10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2013

At 8am on Tuesday 30th August 2012, we arrived at Leeudril after leaving nearby Tweerivieren camp and were thrilled to spot a young female Leopard next to the water tank. You can notice in the above images how the Leopard uses her eye-lids as hoods to protect her sensitive eyes from the bright sun as she sprinted towards us.

Leopards 162

Leopards Cats Namibia Botswana 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2013

The birdlife in the Cape is nothing short of spectacular, with a healthy dose of charismatic endemic species. Over 40 species of South African endemics can be found in the Cape – Cape Sugarbirds, Cape Rockjumpers, Orange-breasted Sunbirds to name but a few.

Penguins 249

Penguins South Africa Leopards Sharks 249

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2014

I actually have many targets, in a way, a I want to see lots and lots, but there is one species that the reason that the trip is even happening, the animal that has been pretty much the top of my animal bucket list for well over a decade. It’s a species that has bedeviled and bewitched me over the years. The African Wild Dog.

Sharks 205

Sharks Leopards Snow Leopard Whaling 205

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2015

Other species I can recognize are colloquially called crocodile bark tree, due to the bark pattern, and paper bark. For you and me, there are about 200 bird species, but for proper tourists, there seem to be only five species in the reserve: Bengal Tiger , Leopard , Sloth Bear , Indian Wild Dog (Dhole) and the Gaur.

Tigers 255

Tigers Boars India Chickens 255

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

On a recent visit I threw my bags in the hotel room and went straight there, and got over 60 species of birds in a few hours and fantastic views of Nilgai , the largest antelope in India. Commoner species include Bar-headed Geese , parakeets, shrikes, mynas and minivets. You should also see Gharial and Mugger Crocodiles there.

India 250

India Wildlife Tigers Rhinoceros 250

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2015

Birds included common species such as Black Drongos , Jungle Babblers and a Hoopoe. These days, the species shares habitats with Tigers, Snow Leopard, Bears, etc. Clearings around the house offer favourite grazing to small herds of Chital deer and a playground to Gray (or Hanuman) Langurs.

Tigers 252

Tigers Dogs India Snow Leopard 252

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2016

I was planning a trip to South Africa, I had about five days to fill, I wanted to get a bunch of desert species (particularly the Springbok – not a bird) in a way that wasn’t too hard to reach from Johannesburg. Leopards are also awesome and I saw two at Madikwe. And lo, it was good. Madikwe has perhaps too many elephants.

South Africa 188

South Africa Leopards Giraffes Africa 188

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2015

For there is no species that I had more comprehensively failed to see than the Leopard. I had, after all, been to 13 countries that were home to leopards, over the course of 14 years, of which in all but one I had been in habitat suitable for this most adaptable of big cats. Leopards were problem species for me.

Cats 120

Cats Leopards Tigers South Africa 120

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

Its great diversity of habitats hosts an incredible bird count of over 900 species, including Africa’s 2nd highest list of endemics and near-endemics (after South Africa). We spotted a young Leopard and his mother in Mago National Park. Yellow-billed Stork. A long bearded D’Brazza’s Monkey was gorging on figs along the Mago River.

Ethiopia 255

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Cattle 255

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

Kooyman (co-author with Jim Mastro) spent decades studying Emperor Penguins and can be considered the world’s foremost expert on the species. Empire Penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) are the largest living penguin species, almost four feet tall (taller when they stretch), and the least likely to be seen on birding or nature trips.

Penguins 213

Penguins Seals Leopards Mammals 213

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2024

On my 21-day Kenyan safaris we reckoned to find around 600 species of birds and around 60 mammals, both impressive totals. We also saw a leopard, but it was the A to Z that sticks in the mind. Incidentally, encounters with both aardvarks and zorillas are rare – it’s much easier to see lions and leopards.

Fur 242

Fur Otters Bulgaria Estonia 242

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

So much so that the two species are placed within their own family, Chaetopidae. The species is insectivorous and nests amongst the scree and boulders on the steep mountain slopes. Even leopards still live here and occasionally terrorize the African Penguin colony at nearby Betty’s Bay.

South Africa 257

South Africa Penguins Africa Birds 257

10,000 Birds

APRIL 16, 2012

Lepidopterists, botanists, and herpetologists, that is, those who like butterflies, plants, and reptiles and amphibians, are drawn to the pine barrens by a host of species that either can be found only there or are found in great numbers there because of the huge areas of good habitat.

