What would spring be without the appearance of baby birds, zebra foals and young antelope? The Red Hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus caama) in the Addo Elephant National Park seem to have enjoyed a successful breeding season.

The calves, some only a few weeks old, are generally well camouflaged in the grass as they rest curled up near the adults.

Red Hartebeest are grazers that prefer medium to long grass and so are clearly visible in the open grassy areas of the park, their bronze coats shining in the sun.

Although they are sociable animals, the breeding herds consist of cows and their calves – the cows give birth to single calves at the onset of the rainy season. These remain well hidden for the first few days, joining other youngsters in their maternal herds once they are strong enough.

The dark tails of the animals, seen against the pale…

The Red Hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus) has been featured twice before in this blog. This is not surprising for these plains animals with a conspicuously white rump are always a pleasure to see – especially when their reddish-brown coats shine in the sun.

These two adults are standing close to a youngster in the Addo Elephant National Park. Note the different colour of the young one as well as its short spiky horns. Here is a closer view of a different lanky youngster.

A little further on, an adult picks its way over the dry stony ground towards the water at the Domkrag dam.

There are antelope droppings near its front feet and elephant droppings on the ground ahead of it. They are frequently seen alongside zebra in the plains.

These two appear to be unperturbed by the fighting zebras in their midst. The length and narrow width of…

This post is dedicated to those readers experiencing extremely cold conditions in the northern hemisphere. To brighten your lives, we are going to look at some elephants today.

Eating deep in the bush – where it is easy to disappear from view in seconds.

Testing the clean water at a waterhole.

Eating spiky thorns with no apparent discomfort.

Everyone enjoys seeing baby elephants.

Getting the hang of using the dangling trunk to drink.

Finding the trunk useful for splashing about!

It is fun to jostle about as one grows older.

The Old Hand: Another Back In the Day

Most Christmas gag gifts are forgotten by New Year’s. Some however last a lot longer. My great-uncle Elmer and his old friend, Gene, kept one going for years.

A couple acquaintances of Elmer wanted to give their children a pet and they settled upon a cute little billy goat kid. The problem was the kid outgrew his cuteness very quickly. He became a real problem for the parents and the children who wouldn’t even go outside unless the goat was tied up.

Since nobody answered their ad, offering a free goat, they did the only thing they could think of to get rid of the animal; they took it out to Elmer’s farm and gave it to him, knowing well he was too nice to refuse it.

I image that the goat had been given a name by it’s former owners, but…