Curious Baboon
October 29, 2008
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
Leopard kill
October 27, 2008
Although the game viewing is excellent at the moment our leopard sightings have dropped quite a lot in the last few weeks. I think it might be due to the heat as this is often the case at this time of the year with the leopards only becoming active later at night. There is also a lot of lion activity in the area which seems to make them more cautious.
We came across this small female leopard hunting some impala out on an open plain. She soon made a kill but didn’t want to risk having it stolen by hyaenas and so quickly dragged it away and up the nearest tree. This was quite a struggle as the impala was easily the same size and probably heavier than the leopard…
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
Lion and Buffalo
October 21, 2008
Giraffe fighting
October 20, 2008
I came across these two male giraffes very early this morning, They were having a good fight. It is always a little bizarre watching giraffe males fighting. They stand side by side and pound each other with their heads, swinging them like massive medieval maces. The fight went on for a good 15 minutes and I took a variety of images. Because they were standing on the river bank I was only able to photograph them from one direction; as silhouettes with the bright sky behind them. The resulting images are very graphic and two dimensional – I quite like them.
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
Leopard at night
October 17, 2008
This is one of my favourite leopard images that I’ve taken recently. I’m always looking at ways of photographing wildlife in a unique and different way and this is the kind of photograph that I am after. I love the vignetting (darkened corners) caused by the spotlight and the bold shadow of the leopard. Her cub was standing a few feet away in the darkness which is why she is looking back over her shoulder.
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
The trouble with lions…
October 14, 2008
is that this is what they do the most – sleep. Lions are extremely easy going, conserving their energy for up to 20 hrs of each day. They are remarkably chilled out. Quite often I have guests asking with hope in their voices whether they will start hunting soon or doing anything at all and most of the time the answer is ‘probably not’. It’s just the way they are…
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
Sand grouse and chicks
October 9, 2008
I came across this male double-banded sand grouse and chicks way inland in a very dry area of the park and far away from water. They were well camouflaged and I only spotted them because they were quite close to the road. They are very interesting birds as one of the males’ jobs as a dad is to provide the chicks with water. In order to do this he flies to the nearest water source (sometimes many miles away) and soaks his belly feathers in water which he then carries back to the chicks…
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
