Thursday Think Tank, A Little Late...

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Golden plain as far

as the eye can see...room to

roam and to be free.

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Having watched lions move unchecked across the wild savannahs of Africa, I wish only the same untouched environment for every new generation of cubs.

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To read more poems around animals, do check out the Thursday Think Tank at Poet's United...

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http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/2011/06/thursday-think-tank-52-animals.html#more

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The A - Z April Challenge: K

K is for Kori Bustard

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Finding an animal to post for today was a challenge. I use only pictures I've taken myself, and could think of no species we'd seen in Africa that began with a K. Then on my lists of animals sighted, I came across a bird we'd spotted briefly in Kenya...

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 With an average weight of 30 lbs. and a wingspan of eight feet, the Kori Bustard is one of the heaviest birds capable of flight, though it spends most of its time on the ground in search of seeds and lizards to eat. Slow moving and passive, it takes flight only to escape its many predators.

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This bird population is diminishing at an alarming rate. Bustards take several years to mature and have a low success rate with breeding. Human encroachment and hunting threaten it further, and unless stringent measures are taken, the Bustard's future is gravely threatened...

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For more A - Z posts, be sure to pop by Arlee Bird's site and see what others have done with the letter K...

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http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/2011/01/very-special-and-exciting

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Saturday Photo Hunt: Monkeys

On photo safari through East Africa's game parks, one is lifted from the ordinary and transported to a world of such stunning beauty that the senses can barely take it in. Miles of golden savannah, thorny acacia trees that dot the landscape, and sky that goes on forever instill such awe that speech becomes inadequate and unnecessary.

 And most amazing of all is that this brilliance is but background to the

majesty of the animal life that calls these grasslands home.

While I marvelled at the lions and elephants, and found myself enthralled by the gangly giraffe, I developed a special fondness for the cheeky Vervet Monkeys with their tiny black faces and soft brown eyes.

 Locals do not consider these little guys cute...they are bold, opportunistic and altogether too quick to leap into safari trucks and dining rooms to steal away what they can...

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  I never tired of watching their antics, and the futile efforts of the humans who tried to control them!

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You might like these other posts of my Africa trip:

http://imaginationlane.blogspot.com/2010/07/african-morning.html

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http://imaginationlane.blogspot.com/2010/07/hot-air-balloon-over-serengeti.html

The photos above were taken at the Samburu National Reserve in Kenya

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I'm linking this post to Saturday Photo Hunt, graciously hosted by tnchick. Do stop by and check out other photos that spotlight black this week!
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http://tnchick.com/

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I am also linking up to a great meme I just discovered called Camera Critters. I can see I'm going to love this one...
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http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/