August 27, 2016
Southern Yellow-Billed Hornbill, Bateleur, and Cheetah Cub in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa

I've just completed a short five-night stay in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. This was the earliest I've ever visited the park in the winter, and I wasn't prepared for the cold temperatures. It got down to 23°F (-4.5°C) one night! After that, the lows slowly increased to a more-expected 42°F (5.5°C). The highs were between 65°F (18.5°C) and 90°F (32°C).

My first morning in the park started off with a bang (no pun intended) when I photographed a pair of lions mating close to the road. I thought that would portend good things to come, but instead it indicated that I was going to get screwed in the cat department for most of the rest of my visit. After those lions, I didn't photograph another cat, or even see a cheetah or leopard, until my last morning in the park. (Stay tuned for the dramatic turn of events.) There were still good images to be made, and one of my favorites is of this Southern Yellow-Billed Hornbill (Tockus leucomelas) flipping a seed. The backlighting makes its bill glow.

I spent a rather slow afternoon at a waterhole, and this female Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus) flew in for a drink. While she was still drinking, a male landed in a nearby perch and put on a very impressive display. It was the first time I had seen that behavior, but I couldn't photograph it because he was side lit and had his back to the sun. The female didn't seem impressed.

On my last morning as I was leaving the park, I spotted a Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) mother with four young cubs walking up the dry Auob River towards two springbok. What a way to end my visit. I spent almost two and a half hours with them as they slowly made their way towards the springbok and lunch. The cubs generally did a good job staying behind their mother so she could stalk the prey, but they must have gotten restless because they moved up to her just when I thought she was about to make her move. The springbok decided that they had had enough of the cheetah's shenanigans and called out to let them know that they were not to be eaten right then. As all of this was happening, two gemsbok had come down over the river bank behind the cheetahs, and when the cheetahs turned around after giving up on the Springbok, the gemsbok started chasing the cheetahs. It's a tough life being a cheetah! The mother and three of the cubs went up over the river bank and out of sight, but one cub had stayed down low on the riverbank hiding behind a rock. After the gemsbok left, the remaining cub started calling for the rest of its family. After a while, the mother came over the river bank and joined the cub who was in the shade of a tree. When the other cubs didn't arrive, even with the mother calling, I thought that she had lost them. After a while, she took the cub with her up over the river bank and out of sight. I moved down the road along the dry river bed in the direction that the cheetahs had been heading originally and then took a cross road to the top of the river bank. I was relieved to see the cheetah mother with her four cubs, and I was excited to seem them approaching. I waited and they practically came right up to me. Even though it was literally high noon, it's not every day that you get to photograph a young cheetah cub from near eye level!