Tag Archives: Tanzania

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: Blue Wildebeest

Leave a comment

 

Blue Wildebeest
A Blue Wildebeest photographed in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

 

One of two species of wildebeest, the Blue Wildebeest is the more common species and is larger than the Black Wildebeest more commonly seen in South Africa.

To most people who go on safari in Africa, the wildebeest is considered an ugly animal, often overlooked after you see thousands upon thousands of them in places like the Serengeti or Maasai Mara.

Indeed, they’re not known for their good looks, but what they are famous for is the Great Migration in Africa. More than two million animals make up the migration, which also includes hundreds of thousands of zebras and gazelles,making it the largest land mammal migration in the world.

Even if you’re not there during the peak of migration time, wildebeest seem to be everywhere when you travel through Kenya and Tanzania, playing an important role in the food chain for predators such as lions, hyenas, leopards and crocodiles.

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: Lilac Breasted Roller

Leave a comment

 

Wildlife Photo: Lilac Breasted Roller
A Lilac Breasted Roller, posing in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

 

When you venture beyond your own backyard, your eyes are opened up to new creatures and new colours.

At home, the birds I see are brown, grey, black…dull. Not so enticing to look at. But in Africa, many bird species easily catch your eye.

That was the case with this Lilac-breasted Roller in the Serengeti, Tanzania. Perched atop a branch, it was posing politely, showing off it’s colourful plumage. As it is unlike any birds I see at home, I happily complied and snapped this photo.

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: Cape Buffalo

2 Comments

 

Wildlife Photo: Cape Buffalo
A Cape Buffalo in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

 

The most commonly seen and well-known subspecies of the African Buffalo is the Cape Buffalo.

They’re common in Eastern and Southern Africa and have garnered a reputation as being fierce, unpredictable and aggressive. They live up to this reputation as Buffalo attacks are responsible for killing as many as 200 people a year in Africa.

The Buffalo is also one of the famous ‘Big Five’ animals in Africa.

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: Spotted Hyena

Leave a comment

 

Wildlife Photo: Spotted Hyena
The Laughing, or, Spotted Hyena photographed in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

 

The Spotted Hyena is most famous for it’s eerie laughing sound, which gives it the nickname ‘Laughing Hyena’.

The most populous and most efficient carnivore in all of Africa, Hyenas have extremely strong jaws and digestive abilities that allow them to eat fur, bones and virtually any other types of animal remains.

They commonly hunt in large groups, but also hunt on their own or steal and scavenge from other predators like Lions and Leopards.

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: Waterbuck

Leave a comment

 

 

Wildlife Photo: Waterbuck
A large antelope, the Waterbuck, taking a rest in the Serengeti

 

One of the larger antelopes of Africa, the Waterbuck is also very widely spread. They’re found in West, Central, East and Southern Africa, across much of the entirely of Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite this, I only managed to see a couple of them during my time in East Africa.

As with many antelopes they prefer dry grass and scrub lands (not water, as their name implies). From a distance they have a similar profile to many of the deer commonly seen at home in North America – except of course the males which grow two piercing, long horns.

This male Defassa Waterbuck was photographed in the Serengeti,  lying in the cool grass and taking a break from the afternoon heat.