MatEngel

A little bell frog in Okavango delta, Botswana

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A mother’s sorrow. by africaddict

This lioness carries off her dead 3 week old cub that had been trampled by buffalo, during the attack they sought shelter down a hole and she had been digging for over an hour in a vain attempt to rescue them, sadly she lost all 3 of her litter on this fateful evening.
She carried this cub for over a kilometre before placing it in a dense thicket and then consuming it in some bizarre ceremony, why lions do this is still not really known.
A sad event to witness and document, yet provides a powerful image.

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Who let the dogs out? by MarselvanOosten

It feels like ages since I’ve been here. Last month I’ve been trying to catch up on ‘regular’ work after months of very intensive traveling, running tours across the planet since February. But then we decided to do some more shooting, resulting in three weeks in the bush without internet. Well, that’s my excuse anyway.

I’m currently processing images, preparing prints, working on a book, planning new photo tours, planning existing ones, updating tour PDF’s, and the list goes on and on. We’re running a couple of tours to Botswana next year, which made me have a look at my images from our last visit there, eight years ago. I usually have very little time to do any processing, so most of my images are just in folders, waiting patiently for me to open them someday. In this case it took me eight years to have a second look at 6715 images from Botswana and to finally process this wild dog image. It’s crazy.

Anyway, wild dogs are cool. They have the most amazing social structure, they make funny sounds, they look fantastic, and following them on a hunt is among the most exhilarating safari experiences you will every have. Once they start running, they don’t stop. They simply follow their prey until it is too exhausted to run any further. And then they rip it to shreds. While it’s still alive. Nature at its most brutal.

The African wild dog is classified as endangered by the IUCN, as it has disappeared from much of its original range. The current population has been estimated at roughly 39 subpopulations containing 6,600 adults, only 1,400 of which are fully grown. The decline of these populations is ongoing, due to habitat fragmentation and human persecution. The usual suspects. As a result, they’re not easy to find, but there are a few spots where your chances of finding them are relatively high. One of those places is in Botswana.

If you would like to see wild dogs, then you should try your luck on our 2016 Botswana tour. Which is not only focused on wild dogs by the way. The area that we will visit, is famous for the interaction between lions and buffalo. We’re basically planning to stalk the lions, hoping that we will witness a hunt. I’ve been lucky to see it a couple of times, and it’s adrenaline-charged action.

We have two openings left on our 10-19 April tour, and only one on our 25 April – 4 May trip. If you’re interested, please have a look at my website for more information:

Squiver Photo Tours & Workshops

Hope to see you there!

Marsel

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©2015 Marsel van Oosten, All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.

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Happy Summer by yara-gb

Sunset in Okavango Delta (Botswana)

Happy summer all

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Golden Lechwe by BrendonCremer

A Female Red Lechwe walks across the open plains toward the rest of the herds, and their bedding down area for the night, as the sun sets behind her creating a beautiful golden glow of light.

Machaba Camp, Khwai Concession, Botswana

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