They kneel on their front legs to dig for roots and insects, often followed by a line of piglets that shrink in number as predators hunt them.
Overall, the predators were my favorite. Male lions with full manes look majestic but they also act like oversized house cats as they lounge and roll in the dirt and sleep most of the day. Leopards move with quiet elegance, their spotted coats blending perfectly into tree branches. Wild dogs have patchy, painted fur and move constantly as a coordinated pack, especially when protecting their puppies. We had to travel over 1.5 hours to find them from our camp, but they were some of the cutest animals out there. Elephants appear massive and steady - except for the babies that trail after their parents and look clumsy with their too-large-trunks. Giraffes tower above everything else, their long necks reaching leaves no one else can access. Hippos look almost lazy in the water as they sit in huge pods making loud grunts and fighting with each other, but their size hides incredible strength that became obvious as I woke in the middle of the night to one right outside my tent. At night, under a sky untouched by city lights, the Milky Way stretched clearly overhead as a reminder that this ecosystem exists within something even bigger.
Seeing these animals in the wild felt surreal. When lions and leopards walked within five feet of our vehicle, my heart raced. Our guide explained that they see the vehicle and passengers as one large object rather than separate humans... which made it slightly less terrifying.
Leopards were my favorite.
