samburu Archives - Jane Wynyard

Date:: July 31, 2017
Categories:: Africa, wildlife
Tags:: africa, guardians, kenya, protectors, rangers, samburu, wildlife rangers, world ranger day
Comments:: 0

World Ranger Day

Today is World Ranger Day where we remember all those courageous men and women around the world who put their lives on the line every day to protect our natural heritage. I’ve been fortunate to go on patrol with local rangers and to witness them in action in Samburu and to spend time with them in Rwanda during a recent trip to photograph mountain gorillas. Here are some of my images of rangers from the Nasuulu conservancy and STE’s Security Liaison officer Chris Leadismo on patrol in Buffalo Springs and of rangers who work in the Virungas in Rwanda protecting[…]

Date:: July 23, 2017
Categories:: Africa, Uncategorized, wildlife
Tags:: africa, baboon, elephant, kenya, leopard, lion, monkey, mountain gorilla, portraits, samburu, wildlife, zebra
Comments:: 0

Up close and personal with Africa’s wildlife

Some of my favourite moments as a wildlife photographer have been when I’ve been able to get as close to my subjects as possible (without getting eaten of course!) and capture their facial expressions. There’s nothing like spending several hours just quietly observing animal behaviour on your own whether it’s a haughty leopard staring at you from a tree stump as seen in the above photograph, or a curious baby baboon hanging precariously from its mum’s fur. As long as it’s safe and I’m not too close, I’ll switch off the motor, sit quietly, camera ready and wait to see[…]

Date:: July 3, 2017
Categories:: Africa, photography, wildlife
Tags:: adventure, africa, conservation, kenya, new life, reinvention, samburu, save the elephants, wildlife, wildlife photographer, wildlife photography
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One Kiwi’s journey from PR maven to wildlife photographer

I’m so thrilled and humbled to have been profiled in Your Weekend Magazine in New Zealand and to have had my image of the mournful female gorilla in Rwanda featured on the cover! The interview was written by acclaimed author Kelly Ana Morey, whom I once shared a room with in Sixth Form at New Plymouth Girl’s High boarding school, and published in print in New Zealand’s Dominion Post, Waikato Times and Christchurch Star and online. Reading the piece over the weekend I still can’t quite believe it’s me! Read the full story here. SaveSave

Date:: June 13, 2017
Categories:: Africa
Tags:: africa, giraffe, kenya, samburu, wildlife, wildlife photographer, wildlife photography
Comments:: 0

G is for Giraffe

Date:: May 21, 2017
Categories:: Africa
Tags:: africa, cheeky monkeys, kenya, monkeys, samburu, samburu national reserve, vervet monkeys, wildlife, wildlife photography
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Cheeky thieving monkeys

The vervet monkeys in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya are such characters … I love watching them at play – they jump all over the elephant collars on the branch outside, chase each other all over the river bank and swing off tree branches. They’re also opportunist thieves and since I’ve been here, they’ve swiped a banana from my hand, a bounty bar off the table and an entire bacon sandwich from a friend of mine as he was about to take a bite! It’s also not uncommon to find a monkey or two sitting in the wall of your outdoor shower[…]

Date:: December 10, 2016
Categories:: Africa, wildlife
Tags:: africa, collaring, elephant, elephants, kenya, orphan, poaching, samburu, samburu national park, save the elephants, wildlife, wildlife photography
Comments:: 0

How an orphaned baby elephant overcame tragedy to lead her own herd

This elephant collar, held by Save The Elephants’ Research Assistant, Benjamin Loloju Ltibikishe, was once worn by a great matriarch of the Swahili family called Khadija. During the poaching crisis of 2011/2012, she was the only remaining female – the last matriarch – left in the herd that roamed around the south side of Buffalo Springs, not far from Samburu. A mother to three babies, she was a compassionate and special elephant who had earlier adopted her niece, the baby Habiba, after her mother was killed by poachers when Habiba was only a few months old. In 2011, Khadija was found wandering around in Samburu[…]

Date:: December 9, 2016
Categories:: Africa, wildlife
Tags:: africa, bathing, diving elephants, elephant, elephants, kenya, river, samburu, save the elephants, wildlife, wildlife photographer, wildlife photography
Comments:: 0

The diving elephants of Samburu, Kenya

Is it a submarine, is it a lochness monster? No, it’s an elephant thoroughly enjoying itself in the Ewaso Nyiro River in Samburu, Northern Kenya during a particularly hot day. This elephant stayed in the river for about twenty minutes, sometimes submerging himself under water for at least several minutes, before splashing about, spraying water with his trunk and then heading off in search of food. Elephants are good swimmers and can stay underwater for quite some time by using their trunks as snorkels. Check out more pictures of this particular and very happy bathing elephant below.

Date:: December 8, 2016
Categories:: Africa, wildlife
Tags:: africa, cruel, dead monkey, death, kenya, monkey, nature, samburu, vervet, vervet monkey, wildlife, wildlife photography
Comments:: 0

The cruel reality of nature

This looks like a sleeping baby monkey but the harsh reality is that nature can be as cruel as it can be cute and fluffy. This is in fact a dead baby vervet. It had just been killed seconds before we arrived. It’s grief stricken mother sat with it briefly and then walked away. Two other monkeys nearby – a mother and baby – had terrible bite marks on their backs so we can only assume that a male vervet attacked both mothers and babies. New dominant males in monkey families will kill all the babies that aren’t sired by[…]

Date:: December 8, 2016
Categories:: Africa, wildlife
Tags:: africa, baby elephants, elephant, elephants, kenya, playing, samburu, samburu national park, save the elephants, wildlife, wildlife photography
Comments:: 0

The adorable bush flattening baby elephants of Samburu

While most of the elephants in Samburu National Park in Northern Kenya have been happily and quietly eating the new green vegetation that’s sprouted after the recent rains, two baby elephants have been approaching their food in a somewhat less civilised manner. No doubt a handful for their patient mother, these two siblings – aged about three years old – have decided they’d rather flatten their food than eat it and have launched into a game of ‘bash the bush’ wherever they go. Together they run from bush to bush stamping, squashing and attacking as many plants as they can – ears forward, trunks flailing, both[…]

Date:: December 8, 2016
Categories:: Africa
Tags:: africa, african culture, butterfly people, culture, elephant, kenya, portrait, portraits, relationship, samburu, samburu national park, samburu people
Comments:: 0

Why the Samburu of Northern Kenya are called Butterfly People

The local people that live in Samburu National Park are called ‘ Butterflies’ because of the beautiful colourful clothes they wear. They are a proud race of semi-nomadic people who still maintain their warrior culture. Samburu also have a special and deep relationship with elephants. They believe that God created man and elephants as brothers and that elephants have special powers. Whenever they come across an elephant carcass, they’ll place pieces of grass or greenery on the skull of the animal as a sign of respect. According to legend, the first elephant who lived with Samburu as their brother was working with a[…]

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