Africa - Through the Eyes of Carlos Lopes

Africa

Through the Eyes of Carlos Lopes

Lions Fighting

The early pastoralists were witness close hand, better than anyone, to the ferocity of Panthera leo. Where nomadic lions may be very tolerant of each other, due to not having territories to defend, the established leaders of a territory can put up the most ferocious of fights. Often young males try to approach a pride, when the territory's main leader is absent. This can result in fights developing between the pride's females and the visitor. In this case, the young male approached the females at a fast pace, only to be immediately attacked by the nearest female. Although the posture of this female seems to show a submissive stance, it was the contrary. The male still put up a fight, but soon was outnumbered by the pride's members and turned back to run. Prey is regulated by their dry season food supply, parasites, or disease in times of plenty, and while it is often found that skirmishes caused by nomadic lions occur, the reverse is true also. Where man influences the area, with artificial waterholes or with alien prey introduction, the resident lions can alter this balance with prey.

Coot

The Red-knobbed Coot is one of those really weird looking birds, in a pretty sort of way. I would have called it the white coot, as most times it is difficult to discern the two red bumps on top of the head that give it its name. Immature ones don't have the "knobs," so it is assumed this development is directly related to the bird's sexuality, as it becomes more pronounced at breeding time. If you want to know where water can be found nearby, then this is your bird. It roosts near water pans, strangely avoiding fast flowing water, and may fly out during the day. So if you see it flying in the morning, it's going away from water, at the end of the day it's going to the water.

Night Musth

Whoever invented this word "musth" kind of did it on purpose, to instill further investigation. Nighttime is the worst time to find a bull elephant in this condition. This one is known in the Sabi area to be relatively calm and collected, even when experiencing this sexually heightened state, so I approached it. The flash could have rendered red eye, as an elephant's eye behaves much like our own human eye to flash burst. With the gadget off camera and to the side, and compensated to burst at less than the required synch, it showed true colours throughout, including the elements (not much to see besides the dark night), but its eye colour was also rendered correctly. One better way to identify this condition in elephants, (which if not adhered to, may result in a long stay at the local hospital,) is to notice the hind legs dribbled with urine on the inside. That should tell you to back off, unless you know the beast well and are properly trained to approach wild animals.

Wildebeest and Impalas

The most common sight is probably wildebeests and zebras together. They do have a feeding relationship which justifies that. One eats after the other has eaten. In this case, it is impalas and the waldos though. Turns out impalas are so plentiful, that you're bound to get some in any exposure in the bush. The rule to break the monotony of a common sight being photographed, is to come to a desired spot, stop the engine and wait. Then the animals will soon feel comfortable and some will place themselves very near the vehicle. Using a wide angle lens, will get the nearest animal close to frame and the rest is academic. Voilá! A three dimensional exposure.