NOVEMBER 2011 – A warthog stands in the green grass of the Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
When you’re going on safari, be prepared to get up early. Not only is the sunlight much softer in the morning, you may also encounter animals that are rather shy and avoid the huge visitor streams.
Our early start into the day was rewarded by this shot of a warthog. It’s quite rare to see one as there were just about 3,800 warthogs in the park. Here’s a comparision of the animal numbers of the “Big Five”:
| Species | Approx. Animal Numbers (2003) |
| Rhinoceros | very few |
| Leopard | 1,000 |
| Lion | 1,500 |
| Warthog | 3,800 |
| Elephant | 11,700 |
| Buffalo | 32,000 |
The photo shows green bushes in the back. That’s because the rainy season had just begun, turning the grass and bushes into vivid green. As nice as this may look, it makes spotting animals more difficult, especially when they move beyond the second or third row of bushes from your location. They become more or less invisible. Also, during rainy season they tend to find enough natural water holes in the park and won’t show as often at the water holes near the main gravel roads.
So, we were very pleased to encounter this warthog right after leaving the camp.
The high resolution image
| Capture Date & Time | 24-NOV-2011, 07:06 |
| Location | Kruger National Park, South Africa |
| Camera | Canon EOS-1D Mark III |
| Lens | Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM |
| ISO | 800 |
| Exposure | 1/640 sec at f/6.3 |
| Digital Image Source Format | Canon Camera RAW (CR2) |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 3888 x 2592 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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