This is the second post from the two-day game drive on the Erindi Private Reserve in Namibia (see Lions and Elephants).  We saw giraffes several times during the three drives. I always get a kick out of seeing them bend down for drinking (or tasting a salt lick in upper-right), and of seeing such gangly beasts run (lower-right).

We had never seen giraffes fight before (entire block), and it was fascinating to see all the action in slow motion. They were fighting over… what else?… a female (middle-right).  They would face each other (upper left),  then very slowly bend their necks down and hit the opponent in the rear with their horns (upper-right). Sometimes they would just bang their necks together (middle-left). There were occasional breaks in the fighting, while they ate off nearby trees (middle), the then it was right back to the fight (lower-left and lower-right).

FN, our Erindi guide (he introduced himself to us with two initials, saying his full name was not pronounceable) told us that this  fight would go on for days, until one of the two young males either broke his neck, or fell down from a numb rump having been hit too many times.  We apparently were just seeing the warming up acts of the battle to come.

See some video from this fight at the end of the post.

There were also many antelopes on the range. Perhaps the most important ecological purpose these animals play is to be food for the larger carnivores.  The Oryx (upper row) are also farmed for human consumption, and we can attest that Oryx meat, when properly cooked, is very delicious. The impala are considered the rabbits of the range, being so prolific, and our guide kept referring to them as “appetizers.”

Antelope do tend to be more active, often running away from us or from other perceived threats.  Since they are perhaps the most common meal of the carnivores, it is pretty clear how this behavior developed.  The bottom image shows a Spring Buck antelope, so named because of its off running posture, shown here in mid-stride.

Many other animals were also found on the reserve, though in smaller numbers. One hippo (upper-left) stared down from the river bank at us, but we never saw the open-mouth yawn that we wanted to capture.  Crocodiles (upper-right) were very common, and one of the largest dangers of the waters in the region.  We saw very few zebra (middle) or warthog (middle-right).  We did come upon an extended family of wild dogs though (bottom row), with roughly 20 pups all huddled together for warmth and protection (bottom-right).

As we left Erindi, and finished our Namibia excursion, there were just enough clouds on the horizon to create a beautiful sunset.

One final side note. July is winter in Namibia, and the morning and evening game drives are quite “c-o-l-d”.  We were always rewarded with a gourmet meal and a hot shower after each game drive, both of which were quite welcome.

Here is some video we took of the fight that was going on between the two giraffes. This may look like slow motion, but it is actually being shown in real time.  That is, these fights are real slow, almost like the giraffes were fighting in a pool of molasses.