Amboseli Nat’l Park

Part IV

There are some 1600 elephants in the park, the largest concentration of elephants in Kenya. Included are some of the largest tuskers found anywhere. These are truly remarkable animals. It always surprises me that an animal this large can move without making a sound. I can remember being in a hide in Botswana and looking up to see 15+ elephants drinking water and I never heard them coming.

Below are the last images in this series from Amboseli. I hope you enjoy them. To see a larger version just click on the image.

I’m told that the matriarch of a flock of ostrich will lay her eggs and the other females will lay theirs with them. This becomes a communal nursery. At some point these chicks will leave the flock and go out on their own. This image shows a large flock of juvenile ostrich who will stay together until they mature and seek mates. I had not seen this behavior before and found it very interesting.

These two young giraffes were fun to watch as they relaxed as the daylight hours waned. The one giraffe appears to be battling flies as she grabbed her tail presumably to scratch it.

I cannot resist photographing the flamingos. I don’t know whether it’s the soft pink color or the oddness of the bird. Heads down for some serious feeding.

We followed this lion on his long journey across the dry lake heading for the fresh water lake. This is the main source of water for the animals in the park. It can be a long way between drinks.

Although elephants are grey their color appears to change depending on the color of the soil around them as shown in the top photo. In the second image the young calf checks out our vehicles. Looks to me like he’s waving, though.

Amboseli is a great destination for serious birders. I’m afraid I didn’t get anywhere close to seeing the 400+ birds that visit the park. I was too distracted by all of the other animals. The top image is of an African Spoonbill and the second appears to be a Madagascar Squacco Heron, but I’m not an experienced birder.

With all the dust in the air sunsets in Amboseli can be very dramatic. This one was a fitting close to our trip.

Stay tuned for more images from my African trip. Hope you’ve enjoyed this series of some of my favorite images from Amboseli. To be notified of the next post, please sign up at the top of this page. Thanks for joining me! Cheryl