Hidden Stars of the African Bush

There’s a lot of hype around the Big 5, big cats, and big game but what about the little guys? Where do they fit into the bigger picture of the African bush?

We’ve seen some spectacular entries into our Wildlife Portraits category, which runs until September. Our amateur photographers have delighted our judges with various snapshots of their African safari adventures and every day we’re closer to crowning our grand prize winner.

Our focus is on biodiversity and capturing that in photography, therefore we have compiled a look at some of our lesser known creatures entered into the Africa’s Photographer of the Year competition.

African Kingfisher

Africa is home to a wide variety of kingfishers. These birds feed on insects and can be found in the branches of woodland areas.

Bushbaby (Galago)

Bushbabies are so named not only because of their small bodies and large eyes but due to the cry that they make. These little creatures are nocturnal and, just like babies, can keep you up at night if they’re outside your window.

Chameleon

Chameleons are well-known for changing colour according to their environment but are also skilled at catching their food. They owe this ability to their eyes which are able to move in different directions and see everything around them.

Waterbuck

Male waterbuck fight amongst each other for dominance in the herd. They use their long horns to spar and can often injure their competitor so badly, it results in death.

Bat-eared Foxes

The bat-eared fox usually hunts in groups or pairs, valuing safety in numbers. Their unusual ears are not just for hearing and are invaluable to the species because they aid in thermoregulation.

Are you inspired to track down some of your own hidden stars in the African bush? Enter our Africa’s Photographer of the Year competition here and stand a chance to win our grand prize, a nine day luxury safari adventure.