This is another in a series of distraction diaries.. although today I don't want you to be distracted from making calls first. Please visit Slink's diary or make some calls from numbers on the front page. Ok....
It is unfortunate that the Republican Party has as its symbol the noble elephant. I have personally recommended the hagfish as a replacement but that is probably being unfair and unkind to slime eels. In any case I have been going through some old folders and processing some images from Africa that missed the first cut or maybe a different take in processing. I hope you enjoy them.
Bull Elephant
The African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the largest living land mammal reaching weights of over 20,000 pounds.
Young Elephant
Lilac-Breasted Roller (not an elephant)
Another big Bull Elephant
Mother (probably) and Baby Elephant The little ones are very fun to watch. They cannot really control their trunks yet so they are all over the place.
Nice to take a little dust bath!
Kori Bustard The world's heaviest flying bird.
African Wild Dog The scientific name Lycaon pictus means painted wolf.
These amazing canids are highly endangered. Please visit the African Wild Dog Conservancy to find how to help.
They sleep through the mid-day and then head out to hunt in the late afternoon.
This is just a yawn but it does show off the impressive chompers.
Tawney Eagle (not a wild dog)
There are probably less than 5,000 left in the wild.
From Wikipedia:
The African Wild Dog is endangered by human overpopulation,[14] habitat loss and hunting. It uses very large territories (and so can persist only in large wildlife protected areas), and it is strongly affected by competition with larger carnivores that rely on the same prey base, particularly the lion and the Spotted Hyena. Lions often will kill as many wild dogs as they can but do not eat them. Hyenas usually follow them to steal their kills. One on one the hyena is much more powerful than the Wild Dog but a large group of Wild Dogs can successfully chase off a small number of hyenas because of their teamwork. It is also killed by livestock herders and game hunters, though it is typically no more (perhaps less) persecuted than other carnivores that pose more threat to livestock. Most of Africa's national parks are too small for a pack of wild dogs, so the packs expand to the unprotected areas, which tend to be ranch or farm land. Ranchers and farmers protect their domestic animals by killing the wild dogs. Like other carnivores, the African Wild Dog is sometimes affected by outbreaks of viral diseases such as rabies, distemper, and parvovirus. Although these diseases are not more pathogenic or virulent for wild dogs, the small size of most wild dog populations makes them vulnerable to local extinction due to diseases or other problems.
I hope you have enjoyed your visit here. Please be good humans (and get back to work!)
Botswana Dawn