Khwai River – Part 3
Botswana – Okavango | Anno 2022
A bateleur has beautiful colours – black, partly grey wings, and a fiery red beak. But for now, this young bateleur will have to make do with its brown plumage
Bateleurs usually live in small groups. When termites fly out, they attack them together
Burchell's starlings usually live in flocks of up to 50 individuals. When they roost together in their roosting tree, they often perform long concerts
Giraffes are ambling gaits. First, they move both legs on one side, then the other. This allows them to reach speeds of up to 55 km per hour
Bush elephants have a huge impact on the ecosystem. By felling trees and brush or eating their bark, they can transform savanna into grassland. By digging for water, they can create permanent water holes
Wild dogs are quintessentially social animals. Injured or sick members of the pack are treated in the same way as offspring
The explanation for this ‘sick care’ lies in the fact that a pack's strength depends primarily on its number of members. The more numerous they are, the better they can defend themselves against lions and spotted hyenas
A mother leopard (left) with her cub. Leopard cubs stay with their mother for about one and a half to two years. If all goes well, a leopard can live up to twenty years
A leopard is characterised by black spots on its coat, which are grouped in rosettes
For hunting, the leopard relies primarily on its keen hearing and excellent eyesight – both day and night. It usually hunts at night or at dusk
A leopard's whiskers change position depending on its activity. When walking, they are spread out to the sides. When sniffing, they are extended back along the head. When attacking prey, they are pointed forward, allowing the bite to be delivered in the right spot
It kills small prey with a bite in the neck, and larger animals it grabs by the throat until they suffocate
With its powerful jaw muscles, it can drag carcasses heavier than itself into trees, creating food stores that can be as far as two kilometres apart
Leopards are solitary animals. Only during mating season do leopards consciously seek out each other's company
Lions, spotted hyenas, and wild dogs are formidable competitors for the leopard. Even a Nile crocodile sometimes manages to catch a leopard. Only high up in a tree is there safety for a leopard and its prey
These white-faced whistling ducks are the best at whistling. This is how they keep in touch with their own kind
Pied kingfishers can manipulate and swallow their prey in flight. This allows them to continue hunting over large bodies of water without having to land anywhere
Often a pied kingfisher is hovering over the water until it suddenly makes a dive with its beak extended and catches prey
The African pygmy kingfisher weighs only 15 grams. But that doesn't stop it from chasing frogs and geckos
In principle, a hippo only leaves the safety of the water at night to graze. It generally prefers to stay in the water during the day, where it is protected from the intense rays of the sun
An adult elephant's footprint in the mud is about the size of a manhole cover
Grey heron
Great egret
Young hadada ibis
Great egret, sacred ibis
Zebras have good eyesight but poor sense of smell. Wildebeest, on the other hand, have good sense of smell but poor sense of sight. By systematically seeking each other's company, these grazers pool their resources and feel safer from predators
As grazers, they are also complementary: zebras graze the upper, less nutritious grass canopy, exposing the lower, greener material. Wildebeest prefer this
Wildebeest drink twice a day if possible
Given the abundance of water in the Okavango Delta, wildebeest here do not have to undertake annual long-distance migrations like their counterparts in Kenya and Tanzania
When push comes to shove, a blacksmith plover will even defend its nest – which is usually located on the ground – against elephants
In common sandpipers, on the other hand, when danger approaches, the chicks climb onto their mother's back so that she can carry them to safety
White-backed vultures like to cool off by dragging their wingtips through the water
Dozens of white-backed vultures can gather around a carcass. They are usually attracted by a hooded vulture that arrived first at the carcass
Spreading the wings and stretching the neck helps cool down
Cooling can also be achieved by covering the paws with faeces. The evaporating water then cools the blood vessels in their paws. Moreover, the corrosive uric acid kills the bacteria on their paws – always helpful if you regularly have to dig through carcasses
Despite its large black beak, a white-backed vulture is incapable of ripping open thick hide. However, its long neck and narrow head allow it to penetrate deep into the carcass in search of entrails and tender meat
With their large wings, white-backed vultures can circle for extended periods, cleverly exploiting thermals to reach altitudes of 200 to 500 meters
Tsessebes feed almost exclusively on grass. They use their elongated snouts and flexible lips to graze only the youngest blades of grass
Lions, cheetahs, African wild dogs and spotted hyenas are their main enemies, while jackals mainly target the young tsessebes
Jaak Palmans
© 2025 | Version 2025-08-30 14:00