Who let the cat out?

The sounds of an active night filled with monkeys and small animals scurrying, frogs bellowing is replaced by a deafening quiet.  A lone jackal can be heard in the distance sounding off it’s cry, signaling danger is afoot, the cat is on the prowl.

Mongoose

Baboon

Impala gather and flee;  eland’s, the country’s largest antelope and zebra hide in the hills to avert the mud that clogs their hoofs making it hard to run.

Zebra

Our guide navigates us through the Tuli Wilderness in Botswana, expertly pointing out cat prints that verify the growls we hear from our cabin at night.

He uses all of his senses, listening for birds and animals running or sounding their alarm for impending danger.

We are lucky we see a total of 5 leopards during our Africa trip.

The guides notify one another through radio’s of any sightings, or sounds through the night, helping them to locate big game for their anxious guests hoping for a glimpse of whatever the day’s game drive might yield.

Impala
Elephant
Lion

On our last morning, we are gifted with a final sighting of the mane event, the lion. The majestic creature that commands our attention.

For more posts of our Africa trip, check out … https://kritterspaw.com/2026/09/16/wild-africa/. and https://kritterspix.com/2026/09/16/birds-gone-wild/

Birds Gone Wild

Bee Eater

Amidst the myriad of mammals, Africa has a potpourri of colorful birds. I didn’t scratch the surface with photographing birds, but one could spend all their time doing just that, with hundreds of types to view and learn.

Saddlebill Stork

I confined myself to only the more interesting birds, being more keen to photograph the many mammals that garnered my attention.

Verreaux’s eagle-owl
Yellow Horn Bill

Ostrich

The kori bustard for instance, is the largest flight bird native to Africa and the heaviest capable of flight.

There are 10 different types of king fisher alone.

The sheer number of fowl was a dizzying array of varieties and types.

The Marshial Eagle is considered the largest and most powerful eagle in Africa

Martial Eagle
Black Eagle

The fact that the guides around us could name them easily, not only by sight, but by sound was impressive.

Secretarybird

Also… https://kritterspix.com/2026/09/16/who-let-the-cat-out/. and. https://kritterspaw.com/2026/09/16/wild-africa/