New Jersey 224

New Jersey New York City Leopards New York 224

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2012

Of the fifteen species of cranes alive today eleven are considered vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. Like many other species of cranes, the primary reason for its decline is the degradation, destruction and loss of wetland habitat. Its a hard life being a bird but its especially hard if you’re a crane.

Botswana 196

Botswana South Africa Africa Ethiopia 196

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 21, 2016

So close to the pole only a handful of bird species can survive, and even so, death toll is very high, hence their populations must be huge (millions). There are 11 species of birds that breed in the Ross Sea region. Finally – the Seabirds. As a consequence, the Ross Sea has one of the highest concentrations of seabirds in the world.

Russia 189

Russia Penguins Whaling Whales 189

4 The Love Of Animals

DECEMBER 7, 2010

Tonight’s episode, Leopard Queen, Premieres Tuesday, December 7, at 9PM ET/PT. Filmmaker John Varty, who filmed a wild female leopard for 17 years, opens an extraordinary window into the lives of Africa’s most secretive big cat. Video “Leopard Kittens!” – This is the cutest surprise ever! As promised, another sneak peak!

Cats 100

Cats Leopards Kittens South Africa 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2013

This park protects the largest remaining tract of dry deciduous forest in the west of India, offering visitors 37 species of reptiles, 38 species of mammals and, not to be forgotten – almost 300 bird species. Lions aside, carnivores are represented by Leopard, Hyena, Jackal, etc., Promise fulfilled.

Lions 250

Lions India Mammals Boars 250

4 The Love Of Animals

DECEMBER 7, 2012

From Cougars, tigers, cheetahs, jaguars, and snow leopards and more, it’s a great time to learn more about these amazing cats! Tune in Sunday to watch the first ever capture and release of an endangered snow leopard in Afghanistan! Snow Leopard of Afghanistan. Snow Leopard of Afghanistan: Boone’s Mission.

Snow Leopard 100

Snow Leopard Cats Afghanistan 2012 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2019

Reachable by direct flights from Portugal, the island country of Sao Tome and Principe lying in the Gulf of Guinea, in the armpit of Africa, has about 140 bird species and 28 endemics – more endemics per square mile than anywhere else on Earth. The main island of Sao Tome has about 100 species and 17 endemics among them.

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Sri Lanka Rwanda Papua New Guinea 203

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2015

Conservation is concerned about protecting populations, species, habitats, ecosystems. And because they are lions they don’t like other large predators, and so now there are less hyenas and leopards and the African Wild Dogs only hunt in a few areas not favoured by the lions. And culls of Nyala have been proposed.

Lions 253

Lions Sierra Leone Hunting Buffalo 253

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2021

The birdlife here is wonderful, a ten-night safari should give you over 200 species, (2018 & 2019 both gave us 242!). Add the chance of the African animals you’d expect, Elephant , Lion , Leopard and a host of antelope, who’s mouth would not water at the prospect?

Botswana 233

Botswana Africa Angola Elephants 233

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

Artists rendition of Inkayacu paracasensis There are 17 living species of penguins, which make up their own Linnean family (Spheniscidae), which is the only family in the order Sphenisciformes. Penguins are flightless, but some species locomote over long distances on antarctic ice to travel between breeding grounds and the sea.

Penguins 233

Penguins Seals Peru Leopards 233

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2019

If you’ve ever imagined being surrounded by giraffes, up close (at least as close as is safe) and personal with elephants, or one night drive away from seeing notorious predators like leopards and jackals, this is the place for you. Plus, the food, service, and accommodations meet the highest standards. Mind boggling, I answer!

Uganda 242

Uganda Senegal Africa Game 242

Critter News

AUGUST 14, 2009

Detectives seized 200 products believed to be made from endangered animals including musk deer, leopards and tigers. The raid took place on the day an amendment to the law controlling illegal trade in endangered species came into effect.

illegal 100

illegal Wildlife Endangered Species Trafficking 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 19, 2016

Even though the humans could become a bother, the absence of leopards, lions, hyenas, and other super predators (which were more widely distributed in those days, ca 12,000 years ago in the Middle East, or elsewhere, depending on how and when you think dogs were domesticated ) was a good thing.

