Living Luangwa

These fascinating birds are always fun to watch and photograph. The lower part of their beak is slightly longer than the upper and they fly with it sticking into the water. They scoop out fish that are close to the surface and eat them on the wing. I am constantly looking to get the perfect skimmer photo although a little difficult as we don’t see them very often in the dry season. I came across these three birds fishing up and down a lagoon near here early this morning. The light was poor so I went for a more abstract shot by slowing down the shutter and blurring the birds slightly. I quite like the result.

Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography

I find this photo quite captivating although apparently yellow eyes are a sign of vicious character in lions. She certainly seems to be looking right through you..

Well the lions are back in force again. We were starting to get a little concerned about the whereabouts of the Hollywood pride and thought that they had possibly crossed over the Luangwa river into the Nsefu sector. They turned up in camp a few days ago though and have been nearby ever since. There are currently 6 adult females, 1 adult male and 6 cubs. The cubs consist of the four from last years five - now over a year old and quite big and another two which appear to be about 8 months old.

I watched the whole pride this morning feeding on a very dead and distended hippo. I won’t post any pictures as it was fairly disgusting. It was hilarious to watch though as every now and then the rotting hippo would emit a blast of gas and the lions would run for cover! They would then approach very tentatively, snarling at the hippo, only to be sent running again by the next blast! Eventually they got used to it and just ignored it and carried on feeding.

Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography

We have a number of groves of African ebony trees in this area and they are wonderful places for photography. When the sunlight gets too harsh outside I often go to one of these and the dappled light sometimes produces something special.

Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography

Early this morning I came across the same female leopard that I photographed yesterday. She was hunting some impala which was interesting to watch. Unfortunately she wasn’t succesful. It was very early and the sun hadn’t risen and so the light was a little flat. Still I got some nice shots and I have converted them to black and white for a change. This leopard also appears to be pregnant which is very exciting - maybe there will be a cub around soon…

Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography

Kaingo is the local name for leopard and we are seeing plenty of them at the moment. I’m not sure whether it is because the lions are not around right now but the leopards in the area are showing themselves a lot more than usual. There is a large male that we often see drinking in the lagoon nearby and yesterday he killed an Impala and cached it in a sausage tree behind our house. He is difficult to get close to in the day time though and the leopard in the photo is a lovely female who is a lot less shy.

Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography

I spent a wonderful morning yesterday visiting the Chipembele wildlife education trust in Mfuwe. The centre was established by Steve and Anna Tolan ten years ago and is still run by them. Although it is primarily an education centre for teaching local children about wildlife and conservation they are also involved in a number of other projects. These include anti-poaching operations, forestry protection and archaeological excavations.

It is such an inspiring place to visit as everything has been planned and carried out with such obvious passion and commitment. This is one of the classrooms which holds a vast amount of learning material all set out with meticulous attention to detail.

Chipembele also serves as an orphanage for animals. They do not raise them to keep as pets but try to rehabilitate them back into the wild. They have been very successful with a wide variety of species from warthogs to monkeys. This is Steve sitting on the front step of the centre with their latest addition - a buffalo calf called Elton.

The other orphan currently in residence is this gorgeous (but quite vicious) young serval called Chiko. We don’t often see serval in this area so it was wonderful to see one so close up.

If you are in the Valley and have a chance to visit Chipembele then I highly recommend that you do. You can also check out their website at www.chipembele.org

Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography

I am struggling a little with animal subjects to photograph at the moment. There is still a lot of water in the lagoons inland and so the concentration of wildlife near the river has not built up yet. We have had a few leopard sightings and have heard the lions about but haven’t seen them. There are some large herds of buffalo and antelope around and a fair number of elephants but no real action right now.

Still, the light is stunning at this time of year - beautifully crisp and clear and I am really enjoying photographing a variety of different subjects like these. Soon it will be all about large mammals again…

Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography