When you watch any television programme concerning wildlife the screen is full to bursting with beautifully filmed shots of the animal or animals in question from all angles and showing many exciting if occasionally bewildering “bits” of behaviour.

Because of this “picture” of the natural world, it is often a great disappointment to many an intrepid wildlife watcher, as they sit quietly and very, very still waiting for the Gemsbok, Kudu or Chapman’s Zebra that fail to make the expected appearance. The bush is supposed to be teaming with them and no matter how hard you stare and how often the movement of a bush heralds a false alarm you just do not see the thousands that you had expected to see.

The only places where you will see the wild animals in some abundance is in the Game Parks such as Etosha in Namibia where this picture was taken. Out in the bush beyond the parks a Zebra will let you get within half a mile before they move on. If you walk forward ten paces they will move away ten. We once had an incredible two hours sitting on top of a hill watching a small group of Grevy’s Zebra before they flicked their tails and raced off across the hills. We did not follow as that would have been a grave intrusion into their space

The only way to get real close up pictures is to go and visit one of the parks where the animals are so accustomed to us that we have become part of their landscape. The predators become more dangerous though, but that is another story.