#NatureEscapes Day 6: Seeing lions never gets old. So much like house cats in their behaviour. If they focus on you, it's... *very* intense. This male lion had eaten well & was wounded by his recent kill, maybe a buffalo. His face and body bear many scars, but male lions in a pride who are still alive have a winning fight card against fearsome challengers. They are at the apex of apex predators. #DontPetLions #stayInTheVehicle #DangerCat

#NatureEscapes Day 5: Stripes left, solids right. Amazing how unconcerned many large mammals are by observers in large protected areas in #Tanzania. They are cautious outside parks. Lionesses tried to take a zebra soon after, for which we had front row seats (but *just* missed - actually took down the zebra, but were startled by something, and the zebra zipped away, thanking its lucky stars). #luckyZebra #chillElephants

#NatureEscapes Day 4: Flamingos are lovely, dancers of the bird world. "Upside down" beaks let them filter Spirulina algae from alkaline lakes, like this one in #EmpakaaiCrater in Ngorongoro Conservation Area in #Tanzania, that turn them pink. They gather in places where water flow is limited, so their lakes end up smelling pretty awful, like rotten eggs.

#BirdsSeenIn2022 #wildlifePhotography #BirdWatching #NaturePhotography #birds #birdsofmastodon #stinkyBirbs

#NatureEscapes Day 3: the key difference between humans and hippos is that when we yawn, we look way less scary.
Hippos are herbivores, but can scavenge meat at night, when they roam several km away from their watery daytime habitats. Their teeth are far larger than any extant land predator. They can rip boats to pieces & it’s easy to see how they could, given those jaws & their volatile tempers. 
#wildlife #WildlifePhotography #nature #NaturePhotography #tanzania

#NatureEscapes Day 3: the key difference between humans and hippos is that when we yawn, we look way less scary.
Hippos are herbivores, but can scavenge meat at night, when they roam several km away from their watery daytime habitats. Their teeth are far larger than any extant land predator. They can rip boats to pieces & it’s easy to see how they could, given those jaws & their volatile tempers.
#wildlife #WildlifePhotography #nature #NaturePhotography #tanzania

Slate grey skies on the coldest day so far this winter in #Ottawa. As a #butterfly guy, my critters are frozen solid and they won't be back til spring. So, I'm going with a very sunny, very colourful #NatureEscapes Day 2: A pair of little bee-eaters, at Lake Manyara, 2019 (just before that lake flooded and most shoreline ecosystems totalled by alkaline waters). #tanzania #wildlife #photography #WildlifePhotography #Birds #birdsofmastodon #teaching