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.

Dik-dik (Madoqua)

The dik-dik (Madoqua) is the smallest of the antelope species living on the Savannah and in the brush - roughly the weight of a house cat.

The name is apparently onomatopoeic - the females repeatedly whistling the sound when threatened. 

We caught glimpses on several occasion, though they were very difficult to photograph - hiding in thicker vegetation - coupled up and protecting their little plots. They are hunted by more or less anything that is capable of hunting - including eagles and even baboons!

They have great eyesight - defend a known, well defined territory and with their tiny size and narrow snouts are able to pick at leaves on the very spiny branches of the acacia trees.

And the small "forests" that they inhabit - never managed to catch one in the open.