©Angela Yang
December 2, 2025
Spotted!
- as seen by -
Angela Yang
It’s been 21 years since I was last in Kruger National Park in South Africa. It remains a source of inspiration.
Fortunately, I can still manage to drive a manual transmission on the “other” side of the road, so shortly after I landed at the Skukuza Airport, I was off on my first safari. The freedom to explore such an incredible landscape is a luxury. It wasn’t long before I started spotting my first wildlife, a southern yellow-billed hornbill, and a flood of other creatures followed.
Despite how common they may appear (it is hard to miss a giraffe), these elegant animals are listed as Vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The South African giraffe is one of nine recognized subspecies that once ranged through much of sub-Saharan Africa. Giraffes are a perennial favorite, but I’m often more fascinated by their little red-billed oxpecker hitchhikers that help keep ticks and other parasites in check.
Canon EOS R10
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Julian Fennessy
December 5, 2025 at 2:45 pm
Lovely photo, however, giraffe were identified by Giraffe Conservation Foundation and colleagues – and recently endorsed by the IUCN SSC Giraffe & Okapi Specialist Group – as four species, not one with nine subspecies!
Eva Grzelak
December 5, 2025 at 3:42 pm
I have similar memories of the Kruger. We were about 500 yds. into the park when my normally reserved husband yelled: “Oh Eva, look, LOOK “! I was puzzled. “Yes, lovely vegetation “, I said. “No, look UP”! And I saw my first giraffe, its head way above the treetops. It’s a memory I’ll never forget…