Alpha male mountain gorillas are usually referred to as a silverbacks because they tend to have white-tipped fur on their backs. This guy was no exception, although from this angle you can’t tell. This particular troop of gorillas was unusual because it was so big — twenty three members. And there were two silverbacks, but one clearly outranked the other. I was told that eventually the younger of the two would challenge the elder and most likely take half the troop. At the moment this photo was taken, however, it was time to just sit back, relax and enjoy some figs.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/500th of a second

I came across this tree frog in a city park in Entebbe, Uganda. It was sandwiched inside a six foot red and green plant. Not sure of the species so if there are any herpetologists out there who have a clue, I’d greatly appreciate it.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (with Canon 500D close up lens attached) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/60th of a second

Waterbucks are a pretty big — their stocky build accounts for the fact that they are among the heaviest antelopes in Africa. The males have those nice spiraled horns which the females lack. I photographed this curious guy in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/800th of a second

These curious hippos were photographed in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. Despite the fact that they are mainly vegetarian, hippos can be the most dangerous animals in Africa due to their territorial ways. Getting in the way of their route into and out of the water is never a good idea.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 300mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/400th of a second

The hour I spent photographing mountain gorillas in the jungles of Uganda still ranks as one of my favorite wildlife experiences. I’d love to get back some day and try again. Due to their status as critically endangered, tracking permits only allow you to stay with the gorillas for an hour once they’ve been tracked down. The tracking down part, however, can take up to eight hours as they are always on the move. We got lucky and found them in less than an hour. It was a big troop too, of about 23 individuals. There were three babies, including this young one resting on his mother’s chest as she took a carefree glance over at me.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/2.8 at 1/160th of a second

I met this vervet monkey on my first day in Uganda. The little guy was hanging out with the rest of the troop in a city park in the town of Entebbe. Entebbe isn’t too far from Kampala and is home to the international airport that I flew into. It was cool to see several different species of monkey living in the park — sort of their version of a squirrel I suppose.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 220mm) ISO 400, f/4.5 at 1/250th of a second

Warthogs don’t get a lot of respect from the safari-going crowd, but they’ve always been one of my favorites. Something about the way that they strut proudly across the savanna despite their decidedly unsexy appearance. This one was doing its thing in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/5 at 1/400th of a second

Chimps are actually pretty hard to photograph in the wild. They usually hang out high in the tree tops and are very active, ducking in and out of thick vegetation. I was lucky to encounter a troop at the end of the day in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, fairly low to the ground. I was able to get very close to this young lady and had just enough light before the sun disappeared.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/200th of a second

This lovely beast isn’t actually called a hairy-eared hippo, but he/she is quite obviously a hippo with rather hairy ears. I photographed him/her in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. Hippos, of course, are herbivores but still have the reputation of being among the most deadly animals in Africa due to their territorial aggression.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 340mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/1600th of a second

It’s been quite a while since I posted a mountain gorilla. I visited Uganda back in 2009 when I was told that there were only about 700 left in the wild. Since then their numbers are up slightly (depending on who is doing the counting) to almost 800. Let’s hope the trend continues. I’ve also seen another count that only has them at 600, so who knows how many are really out there. The point is, not many, so I was thrilled to spend about an hour in the presence of a very large troop of 23 individuals. By my very limited mathematical abilities, that comes to about 3.2% of the world’s total population — right there with me — in one small corner of the Ugandan rainforest. Pretty amazing.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 240mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/125th of a second