• Category Archives botswana
  • Oxpeckers

    Oxpeckers are little birds that land on other animals to eat the bugs off of them.

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    They spend a lot of time on giraffe necks. Partially because the giraffe is mostly neck, but also because they want to get at the face, which the giraffes don’t like.

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    They are very noisy, which did not impress the buffalo.

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    The hippos mostly ignore them.

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    Even when they swarm around.

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    And land on all sides.

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    Still singing loudly.

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    But the hippos really hate when they get into fresh wounds and pick at the sore flesh.

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    Then the hippos try to roll to get them off, which looks really funny.

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    Finally the hippo gave up napping and got up to get into the water.

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  • Chobe Hippos

    There were hippos everywhere in Chobe national park.

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    Some were sleeping in the mud.

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    Some were sleeping on the land.

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    And some were sleeping in the water.

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    As it got late they started yawning.

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    Then they got up.

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    A hippo getting up looks really funny.

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    Then they started to graze.

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    With those big grass grazing teeth.

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  • Okavango Delta

    We spend 3 days in the Okavango Delta.

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    To get there we sat in shallow boats which our local guides pushed through the water by pushing the ground with long poles.

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    We scared away huge flocks of birds.

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    They were flying around all over the place.

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    The boats travelled through hippo paths through the reeds.

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    Fortunately the hippos only really use them at night.

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    The paths are not very wide or very straight.

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    Where there are no reeds there are lilypads.

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    The lilypads make pretty flowers.

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    Really big pretty flowers.

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    We got to go for a sunset cruise.

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    It was very pretty.

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  • Drinking Giraffe

    Giraffes sometimes get thirsty.

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    This is a problem because the water is a very long way down.

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    So they have to spread their legs and look really dumb to get a drink.

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    Which can’t be comfortable.

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    And then they have to get all the way back up again.

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    And discover they have water up their nose.

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    Which doesn’t taste very good.

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    Or maybe it does.

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    Yep, it must taste pretty good after all.

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