I thought today I’d document the variety of animals we saw on this safari and showcase the best image I captured of each.
The Nile Crocodile – Every croc we saw was out sunning in the sand. Very formidable looking. Glad we weren’t too close. Can’t imagine running into one of these on a canoe safari – yikes!
Impala (female – no horns). If you love impala and other types of antelope, this is your place. We saw HUNDREDS of impala. They are recognized by the “M” on their bottom. Our guide jokingly referred to them as McDonald’s for the lions.  :)
Unfortunately, they got old fast, mostly because they bolt the minute they see you. Very skittish little things. Wasn’t sure if that was characteristic of this animal type or if they just weren’t very used to tourists, since the park is relatively unknown.
Baboon – Baboons were plentiful too. Best part was seeing a couple of the babies. They were still pink and fuzzy without all their fur. Funny thing I learned, the impala like to stay near the baboons, as baboons are good at identifying predators and making a ruckus. The impalas just sit back and relax until the baboons hoot and holler and then they bolt. It’s pretty amusing to watch. Definitely not a pairing I would have anticipated.
Nyala (male, a type of antelope). This animal was also quite skittish, so I’m delighted I got such a clear shot. It was hard to get near them. Mostly I saw a lot of antelope butt.
Waterbuck (a type of antelope, male has horns). This antelope is known by the white ‘toilet seat’ marking it has on its behind. Saw loads and loads of these too. Not my fave. Also very skittish (image that). At least their butts are a little more interesting to look at.
Guinea Fowl. Kind of a boring safari animal, but I thought their blue heads were pretty cute. Nick is OBSESSED with the idea of having one of these in our yard, especially since our neighbor Alison got some. They supposedly eat bugs, snakes and spiders, so I guess I’m on board. And I guess we can say we got Nia a pet then too, right??
Sable Antelope (all female). My favorite antelope. So regal, especially the males, which are black (no photos, sorry). Remember the great photos I got of the males at Kuti? Saw a crapton of females together at the watering hole. It was magnificent to see so many together.
Elephant (Mom & Baby). Oh man was this pair cute. We spent half an hour watching them throw this mosquito net up into the air. The Mom taught the baby how to do it and then the baby tossed it up while Mom went up the hill. Unfortunately, this looks like the USAID-distributed mosquito nets, which probably means it’s been coated in DEET or the equivalent. Hope that doesn’t hurt them.
Bohm’s Bee-eater Bird (eats bees, like the name implies). The biggest surprise was Malawi’s incredible bird life. They are so vibrantly colored. My 300 mm lens did not have the range to capture them well though. Wish I had better pictures to share with you. I also found out the name of the blasted bird that sings outside our window between 2 and 4 PM each morning. It’s called the Cape Turtle Dove. Take a quick listen to this 8 second youtube clip to hear what I have to put up with each morning.
Kudu (male, type of antelope). Gotta love those curly-q horns on the kudu. We saw a kudu with one of his horns broken off (which will never grow back, btw) and he just looked so emasculated. It must be hard commanding respect when you’re a broken-horned (aka: fight-losing) kudu.
Warthogs. Just as ugly in person as on TV. Funniest thing – their tales stick straight up when they run scamper away. Â :)
And there you have it. That’s what we saw this time out. Sadly, no lions, leopards or black-horned rhinos. Other animals we saw that I didn’t get pictures of were: zebra, buffalo, civets, genets, mongoose, and many other varieties of birds.
