This is another one of these diaries. You probably know the drill by now. No meta or conflict, just some photos of wildlife and some beautiful things. I have to say that I am in a serious post vacation funk abetted by tons of ugly news and a country that seems to have gone utterly insane. I doubt I am alone in my anger and disgust. I hope this helps in some small way.
The Mokuluas, Oahu
Male Leopard Panthera pardus
The African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) is the great generalist amoung African cats and can live in habitats from near desert to rainforest. They are the smallest of the four big cats (Genus Panthera - Tigers, Lions, Jaguars and Leopards) with males reaching up to 132 lbs and females smaller are around 90 lbs. This was the first male leopard I had seen in two trip to Africa and they are noticably bigger and thicker than the females.
Stretch!!
Leap
African Buffalo Syncerus caffer
Big, foul-temperered and dangerous, these critters seemed to really take a keen interest in our vehicles when we were nearby.
With Oxpecker
Calf
Warthog Phacochoerus africanus
Handsome creature no?
A pair of males
Kori Bustard Ardeotis kori
Along with the similarly sized Great Bustard this is the heaviest bird capable of flight.
Malachite Kingfisher Alcedo cristata
Mmmmm, frog
And now for the MORE part mentioned in the title..back in Hawaii last weekend I photographed one of these beautiful little critters...
Harlequin Shrimp (Hymenocera picta)"
They are rare and hard to spot. We actually got quite lucky because we were chasing an octopus and it went under a coral head to hide and out popped this little guy into the open. There were actually a pair of them feeding on a starfish.
Here you can see the starfish, I believe it is a Fisher's Star.
Feel free to treat this as a community photo diary and please be good humans. If you have a problem with this diary I refer you to the Complaint Department's Stand In for the evening...
Full Moon Over the Mokes
And a bonus baby elly down here...