|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No1, of 4 so far, in series on Kruger National Park. To see series search for "kpseries".
The Kruger National Park is the largest game reserve in South Africa. The park lies in the east of South Africa, in the eastern parts of Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces. It is one of the largest national parks in the world, with an area of almost 20,000 km2. The park is approximately 360 km long, and has an average width of 65 km. At its widest point, the park is 90 km wide from east to west. Several rivers run through the park from west to east. An impala is a medium-sized African antelope. The name impala comes from the Zulu language. They are found in savannas and thick bushveld in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, northern Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, southern Angola, north-eastern South Africa and Uganda. Impala are among the dominant species in many savannas. They can adapt to different environment by being grazers in some areas and browsers in others. When frightened or startled the whole impala herd starts leaping about in order to confuse their predator. They can jump distances more than 10 meters (33 ft) and 3 meters (9 ft) high. Leopards, cheetah, Nile crocodiles, lions, spotted hyenas and wild dogs prey on impala. Impala can reach running speeds of around 80 to 90 km/h (50-55 mph). -----Wikipedia-- We spent 2 hours at this water hole, gigapan on the roof of the Isuzu Trooper next to the sun roof. To dangerous to climb out of car because of lions, elephant, crocodiles, hippos and rhino's. Gigapan format is 411 megapixels, 128 images (16 x 8) Focal length 565.2 mm Canon Powershot Sx10 IS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No4, of 4 so far, in series on Kruger National Park. To see series search for "kpseries".
On our last day in the Kruger park we came across these lions near Skukuza rest camp. Again the sun roof came in handy to gigapan wild life. The first gigapan of lions in the wild? Lions live for around 10–14 years in the wild, while in captivity they can live over 20 years. In the wild, males seldom live longer than ten years as fights with rivals occasionally cause injuries. They typically inhabit savanna and grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually social compared to other cats. A pride of lions consists of related females and offspring and a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. The lion is an apex and keystone predator, although they will scavenge if the opportunity arises. While lions do not typically hunt humans selectively, some have been known to become man-eaters and seek human prey.—Wikipedia— Panorama size257 megapixels( now JPEG) Focal Length 565.5mm H overlap 39 to 42.1 V overlap 42.9 to 49.3 Input Images 28 7 x 4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No3, of 4 so far, in series on Kruger National Park. To see series search for "kpseries"
We were busy gigapanning the 20 plus hippos in the Elephants river near Letaba rest camp, when a herd of elephant crossed the river. Luckily they also crossed the field of view we were shooting, from the Troopers roof top. Hippopotamuses are gregarious, living in groups of up to 30 animals; such a group is called a pod, herd, dale or bloat. A male hippopotamus is known as a bull, a female as a cow and a baby as a calf. They are also known as the Common Hippopotamus or the Nile Hippopotamus. Hippos spend most of their days wallowing in the water or the mud, with the other members of their pod. The water serves to keep their body temperature down, and to keep their skin from drying out. With the exception of eating, most of hippopotamuses' lives—from childbirth, fighting with other hippos, and reproduction—occur in the water. Hippos leave the water at dusk and travel inland, sometimes up to 8 km (5 mi), to graze on short grass, their main source of food. They spend four to five hours grazing and can consume 68 kilograms (150 lb) of grass each night. Like almost any herbivore, they will consume many other plants if presented with them, but their diet in nature consists almost entirely of grass, with only minimal consumption of aquatic plants. Hippos have (rarely) been filmed eating carrion, usually close to the water. There are other reports of meat-eating, and even cannibalism and predation. The stomach anatomy of a hippo is not suited to carnivory, and meat-eating is likely caused by aberrant behavior or nutritional stress. –Wikipedia— Hippos are the most feared animals in Africa. Each year more people are killed by hippos than by all the other animals combined. Panorama size116 megapixels( now JPEG) Focal Length 245.5mm H overlap 42.2 to 44.2 V overlap 45.9 to 48.5 Input Images 28 7 x |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No2, of 4 so far, in series on Kruger National Park. To see series search for "kpseries".
Taken near Letaba rest camp in the Elephants RiverElephants are the largest land animals. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (260 lb). They typically live for 50 to 70 years, but the oldest recorded elephant lived for 82 years. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kilograms (26,000 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 metres (14 ft), a metre (yard) taller than the average male African elephant. Healthy adult elephants have no natural predators, although lions may take calves or weak individuals. They are, however, increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. --Wikipedia-- Panorama size 389 megapixels (now Jpeg)Focal Length 565.2mm H overlap 9.5 to 13.3 V overlap 6.4 to 13.2 Input Images 45 15 x 3 |