Bee-eaters will hit and toss their food to kill the prey, squeeze out the venom, and strip away the dangerous stinger before swallowing it. There are approximately 30 different bee eater species in the world. This is the one we most commonly see in Kenya, the little bee eater. You can see him/her knocking the bee against the perch before tossing it in the air and finally eating it.Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 180-600mm lens, 4K video shot at 120fps.

It was approaching mid-day and we were on our way back to camp when we spotted these olive baboons. The light wasn’t great, but the action was. The youngest of the baboons were leaning side to side as they checked us out, jumping up and down and obviously quite curious and seemingly fascinated by our slowly moving safari vehicle. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 180-600mm lens, 4k, 120fps.

It looks like this banded mongoose was teaching her pup a thing or two about their striped neighbors. In reality the two species live side by side in relative symbiosis and mongooses have even been observed picking ticks and other parasites off of zebras. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 180-600mm lens (at 600mm) ISO 180, f/6.3 at 1/500th of a second.

Cheetahs do much of their hunting during daylight hours, often becoming active in the cooler periods around dawn and dusk. Unlike lions and leopards, they rely primarily on their great eyesight to locate prey, and then of course, their acceleration and speed to close the distance. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 560, f/4.5 at 1/500th of a second.

When we go to northern Kenya, we always look for the “Specialty Five” including the reticulated giraffe, beisa oryx, Somali ostrich, Grevy’s zebra and gerenuk. Also known as the giraffe-necked antelope, the money shot of a gerenuk is to find one standing on its hind legs, going after the vegetation higher up that other antelopes can’t reach. Here’s a quick video of a male gerenuk standing, eating and then returning to all fours. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 160-600mm lens, 4k at 120fps.

One of the camps we stayed at in late July (Il Ngwesi) was situated atop a large hill with a great view across the savanna below. There was a birdbath at the main lodge and throughout the day many small birds would fly in for a drink. I saw lots of colorful species that were new to me. I also got to practice photographing them as they flew toward camera. This finch is called a crimson-rumped waxbill. You can’t really see the rump, but I loved that crimson mask it was wearing across the eyes. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 180-600mm lens (at 600mm) ISO 1400, f/6.3 at 1/2000th of a second.

An adult hippo can weigh more than 4,000 pounds, yet enter the water with surprising agility — and often a giant splash. Rivers are their refuge, helping regulate body temperature while providing a safe place to rest during the heat of the day. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 180-600mm lens, 4K at 120fps.

Karen and I took our first tour group of the summer to Lewa Wildlife Conservancy for a single morning game drive before we had to catch a bush flight back to Nairobi. We hadn’t been to Lewa since November of 2011 and we were immediately reminded of why we liked it so much back in the day. The rolling landscapes were a bit more dry than they were back then, but just as quintessentially Kenyan. When this lion — the most iconic resident of the savanna — walked out into the scene, I had the shot I was looking for. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 94mm) ISO 72, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second.

The white rhinos of Il Ngwesi in Kenya are part of an ambitious community-led conservation program that returned rhinos to this landscape after they had disappeared for decades. Protected by local rangers and supported by the surrounding Maasai community, the population continues to grow, demonstrating how conservation and local stewardship can work hand in hand. They were quite cooperative and posed as I lowered my camera to the ground and fired it with a remote trigger. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 87mm) ISO 100, f/2.8 at 1/400th of a second.

One of the species we rarely see on our Kenya tours, but that isn’t particularly rare is the rock hyrax. They may look like oversized rodents, but their closest living relatives are actually elephants. Their feet have specialized rubbery pads that grip smooth rock surfaces, making them very agile as they scramble across cliffs and boulder fields. They spend much of the day basking in the sun, using the warmth to regulate their body temperature before retreating to rocky crevices when danger approaches. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 180-600mm lens (at 600mm) ISO 1400, f/6.3 at 1/320th of a second.