A zebra enjoys a complimentary spa treatment at the Oxpecker Spa in exchange for a tasty snack of ticks and earwax @safarigaronga Makalaki Game Reserve #redbilledoxpecker #oxpecker #safari #wildandfree #safari #wildlifephotography
Happy Gnu Year All! Wishing you a wonderful 2022. #happynewyear #wildebeest #gnu #safari #wildlifephotography #africa #safari2022 #happynewyear
We saw the tell tail signs of brown hyena but couldn’t quite believe it until this rare and magical sighting of a young cub by @ant.inafrica yesterday evening. @mpongoprivategamereserve How adorable! #brownhyena #hyena #conservation #rewilding #endangeredspecies #protectthewild
Warthoglets having breakfast #warthog #safarilife #piglets #southafrica #safari
Big giraffe, little giraffe. #giraffe #safarilife #safari #giraffesofinstagram #easterncape #africanwildlifephotography #wildandfree
Today is Save the Elephant Day. In 1930, as many as 10 million wild elephants roamed huge swaths of the African continent. But decades of poaching and human encroachment have since decimated elephant populations. Today, there are approximately 415,000 left in the wild across Africa. While elephant poaching is trending downward, with significant declines in East Africa, poaching continues to steer the species dangerously nearer to extinction. #savetheelephant #savetheelephantday #elephants #wildandfree #africanelephant @_townmouse_ @ant.inafrica
Make Love Not War - A bull girafffe and sub-adult practice some “necking”. Used aggressively to assert dominance and impress the ladies, necking can also be very graceful and bonding. #giraffe #giraffelove #africanwildlife #wildlifephotography #safarilife
Such a privilege to see this newly born calf get acquainted with his dad. Mum on the other hand is not quite so happy! The Eastern Cape in South Africa is a wildlife photographer’s paradise providing endless oppprtunities for close-up encounters with iconic species like these in the wild. #wildlifephotography #iconicspecies #rhino #easterncape #safari #safarilife @_townmouse_
The traffic was terrible going home on Friday! Had to take a detour... #elephant #elephants #elephantsafari #elephantfamily #picadillycircus #elephantsinthewild
African elephants are a keystone species, meaning they play a critical role in their ecosystem. Also known as "ecosystem engineers," elephants shape their habitat in many ways. During the dry season, they use their tusks to dig up dry riverbeds and create watering holes many animals can drink from. Their dung is full of seeds, helping plants spread across the environment—and it makes pretty good habitat for dung beetles too! In the forest, their feasting on trees and shrubs creates pathways for smaller animals to move through, and in the savanna, they uproot trees and eat saplings, which helps keep the landscape open for zebras and other plains animals to thrive. Elephants need a lot of room to roam but deforestation and human encroachment has made this increasingly difficult. Numbers of elephants in the wild have dropped to 40,000 and they are now listed as vulnerable #africanelephant #safari #wildandfree #wildelephants #photographicsafari #africanwildlife #elephant
A pair of pied kingfishers have taken up residence at the waterhole @mpongoprivategamereserve A good sign that the rewilding is having a positive impact on the ecosystem. What a great way to start 2021! #rewilding #ecosystem #keepingitwild #wildandfree #naturerestoration #greenplanet #birding #easterncapebirding #wildlifephotography #natgeowild #safari #organic