Quirky freaks of nature, African wildlife.

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marc

Well-known member
One gets to witness all kinds of weird and wonderful things in nature,
here are a selection of subjects rarely seen from my East & Southern African trips & assignments over the many decades.

Sideways tusker
Growing into an adult has clearly not been a problem for this twin daggered Hippo, he was mixing with his pod without issues,
but one can only imagine being on the receiving end of just one of those tusks, whether by accident or in a dispute. :oops:
Remote North Luangwa Nat Park- Zambia.

Nikon D4s
Nikkor 500 f/4 VR
f/5.6
1/1600s
-.67 EV
ISO400

D4S_1798BPN.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.





Simpala??
Having the horns of a Sable and being female made this Impala a rare quirk of nature indeed.

Whilst it's not totally foreign to see a female Impala with horns, it was the size and shape of the horns that immediately drew my attention, then realising that it was female was just extraordinary and the only time I've ever seen such a combination in any antelope.
So rare was this sighting that when we reported this to TANAPA (Tanzanian Nat Parks) they wanted to collar this female (for research), that didn't take place as she was never sighted again.

Like our Hippo above, this female was living happily alongside a herd of Impala and obviously the male ram clearly sensed it was female as it would have driven it away long ago.
Ruaha Nat Park- TZ.

Nikon D3s
Nikkor 500 f/4 VR
f/5.6
-.33EV
1/1000s
ISO200

D3S_8576BPN.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.





In the Pink
Having a pink colouration is rarely seen in Hippo's and a privilege to witness.
According to my pilot John, this hippo is leucistic and not albino as it had some pigmented spots and dark eyes.
Leucistic animals often do not survive in the wild as they are visible to predators and will suffer from sunburn, this one was quite mature and doing OK,
so well in fact I managed to sight it again some 3 years later.
Hippos however are large enough to fend off rare attackers, whilst using their sweat as sunscreen.
Captured from a MicroLight aircraft high above the Luangwa River in Zambia's South Luangwa Nat Park.

Nikon D700
Nikkor 70-200VR f/2.8
f/5.6
1/320s
ISO1250

D71_5789BPN.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.





Watchwe
The only one of it's kind in the world, this hybrid is the result of a mating between a female Red Letchwe and a Waterbuck.
The day I took this it came close to getting taken by a pack of Wild Dogs, before it sought refuge in deep water.
Kwai region, Okavango Delta- Botswana.

Nikon D4s
Nikkor 400E FL f/2.8
-.67EV
f/4
1/1250s
ISO160

D4S_1420BPN.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.





Hippo Warthog
Hippo's once again rank high for quirkiness, this male clearly had not been to the dentist in a long long time! :ROFLMAO:
Here his tusks have decided to holiday outside his mouth and consequently developed massive curvatures, and something I have seen in a few other hippos over the years.
South Luangwa Nat Park- Zambia.

Nikon D4
Nikkor 500 f/4 VR
f/7
1/320s
-.67 EV
ISO800

ND4_7954BPN.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.


Cheers
Marc
 
Last edited:
One gets to witness all kinds of weird and wonderful things in nature,
here are a selection of subjects rarely seen from my East & Southern African trips & assignments over the many decades.

Sideways tusker
Growing into an adult has clearly not been a problem for this twin daggered Hippo, he was mixing with his pod without issues,
but one can only imagine being on the receiving end of just one of those tusks, whether by accident or in a dispute. :oops:
Remote North Luangwa Nat Park- Zambia.

Nikon D4s
Nikkor 500 f/4 VR
f/5.6
1/1600s
-.67 EV
ISO400

View attachment 9828




Simpala??
Having the horns of a Sable and being female made this Impala a rare quirk of nature indeed.

Whilst it's not totally foreign to see a female Impala with horns, it was the size and shape of the horns that immediately drew my attention, then realising that it was female was just extraordinary and the only time I've ever seen such a combination in any antelope.
So rare was this sighting that when we reported this to TANAPA (Tanzanian Nat Parks) they wanted to collar this female (for research), that didn't take place as she was never sighted again.

Like our Hippo above, this female was living happily alongside a herd of Impala and obviously the male ram clearly sensed it was female as it would have driven it away long ago.
Ruaha Nat Park- TZ.

Nikon D3s
Nikkor 500 f/4 VR
f/5.6
-.33EV
1/1000s
ISO200

View attachment 9831




In the Pink
Having a pink colouration is rarely seen in Hippo's and a privilege to witness.
According to my pilot John, this hippo is leucistic and not albino as it had some pigmented spots and dark eyes.
Leucistic animals often do not survive in the wild as they are visible to predators and will suffer from sunburn, this one was quite mature and doing OK,
so well in fact I managed to sight it again some 3 years later.
Hippos however are large enough to fend off rare attackers, whilst using their sweat as sunscreen.
Captured from a MicroLight aircraft high above the Luangwa River in Zambia's South Luangwa Nat Park.

Nikon D700
Nikkor 70-200VR f/2.8
f/5.6
1/320s
ISO1250

View attachment 9832




Watchwe
The only one of it's kind in the world, this hybrid is the result of a mating between a female Red Letchwe and a Waterbuck.
The day I took this it came close to getting taken by a pack of Wild Dogs, before it sought refuge in deep water.
Kwai region, Okavango Delta- Botswana.

Nikon D4s
Nikkor 400E FL f/2.8
-.67EV
f/4
1/1250s
ISO160

View attachment 9833




Curly tusker
Hippo's once again rank high for quirkiness, this male clearly had not been to the dentist in a long long time! :ROFLMAO:
Here his tusks have decided to holiday outside his mouth and consequently developed massive curvatures, and something I have seen in a few other hippos over the years.
South Luangwa Nat Park- Zambia.

Nikon D4
Nikkor 500 f/4 VR
f/7
1/320s
-.67 EV
ISO800

View attachment 9834

Cheers
Marc
Amazing stuff,cracking images, loved the info!
 
A terrific series of animal oddities Marc, and beautifully captured --- a rare privilege indeed to see them, as I am certain a high percentage of these unusual specimens usually don't make it into adulthood.
 
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