Moremi is such a marvelous park, I’m going to spend another chapter on it. We moved further north to Third Bridge camp, a more accessible and thus busier area. The bridges are a wonder. The wonder is that they don’t collapse.
Third bridge.
Fourth bridge.
Since I’ve already raved about Moremi, I’m just going to show you what we saw as we made our way north through the park starting with the Hamerkop. It’s the sole member of its family; endemic to Africa and Madagascar. They are fairly common riparian residents which make huge domed nests with a mud-coated side entrance.
Hamerkop nest
Hamerkop, males and females look alike.
I’ll stick with the stork and crane representatives for the moment, distant relatives of the Hamerkop. Wattled cranes are very endangered. We felt privileged to see several of them.
Wattled crane family
Wattled Crane male
The Yellow-billed Storks are summer migrant beauties as are the Woolly-necked Storks.
Yellow-billed stork in breeding colors.
Woolly-necked Stork
Botswana has three kinds of ibis and at least 8 species of herons.
African Sacred Ibis
Grey Herons look like our Great Blues.
Young waterbuck males
I’ll take a break from birds for a moment to introduce other new (to us) animals. Waterbucks are gorgeous antelope with tell-tale white rings on their behinds. The guides call them “toilet seats”.
Adult waterbuck male.
Waterbuck adult male.
The biggest excitement was finally seeing lions. These were the first for us, although not the last.
African lion.
One of two males resting under a bush.
What so amazed us is the lions seem to have no fear of the tourist trucks. Like the cheetahs, the guides drive right up to the lions and the lions pay them no attention. Apparently the lions don’t see trucks as a threat or dinner. However, step out for a selfie and it may be your last. A Chinese tourist did just that…big mistake.
These were the only cubs we saw. One of five cubs hiding under a bush with their mom.
Notice the bloody neck on the mother zebra. The oxpecker is picking off bloody scabs. She had blood all down her front legs. Obviously she managed to fight off the cat or hyena that attacked her and save her baby as well. Zebras have a fierce kick…predators beware! Speaking of predators, we did see several more leopards and a hyena having fun with buffalo (see video). There is a predator hierarchy. Lions are at the undisputed top. Hyenas are next. They will chase dogs and leopards off a kill; even lions, if there are more hyenas than lions. Wild dogs are next, then leopards. Cheetahs have traded brawn for speed, and at the very bottom are jackals.
Leopard trying to disguise himself as a termite mound.
Young leopard dragging its kill into the tree for safer dining.
Spotted Hyena
Tsessabe antelope in front of zebra.
Vervet monkey trying to stay dry.
Pile of wild dogs also trying to stay dry under a small bush.
Old male warthog with impressive “warts”.
Female warthog.
Cute little baby warthogs.
Warthogs “high tailing” it…perhaps where the term came from.
Back to birds. This young Bateleur eagle was kind enough to pose for me.
Greater blue-eared starling.
White-crowned Lapwing
Village Weaver colony
Crested Barbet
Meyer’s Parrot, the only parrot in Botswana.
Woodland Kingfishers don’t fish. They eat insects and small lizards.
Grey-headed Kingfisher by my friend Julie LeJeune. (Her photo was better than mine).
Sub-adult female rhino.
Spotting one of the few released rhinoceroses in Moremi is a real treat. The horns are cut off before release to discourage poachers.
The rains do bring flowers. They were never overwhelming, just a few pretty ones here and there.
Fireball Lily
Leopard Orchid
There are lots of wildebeests near Third Bridge. This youngster has an interested cattle egret following.
Rainbow over Paradise Pool
Common tree squirrel.
Will say good-bye to Moremi now.
If you are interested in watching some of the animals of Moremi, click the link below.