Tag: brown

Criss-cross

Identifying elephants isn’t difficult, but it requires using powers of observation and it takes a bit of practice. There are many different characteristics that you can use to identify an elephant: sex; body size; shape; length and configuration of the tusks; size and shape of the ears; ear venation patterns; notches, tears, holes in the ears. An elephant’s tail can also be used to distinguish an individual.
What to look for when using the tail to identify African elephants:
1. Some elephants have what we call a “kinky tail”
2. Others have an unusually “short tail”
3. A few have “half tails” having been bitten by hyenas when they were calves.
4. Still, others have been bitten and left with “no tail” at all.
Info source: https://www.elephantvoices.org/features-guide.html?id=819
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The photo was taken during February 2017 at Mabula Private Game Reserve, Bela-Bela, Limpopo, South Africa.

Criss-cross

Picture of the day, Wildlife

Diagonal

The African Stonechat males have a black head, a white half-collar, a black back, a white rump, and a black tail; the wings are black with a large white patch on the top side of the inner wing. The upper breast is usually dark orange-red, with a sharp or gradual transition to white or pale orange on the lower breast and belly depending on subspecies. In a few, black replaces the orange breast feathers in part or entirely. Females have brown rather than black above and on the head with an indistinct paler eyebrow line, chestnut-buff rather than orange below, and less white on the wings. Both sexes’ plumage is somewhat duller and streakier outside the breeding season.
Info source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_stonechat
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The photo was taken during November 2017 at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.

Diagonal

Picture of the day, Wildlife

Ripples

Robberg Nature Reserve, situated 8km south of Plettenberg Bay on the Garden Route, is not only a nature reserve but also a national monument. Rocks from this region date back 120 million years to the break-up of Gondwanaland and evidence of middle and later Stone Age inhabitation has been found in a few of the caves along the peninsula. Visitors can find out more at the Nelson Bay Cave interpretive centre. Some highlight features of a visit here include spotting the rare blue duiker, the Western Cape’s smallest antelope; walking alongside one of the seven climbing-falling dunes on the Cape coastline; and viewing the highest navigational light on the South African coastline, at the Cape Seal Lighthouse (146m above sea level). The reserve also extends 1.8km offshore, providing protection to a range of vulnerable fish species. Visitors can expect inspiring landscapes, exciting dolphin and whale sightings in season, and to be accompanied on their walks or hikes by a variety of bird species and the occasional seal. An overnight hut is available for those who want to spend more time on this beautiful reserve.
Info source: https://www.plett-tourism.co.za/activity/robberg-nature-reserve/
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The photo was taken during October 2016 at Robberg Nature Reserve, Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape, South Africa.

Ripples

Landscape, Picture of the day