Alligators 155

Alligators Leopards Protection Rabbits 155

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2015

And it did so in spectacular fashion, in the form of a mixed-species feeding flock, or a bird wave. They are large groups of birds of all different kinds of species. Even a Leopard Tortoise dropped by! Bird waves are a feature of birds all around the world. Blue Waxbill.

South Africa 145

South Africa Tortoises Leopards Woodpeckers 145

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

And, when a Leopard Frog moved to escape my car, the Cattle Egret was proven correct. They were also finding tree frogs though I am not sure of the exact species. Whatever the species is, these tree frogs didn’t have a chance. The frog was big but the bird was determined. I wish I had nailed the focus on this one.).

Cattle 120

Cattle Leopards Cows Wildlife 120

4 The Love Of Animals

JULY 11, 2011

Steve dons a camouflage suit for a once-in-a-lifetime experience that gets him closer to a wild leopard than he ever hoped. Then we’ll meet two of Thailand’s killer cats: the rare clouded leopard, a flamboyant feline with a taste for treetops and hunting in little or no light; and the fishing cat, known for hunting in the water.

Cats 100

Cats Leopards Namibia Lions 100

4 The Love Of Animals

DECEMBER 6, 2010

Tonight’s premiere episode, Big Cat Odyssey , follows lions and leopards through Africa’s harshest climatic extremes. Big Cat Odyssey chronicles their meticulous work over three decades of filming, photographing and documenting the behavior of big cat species in Botswana.

Cats 100

Cats Leopards Lions Botswana 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2015

Early starts are the rule when monitoring endagered species in Mkuze Game Reserve, in South Africa, but there’s a particular urgency to this morning’s start. And the two species were not inclined to get on, by which I mean that Lions will kill other large predators including Painted Wolves. Her concern was well founded.

Wolves 212

Wolves Lions Vet Dogs 212

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

And, to give his dream year a little more oomph, he created a grand once-in-a-lifetime goal: to track down and see every pitta species in the world in one year. Some of his finds are the first documented records of the bird in that area or the first decent photograph of a little-known species. And mosquitos.

Hunters 240

Hunters Sri Lanka Asia Solomon Islands 240

4 The Love Of Animals

JANUARY 3, 2011

You will be introduced to several unlikely friendships, from a leopard and golden retriever, to polar bears and Canadian Eskimo dogs (and more)! You will be scratching your head in wonder at some of the pairings, but ultimately smiling for the friendships formed among different species.

Animal Friendly 100

Animal Friendly Polar Bears Animal Leopards 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 18, 2023

This park protects the largest remaining tract of dry deciduous forest in the west of India, offering visitors 37 species of reptiles, 38 species of mammals and, not to be forgotten – almost 300 bird species. Lions aside, carnivores are represented by Leopard , Striped Hyena , Jackal , etc.,

India 147

India Boars Lions Mammals 147

10,000 Birds

APRIL 20, 2016

More than 30 different raptor species pass through this area, called the most vital flyway in the western Palearctic. But he’s got stiff competition, including peers working to save Tree Kangaroos in Papua New Guinea, Sumatran Orangutans in Indonesia, and Snow Leopards in Pakistan.

Papua New Guinea 100

Papua New Guinea Snow Leopard Pakistan illegal 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

My best bird of the year is based on the sighting rather than the species. Obviously my best bird of the year is going to come during this trip, what with several species of endemic pitta and broadbill possible, not to mention 8 species of hornbill and numerous babblers, storks, kingfishers, trogons and even the endemic Bornean Bristlehead.

2013 170

2013 Costa Rica Birds India 170

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

There wasn’t much around, and aside from a lifer Yellow-bellied Bulbul the two most impressive species were heard not seen – a Blue-headed Pitta an a Banded Kingfisher. This is the place, after all, that people see Sunda Clouded Leopards! I’ll admit that, on the first day, the birds didn’t impress.

Lemurs 164

Lemurs Rhinoceros Uganda Leopards 164

10,000 Birds

MAY 9, 2016

We saw Common Gallinules , a nice male Rose-breasted Grosbeak , Bald Eagles , and a Great Horned Owl among the fifty-three species for our checklist. Leopard Frogs are nice but they are not Gray Kingbirds. All was not lost though. It shows how tired I was that they didn’t even hurt.

New York 106

New York Bald Eagle McDonalds Fast Food 106