Ruaha, Tanzania, part 3

So much space.. dwarfs the giraffe.

wide flat rivers..

That are easily waded across.  Now that I see these photos, I see that I’ve got the giraffe ‘standing’ on the tree.  Not very good composition!

This is one of the two types of red billed horn bill.  As I said before, I forget how to identify them.  They are building a nest.  When they are done, and the female lays the eggs, the male seals up the cavity and she stays in there until the chicks are ready to fledge.  He feeds her through a small slit.  Pretty amazing, I think.

Watch this leaf that was brought to add to the nest….

Apparently, it didn’t meet high quality standards..

Back to more elephants!

Couple of little goobers practicing pushing and shoving.

Such big faces.. and love those eyelashes!

oops.. must have had an itch!

A couple of male ostrich..

There’s a girl!

This is another hornbill..  a crowned hornbill.  Only one we saw!

Another giant baobob with an interesting history, I’m sure.

This is a bachelor herd.. a bunch of boys without a herd of their own.

This young mother decided she wasn’t happy with our presence.  She charged the vehicle a couple of times.  We left.

Somebody else checking us out.

Next few are just landscape.. trying to get the feel of all the vast space on these plains.  It’s so beautiful here!

On the road to somewhere….

More baobobs with distinctive features.  Easy to see them as hiding places..

This gives you somewhat a perspective on the size of baobobs.  This one isn’t even as big as they get.

This is a male lesser kudu.  Not as common as the greater and was the only male kudu with a mature set of horns that I saw on this trip.  Their horns are my favorite… the way they twist.

 

More lovebirds!

 

More boys playing at pushing and shoving.

Didn’t even see the little one until they approached the road.

Another hyrax spying on us..

This youngster decided to put on a show and charge us.  Notice he keeps chewing on his grass.

When it didn’t work, he ran back to the safety of the herd and then proceeded to try to trash the bushes in his effort to impress us!

Notice the bush is still standing despite his efforts to impress us..

Here we go again… I’m glad we could give so many growing calves plenty of practice.

More elephants coming…

And going….

Elephants crossing the river by my tent..

More giraffe crossing the river.

These were the only lions we saw in Ruaha.

Sun lost in the mist and clouds just before sunset.

More of the roller everyone wants to photograph!

Female and young male kudu.. his horns haven’t even made one full twist.

Looked like another attempt is about to happen..

Here’s some enlightening information on giraffe anatomy in this photo.  Clearly, they are both ready.. his ‘junk’ is out and she’s leaning forward.  Looks like everything is good to go….

But, once again, it didn’t happen.

This is the male’s breeding plumage.  Good thing he doesn’t have ‘wear’ these tail feathers all year because it looks really awkward for a bird this size.

See what I mean?

Another harrier hawk.. remember in an earlier post I mentioned that the hornbill seals in the female and eggs?  That’s what this hawk is trying to get in to.  Fortunately for the hornbills, this hawk was unsuccessful.

Seems like a good place to end this one.