Our carefully selected 2008 Wildlife Calendars are now available. Featured animals include evergreen favorites like tigers, polar bears, pandas, and wolves while African residents such as the lion, giraffe, and elephant have not been forgotten.

Photo Details: A small herd of Sable Antelope (Hippotragus niger), including a youngster, wade belly-deep into the muddy water at Shumba Pan, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe.

Photo Details: A young elephant confronts a hippo on the banks of Masuma Dam, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe.
Camera: Canon EOS 400D; Lens: Canon 70-300 IS Zoom; Focal Length: 140mm; Shutter speed: 1/800; Aperture: f5.6; ISO: 200.

Additional Info: In Hwange there is very little surface water by the end of the dry winter, so underground water is pumped into waterholes and man-made dams. This draws a wide variety of wild animals that gather in their hundreds to drink and wallow, usually in relative harmony.

Occasionally there are confrontations and skirmishes as animals compete for the scarce resources. This sequence of photos was taken at Masuma Dam in the park, where the big herds of elephant are dominant. They like to drink from a furrow into which the fresh water is pumped, then wade into the dam where they wallow and stir up the mud, making the water less palatable for smaller animals.

The hippo had wandered from the safety of the water on to the banks in search of fresh water when the young elephant, full of bravado as is their habit, decided to confront the adult hippo (main photo). The latter merely stood its ground with head raised, at which the young ele quickly backed off.

The winning image, taken in Botswana's Chobe National Park, depicts a large bull elephant kicking and spraying mud in a waterhole. Ben used his vehicle as a hide while he staked out the waterhole for three weeks during Botswana’s dry season. He used a slow shutter speed to interpret the low morning light, water spray and texture of the mud in a more impressionistic way.

Winning images in the various categories can be viewed on the National History Museum website and are certainly worth browsing through, even though it's a tedious process.

Photo Details: A herd of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) creates a cloud of dust in the early morning air as the animals start their daily trek in search of suitable grazing, Okavango Delta, Botswana.
Camera: Canon EOS 400D; Lens: Canon 70-300 IS Zoom; Focal Length: 300mm; Shutter speed: 1/4000; Aperture: f5.6; ISO: 400.