Yesterday I posted the largest animal on the savanna. Here’s one of the smallest (at least one of the smallest I photographed) — the unstriped ground squirrel. As you might have guessed, what sets these guys apart from other African ground squirrels is the lack of a white stripe on their sides. They can be spotted pretty much anywhere in Samburu National Park but this was the only time I saw one making its home inside a termite mound. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 360, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second.

Here’s another one where I put the camera on a tripod and held it, inverted, over the side of the safari vehicle while using a remote trigger to get a ground-level perspective. Also nice to capture a rising sun on one side of the elephant and her calf on the other. This was in Samburu, where the elephants are plentiful and always have a bit of a reddish tint to their skin due to the red clay dirt of the area. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 lens (at 59mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/640th of a second.

Here’s another shot from our first night in Kenya in Nairobi National Park. We had one of those classic African skies — stormy but with moments of sun breaking through the clouds. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 (at 41mm) ISO 360, f/5.6 at 1/640th of a second.

We didn’t have to go far to see vervet monkeys while in Samburu National Park in Kenya. In fact, the front porch of our tents usually did the trick. The camp had to get rid of the traditional zippers on the tents because the monkeys figured out how to open them, enter the tents, and help themselves to whatever they could find inside. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 7200, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second.

Another common but often overlooked bird of the African savanna is the superb starling. They generally feed on the ground under acacia trees and have a varied diet that consists of grasshoppers, termites, beetles, ants, flies, worms, grains, fruits and berries. This one was foraging with a small flock near the entrance station to the Masai Mara where I was able to get out of the vehicle and down on the ground. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 360, f/5.6 at 1/500th of a second

For this image, I was able to get out of the safari vehicle on the opposite side of the warthog, get down on the ground and shoot from under the vehicle. Occasionally, the warthog would open his mouth, giving the appearance of a smile (and letting us see that interesting dental work). Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 900, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second.

Hornbills are a common sight while on safari. We saw three different species on our recent trip, including this guy, the yellow-billed hornbill. They are relatively slow gliders, making them good subjects for in-flight shots. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second.

We saw two species of gazelles on our recent Kenya trip, this being the more common Thomson’s gazelle. And when I say common, that’s an understatement. They can be seen in numbers exceeding 200,000. They are small and fast. In fact they are the fourth fastest land mammal on earth. Unfortunately for them, their main predator, the cheetah, is the fastest land mammal. That said, “tommies” can often use their speed and agility to evade danger. We saw two cheetah/gazelle chases. One was successful for the cheetah, the other for the gazelle. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/800th of a second.

Helmeted Guineafowl are a common sight on safaris. They are widespread throughout sub-Sahara Africa and often get overlooked as they scurry in front of or behind more sought after species. In fact, this one was running past our vehicle while we were photographing a couple of lions. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1800, f/5.6 at 1/640th of a second.

These two female lions found the best seat in the house (in this case the house being Samburu National Park in Kenya). They were up there for a good while, surveying the landscape below, no doubt keeping an eye out for their next meal. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, f/5.6 at 1/1250th of a second.