Jurassic Parkish

These are a few of the non-baboon species I encountered while in Africa.  I should note that I didn't get to see lions or giraffes, which bummed me out pretty badly.  The safari we had slated in Zimbabwe was in this awesome park where we could camp and wake up amongst the rough, but due to heavy rains and the season, it got flooded out the week before we went.  Heartbreak central.  But these are my favorite animal shots nonetheless:

This guy was on a tree at Refilwe, in Lanseria outside of Johannesburg.  Janni will roll her eyes, but I swear everything in Africa is a dinosaur.  The animals are just so BIG and unlike anything I have ever seen before; they can't be normal.  Rock dassies are just the cutest little nuggets!  This pair was at Tsitsikamma National Park, outside of Storms River, South Africa.  They scurry up over the rocks and live the crevices of really high cliffs.  Huge families crawling all over and peeing everywhere.

This baby lamb was captured also at Refilwe, as part of the property.  The herd had just produced three babes, and I caught this one in action.






This monster was also caught at Refilwe, waggling across a field to the river.  HUGE.  Easily 8 ft long.  DINOSAUR.  DINOSAUR.





Mr. Penguin hung out by me for awhile, amongst his peers at Boulders Beach on the Lower Peninsula, outside of Capetown.  Shortly after this photo was taken he was found engaging in a violent altercation with another male suitor.




Ok, I don't like birds.  I ESPECIALLY dont like birds that are as tall as a monster truck with beaks the size of my face.  But seeing this ostrich family just hanging out in the wild was, pretty cool.  You see that little baby underneath?  Barely visible, but he's there!  DINOSAURS.




This was at the top of a hike, and is clearly a dinosaur.  No other explanation.







Baby warthogs in Zimbabwe.  Warthogs are classically hideous, but we happened to be in Africa while all the animals had babes, so the babes make the warthogs forgiveable for being warthogs.






Tell me THIS doesn't terrify you.  They're MASSIVE DINOSAURS.




Smellyphants are my eternal favorite, and yes they are also dinosaurs.  But they're also really playful and smart.  This young adolescent was digging and pooping at the bank of a river, where we were on a boat.


Crocodiles are apparently lazy dinosaurs.  They sit on their eggs for a month, and don't eat during that time.  They also don't clear the trash water bottles from their nest area, which is just poor housekeeping.  Zambezi River, Zimbabwe

I still don't like birds, but the guides we were with lost their beans when they saw this red owl.  They told us that they hadn't seen these guys for over 6 years, so I guess he's kinda cool and pretty.  For a dinosaur.


AH these beasts were terrifying.  We were on horseback in Zimbabwe, and the guide told us that they are by far the most aggressive and dangerous animal in the park; that they will attack for no reason whatsoever.  They are extremely skittish and apparently it was a big deal that they were there.  As soon as we got here, this one on the left immediately got up to stand and glared straight at us.  I was paralyzed in fear, and the guide was whispering at me to "GET YOUR PHOTO. DO IT NOW. NOW. NOW. NOW"  Even he was scared of dinosaurs.

This bird is probably not a dinosaur, and I don't really like it.  However, it's a good shot I took in Lesotho, and the guide was super happy to see him, so here he is.