nThambo Tree Camp Day 3 - Big & Small

Day three here at nThambo Tree Camp has proven another exciting day as game viewing today was a fine mix of large and small. The highlight was the chance to spend over 30 minutes with my all-time favorite bird, the Lilac Breasted Roller (LBR). These amazingly colorful birds are common here and that has warmed my heart as their brilliant colors always bring an irrepressible smile to my face. The several I got to spend time with today in the bush were more obliging of me and my camera than I deserved to experience.

               

Also on the small side of thing is Africa’s smallest carnivore, the dwarf mongoose which I have mentioned in previous postings. While immensely cute, this little fellow is, pound for pound,  one of the toughest creatures on the continent!

The big side of the ledger for today included two encounters with breeding herds of elephants. I never tire of seeing these massive animals use their trunks to manipulate even the smallest of things quite expertly. I am also gaining a deeper understanding and respect for the role that elephants play in shaping the landscape of this area of the African bush.

Finally, any encounter with the other grey behemoth of the bush always leaves me awestruck – In their presence my science based mind tends to leave me as I stare in simple awe at such a majestic yet critically endangered creature. I defiantly hope that this species will somehow manage to keep roaming the African landscape long after I have left the planet. 

  

May we all do what we can to make sure these are not the twilight years of such an iconic African animal!