Up close

Apart from seeing herbivores and their predators, one of the great aspects of being in Timbavati was to get a close view of insects, reptiles etc. We were encouraged to pick these up when safe to do so (I learned for the first time that chameleons can bite, if they're in the mood - and they lock their jaws and hang on for grim death when they do so - local lore says that a chameleon bite bleeds forever, so the trackers refuse to touch them). Above: elegant grasshopper (that's its name; although it's gaudy or harlequin-like rather than elegant); chameleon (this one was nonchalantly crossing the road); Golden Orb spider (if you look closely you can see the multiple strands of web it puts out); millipede; tiger snake - and that same snake trying to eat a bird: it was hiding in the roof of the lodge next to a hanging nest (hundreds of these) and zapped the poor owner - in the photo you can see the bird's head in its mouth, the body dangling. The snake dropped the bird after a while, perhaps because we were distracting it from swallowing its dinner - then the ranger grabbed it. "Is it poisonous?" we asked. "Yes, but only species specific, if it bites me I'll only be ill for a few days. Who wants to touch it?" Oddly enough we all touched it....