Things have started to return to normal here in South Africa after the successful hosting of the World Cup. I would just like to take a brief moment to thank all the wonderful people that I met during the various tours and daytrips that I was involved in – I look forward to seeing you all again when you next return to our beautiful country!
This months’ desktop backgrounds are in two size formats:
- 1280 x 800 (click on the image to open it in a new window, then right click on the full image and save)
- 2560 x 1600 (simply click on the ‘Download” link)
The first of our free desktop backgrounds is of an Impala lily (Adenium multiflorum ) which is native to southeastern Africa ranging from Zambia to Mozambique and northern South Africa. During the summer months, it has large deep green leaves which fall off when the soils dry up during the winter months. Initially, for the first couple of months of the dry season the plant rests and resembles a small baobab before bursting into masses of frilly flowers at the tips of bare branches. What makes this plant and its flowers so striking is the fact that the rest of the bushveld is bare and dry at the time of flowering.
The shiny grey to brown succelent stems of this magnificent plant rise up from a large underground rootstock and produce a poisonous watery latex.
{filelink=5} the large format file here
The second image is one that I took earlier in the year whilst guiding a trip in Madikwe Game Reserve. The pack of about 18 Wild Dogs (Lycoan pictus) had just finished off their morning kill of a young Kudu and had retreated to a waterhole nearby. The long green grass which hid the dogs body as it lay down offered nice contrast to the pale browns and dark blacks of the coat.
{filelink=6} the large format file here
The scientific name Lycaon pictus is derived from the Greek for wolf and the Latin for painted, leading to one of their other common names, painted hunting dogs.
The African Wild Dog is endangered by a combination of factors which have resulted in habitat loss and persecution by farmers These animals make use of very large home ranges and so can persist only in the larger protected areas. Like other carnivores, the African Wild Dog is sometimes affected by outbreaks of viral diseases such as rabies, distemper, and parvovirus. Although these diseases are not more pathogenic or virulent for wild dogs, the small size of most wild dog populations makes them vulnerable to local extinction due to diseases or other problems. Madikwe Game reserve is currently one of the best reserves to see these majestic creatures ( see more about accommodation in Madikwe here).
The third and final image for this month is of a group of zebras backlight in the late afternoon. Unfortunately, a fourth zebra was busy grazing in the foreground but I still felt that this would be a great image to have as a wallpaper or desktop background.
{filelink=7} the large format file here
I hope you enjoy this months selection. As always, please feel free to leave a comment and give me some feedback on what you think about these images, as well as what you would like to see in the future!
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