Home > Blog > March 17, 2017 – Lioness, Baby African Elephant, and Leopard Tortoise Mating in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa

March 17, 2017
Lioness, Baby African Elephant, and Leopard Tortoise Mating in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa

Jan and I spent three nights in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa. It's a great place to see and photograph elephants, and it's also been good for cats too.

Lioness Running
Lioness Running
Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa
Canon EOS 1D X Mk II, 600 f4 IS II & 1.4x III, 1/1000 sec, f5.6, ISO 1250
Image taken on March 13, 2017.
Our first full day started off with a pair of Lioness (Panthera leo) trying to take down a Cape Buffalo in a small herd. They were unsuccessful, but the hunt occurred close to the road in wonderful diffuse light.

Baby African Elephant
Baby African Elephant
Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa
Canon EOS 1D X Mk II, 600 f4 IS II & 1.4x III, 1/500 sec, f8, ISO 500
Image taken on March 14, 2017.
I've never seen so many young baby African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) in the park as I did on this visit. This is one of a dozen or so about this age, and I just love it when they run with joy with their ears out.

Leopard Tortoise Mating
Leopard Tortoise Mating
Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa
Canon EOS 1D X Mk II, 600 f4 IS II & 1.4x III, 1/750 sec, f8, ISO 400
Image taken on March 14, 2017.
The most unusual sighting was this Leopard Tortoise (Geochelone pardalis) male trying to mate with a female. It might properly be called sexual assault of a minor because she was quite a bit younger than he was and didn't seem very interested in his advances.

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