1. Born Climber

On an African winter afternoon, after a long nap in the shelter of a tree, this lonely leopard yawns, stretches and starts walking on his kopjes, this granite rock formation typical of Serengeti plains. The vantage point of such a position makes it a favorite spot for the predator. The sun is coming down, it’s time to move one’s body. A last look at his human observers, and the leopard goes through the rocks and disappears in the landscape.

📍Serengeti, Tanzania, August 2023

2. His majesty of Serengeti

It’s a whole family of pachyderms which roams here among the tall grass of the Serengeti plains. This one leads her group, she surely noticed us. Elephants are very social, and very tactile. They touch each other with their trunks, their ears, their tusks, their tails, their feet, their whole body. Their sense of touch is very developed, as is the language that derives from it. The trunk can detect movements of the order of a quarter of a millimeter, it consists of some of the most sensitive tissues ever studied.

📍Serengeti, Tanzania, August 2023

3. Éléphanteau

These little elephants seem to be imbued with the carefree nature of childhood. This one, who still hides under her mom’s feet, does not seem to be more than two years old : his little tusks don't show yet! To practice playing one’s trunk, learn to use it to drink, to talk, takes a lot of effort. This baby giant will depend on the vigilance of her parents for a few more years. His tusks will grow fast, about 17 centimeters a year, during his whole life, until he hopefully becomes a 70 year old elephant.

📍Serengeti, Tanzania, August 2023

4. Baby Thomson’s

This baby Thomson’s gazelle would not leave the legs of her mother. Even when this one just squatted for a little wee ! She is only two or three months old, but nonetheless pretty curious, looking around : this big square mass behind her moves slowly, not a threat, but better be on your guard, predators are roaming around.

📍Serengeti, Tanzania, August 2023.

5. A Lion’s feast

You will mostly see them lying on the blond grass of the savannah, resting or playing with each other, while gazelles and other food purveyors peacefully pass right next to them. If they have had their share already, no need to hustle, lions can go a week without eating. But it doesn’t mean they don’t eat heavy, when a lion’s stomach is empty, his appetite is voracious. This female just feasted on a wildebeest, she can swallow up to 50 kg of meat at a time, up to a fourth her weight. It’s her kids turn now, the whole pride will take their share.

📍Serengeti, Tanzania, August 2023

6. Twig in the beak

Brisk eye, blade of grass in the beak. This ostrich has other things to do than look at us endlessly... she's going to peck. Pink skin, black plumage, with white tips of the wings and white tail : it's a male, with no doubt. Not very far, a female wanders. Grey-brown plumage.

📍Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, August 2023

7. The early bird gets the wasp

Eyes wide open, an insect in the beak : the superb starling. This perching bird is not afraid of humans, he invites himself to the picnic, shameless. He sure loves company! His crew counts more than 40 mates. But when it comes to food, the harmony is not always there...

📍Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, August 2023

8. Superb starling

Bright orange coat, iridescent blue plumage, intense looks : the superb starling. This perching bird is not afraid of humans, he invites himself to the picnic, shameless. He sure loves company! His crew counts more than 40 mates. But when it comes to food, the harmony is not always there...

📍Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, August 2023

9. Silvery-cheeked and long eyelashes

Intriguing, with his large beak topped by a singular hump, cream-coloured casque, resonance chamber for its screeches, with his long black eyelashes, shields from sun and dust, raised on both sides when he stares at us. His favorite pastime : flying from branch to branch and having a feast of figs. Silvery-cheeked hornbills often live in flocks of tens or even hundreds of individuals. Males and females remain faithful, all their lives. In October, the couple looks for a suitable place: a cavity in a tree. The male brings ground pellets to his companion, who walls herself in little by little, before laying and, for forty days, hatching the eggs of her chicks.

📍Ngare Sero Forest Reserve, Tanzania, May 2023

10. Itchy Bird

In the foothills of Mount Meru, on the waters of a large pond or in the canopy, birds of all colours and shapes wander around Ngare Sero Forest Reserve. On this branch, this Hadada Ibis lets out a very recognizable raucous, trumpeting, « ha-da-da » scream, and starts to rub his feathers with the tip of his beak. He seems to be itching,… he is just doing a bit of toiletry. Some sun and you will see him displaying his iridescent purple sheen, as light scatters and reflects off of the keratin in his feathers. The Hadeda Ibis feeds mostly on insects, millipedes and earthworms, hence its dirty long and thin bill.

📍Ngare Sero Forest Reserve, Tanzania, May 2023

11 & 12. Pensive old worlder

Eyes wide open by curiosity, or greed... Blue Sykes Monkeys spend most of their time foraging for food : big and tasty fruits preferably. They rarely put their feet on the ground, and spend their night sleeping high in the canopy. They have a tendency to stay in their birth territory. Well... only the females. Because one year before they reach sexual maturity, the young males are evicted from their maternal group. Sykes Monkeys live in bunches of dozens of individuals : many females for one single adult male.

📍Ngare Sero Forest Reserve, Tanzania, May 2023

13. Behind the leaves

In the heart of the forest, suddenly covering the birdsong symphony, a branch crackles, leaves rain down, and throughout them appears a long white tuft : the tail of an old world monkey. A Colobus, a Mantled Guereza. His entire appearance is contrast: his black face is framed by white hair. On his arms and back, the animal wears like a coat of white fur, sparkling in the sun ; the blackness of his trunk, in the shade, is reinforced. Master of disguise : the monkey blades perfectly into the background.

📍Ngare Sero Forest Reserve, Tanzania, May 2023

Tanzania 2023-2024