Secretarybird - (Sagittarius serpentarius)

Nowhere near as large as an ostrich, these guys are still rather big and in many ways resemble raptor-type dinosaurs. They look quite regal as they walk along - spending most of their time on the ground.

Also trying to figure out what it is at the top of the tree in the first picture - didn't spot it until looking at the picture just now whilst selecting what to upload. If anyone who sees this has an idea it would be good to know (I suspect it could be another Secratary bird though very hard for me to tell).

They are quite beautiful and it is unusual to see such an eagle-esque head on such long legs

Apparently they fly as well, but that wasn't something I recall witnessing. And occasionally kill gazelles and cheetah cubs... Yeh... Proper carnivores.

I miss Africa.

Mongoose (Herpestidae)

At first I was under the impression that I was seeing meerkats of Lion King and insurance company fame - but no, these were mongooses (mongeese?).

Very skittish, they are very hard to see in the long grass and flee whenever you get remotely close.

Especially disappointing on the meerkat front was the fact that we usually saw them in the company of Pumbaa - until the realisation that a meerkat is also in the mongoose family.

So overgrown Timon.

African Buffalo - (Syncerus caffer)

Has been forever since I posted but things have been somewhat mad since the start of the year - think I should have a little more time now and would love to revisit our trip last year.

These guys are huge and when you see one you tend to see hundreds - they trample the ground around them and move from one spot to another on the wide open plains.

Very protective of their young - which are more than a little prone to defensive violence themselves, these animals have few predators that would think to attack a healthy adult.

Almost always in the company of white herons you can see in the photos, which I will write about in a separate post, they seem to take great pleasure bathing in the midday heat when the opportunity arises.