Whales, Wildlife & Wilderness                                                                                                                                                 Pam & Wayne Osborn

Kenya - Central Highlands

Mount Kenya

The volcanic peaks of Mount Kenya. It's the second highest mountain in Africa after Mount Kilimanjaro at 5,200 metres. It lies just south of the equator.

The Poachers' Legacy

A animal ill-fated by its most distinguishing feature (its horns) and human greed. There is growing pessimism that rhinoceros will not survive in the wild beyond the next decade. Death rates are starting to exceed the birth rates.

 

Persistent and pervasive poaching driven by a growing illegal market for rhinoceros horn in Asia (predominantly China and Vietnam) is driving the increasing death rates.

 

Rhinoceros in this reserve where these images were taken have been poached. Poachers have also been shot and killed in this reserve.

 

These images are white or wide-lipped rhinoceros. Its wide mouth is well suited to grassland grazing.

Black Rhinoceros

Black rhinoceros are not black as the image shows. More appropriately they are also known as hook-lipped rhinoceros. Its hook-lipped mouth is adapted for plant browsing.

Orphan Black Rhinoceros

This baby was found orphaned and taken to the David Sheldrick Trust in Nairobi.

Water Buck

Thomson's Gazelles

Early morning light.

Thomson's Gazelles

A hartebeest in the background.

Warthog

Chameleon

Vervet Monkey

A relaxed vervet monkey high in his fever tree perch.  These yellow barked trees were named fever trees (before the cause of malaria was discovered) because they grew close to water where fevers were thought to eminate.

Impalas On The Run

Something spooked these bachelor impalas. Taken with a 600mm lens, handheld.

Curious Leopard

It has been a long day in the Aberdares and we were in a dash for the park gate before it closed for the night.

 

This leopard walked out of the bush about 200  metres ahead of us, proceeded to mark its territory and then sauntered down towards us. It was soon

too close to focus our long lenses and we scrambled for shorter kit.

Mount Kenya

Shrouded in the early morning mist.