This time of year, Christmas, is magical. A red silver sparkling colorful time where almost all children believe in Santa Claus and his elf's. Even the adults feel the magic in the air when decorating the Christmas tree, swirling little lights around its green branches. For Tata it must have felt like Christmas when suddenly out of a magic swirl Squack came into her life. Startled at first, but...
This Phanhabs illustration was inspired by the carmine bee-eater colonies we saw in North Luangwe, Zambia. Because they live in large flocks, they make an amazing sight with their predominantly carmine coloration. Bee-eaters like to breed in riverbanks, where they build long tunnels. At least this keeps the young safe from birds of prey, but lizards will still be able to find a way into the...
Watching baboons is great fun. They seem to behave like humans. Families raising their young, who fight and misbehave all the time. Caring moms and tough dads. The guys show off to impress the ladies. Having the right connections is important for success. I scratch your back, you scratch mine. They are a noisy bunch, screaming for each others attention, but also to warn each other about what is...
Hippos will go through a lot of trouble to prevent sunburn. Often you will find them piled into the last remaining ponds of water, where they will keep on spraying their dung. The result is often a bad-tempered, loud and smelly scene. This Phanhabs illustration was inspired by a different kind of hippo pool. It is located in the North Luangwe, a very remote national Park in Zambia. We stayed...
Wild dogs are amazing animals, very social and real team players. They care for each other when wounded, something not many predators do. Last year in Mombo, we met the famous alpha-female who teamed up with jackals, after her pack was killed by competitors. They are also fierce hunters. The first time we saw them was fifteen years ago in Savuti, Botswana. A pack of thirteen dogs managed to...
The lion pictures for this illustration were taken in 2009 at Duba Plains, in the Okavango Delta. By then the famous Duba Boys had split up and the remaining lions were struggling to "form a new team". In the meantime the buffalos were often winning. They had practiced their defence tactics for years.
"Are there really that many animals in one area at the same time?", people ask me, when they look at the illustrations in Phanhabs Lush Bush. The answer is a "yes, but..." The pictures show the habitats of the animals and how they interact. So if you were to stay in one spot, you would see them all coming by. Nevertheless the biodiversity and abundance in some wildlife areas, where the pictures...
