Ethiopia - Wildlife

[Manfred M]

People do not tend to travel to Ethiopia to see the wildlife, other than perhaps the birds. It's not that there isn't any; there are lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, etc. that live there, but the nature of the landscape makes them harder to spot and the quantities are far smaller than in other countries further south. That being said, here are a few wildlife shots from the last two weeks:


I'm not a bird photographer, but did get a nice capture of this waterbird (perhaps the bird photographers out there can help with the ID?). It was taking off just in front of a Nile crocodile, lying in the water with its mouth open. My timing was good and the angles of the bird and croc align nicely.





Then of course was a Nile croc heading into the lake





There was a pod of a few hippo in the area as well. Not a great shot, but we did see the hippos. Interesting trivia is that these are the most dangerous mammels in Africa and more humans are killed by them than by any other animal. Getting in the path of a hippo heading to water is not a good place to be.




And of course, there were pelicans absolutely everywhere....

[Mike Buckley]

Very nice, Manfred. I especially like the shot of the pelicans.

[ShaneS]

Quite the array of wildlife Manfred! I too am a fan of the pelican shot and wonder if the first shot would be enhanced by a tighter crop.

BTW, I am enjoying all of your images and explanatory notes from your trip. It is quite an education about a part of the world that I am completely unfamiliar with. Thank you for sharing.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Nice shots, thanks for sharing your work. The bird in the first shot is some kind of Heron, but I don't know the exact species since I don't know my Ethiopian wildlife too well

[Bobobird]

Very nice set and like the others it is the pelicans, close up the croc and the heron.

I had no idea about the hippos thanks for the education

#1 - looks like a tri-coloured heron but will leave it to Joe since I personally have never seen one.

[davidedric]

Very nice photos, Manfield. Especially the bif

The bird is a goliath heron. I had to look twice - the bird is so huge it is very easy to identify in the field. No-one ever looks too hard at the colours.

P. S Actually, the anopheles mosquito "kills" most by transmitting malaria. I know it's not what you meant, but worth remembering

[John 2]

Another very nice set of images. Pelicans for me as well but the croc looks particularly threatening. Nice work.

[Brownbear]

Hi Manfred,

Nice images... I especially adore the image of the crocodile because of the detail and you've captured its' beauty. I also especially like this image cropped just above the first line of grass or with a bit of the water cropped off the bottom because it places more attention on the crocodile... Beautiful!

[FrankMi]

A great set of images Manfred. My favorite is the first one. Is there any chance you could get a bit more separation from the busy background to accentuate the Nile Crocodile and Goliath Heron?

[Wavelength]

Those are fine images; First one is a classic framing; you are blessed by Nature to click in time
....If i am right hippo kills by its heavy biting, right?
The group of Pelicans is really pleasing to watch

[Manfred M]

Those are fine images; First one is a classic framing; you are blessed by Nature to click in time
....If i am right hippo kills by its heavy biting, right?
The group of Pelicans is really pleasing to watch

Thank you!


The hippo kills by crushing anything that gets between it and where it is going. Powerful mouth, heavy body and very thick skin are all it needs...

[ajsmith]

Wonderful pictures. I like the croc/heron and pelicans the best.