Next Stop Botswana

You know my friend Mollie from previous blog mentions. We have been friends almost since we were born. She emailed me yesterday that she had returned home from about a two week trip to Botswana, Africa. I think I have a bit of adventure in my soul but Mollie really does and the nice thing about being her friend is that I kind of get to tag-a-long vicariously through her emails and photos. I am sure there will be more to come but I wanted to share with all of you these two photos.

Photo by Mollie Kavanaugh

This is a Botswana elephant, now I am not sure if there is a difference here from the African elephant, maybe she will let me know (1). I do know that the African elephant is different from the Asian elephant. The African elephant has ears shaped like the continent of Africa and its head has a round dome and the back is concave. Both males and females have tusks, the male tusks are larger (of course).

(1) Mollie has gotten back to me about this particular Botswana elephant, after she told me I took a second look, this poor elephant has no trunk or tail. He (she) can eat only through his (her) mouth, Mollie says as a result will probably not live too long.

Photo by Mollie Kavanaugh

This is Mollie's favorite photo of a coupl of Saddlebill Storks. To learn more click here. When I Goggled to learn more I found out that we have some Saddlebill Storks right here in our St. Louis Zoo. Here is what our zoo had to say about this bird:

Stork

Range: Sub-Saharan Africa Habitat: Rivers, lakes, swamps Conservation Status: Common Scientific Name: Ephippiorynchus senegalensis The saddlebill stork is one of the largest and most spectacular species of storks. Its long legs and upturned beak help this wading bird catch fish, frogs, and insects in shallow freshwater marshes. The stork reaches adult size by its first birthday but does not have adult plumage until it is two years old. A male and female are thought to mate for life. The pair builds enormous treetop nests, and cooperates in sitting on the eggs and raising the chicks. Did You Know? The yellow "saddle" across this stork's enormous multi-colored bill gives the bird its name. ~ ~ ~