The early mornings and late evenings are the best times to observe birds and animals. During the heat of the day much of the wildlife rests under cover. Leave your camp or lodge early and remember to drive slowly. Look under trees and bushes for the pricked ears of some animal raising its head, and also watch trees for the dangling tail of a leopard. Observe movements of the plains animals that may appear disturbed for no apparent reason—they may have seen, or be suspicious of, nearby lions. Tick birds may indicate the presence of rhinos or buffaloes in bush country, and vultures can indicate a kill worth investigating. Footprints on the road surface will tell you which animals have recently passed.
When you first see members of a certain group of animals like a pride of lions or a group of zebras they all look much the same. If you spend some time watching you will begin to see individual differences. No two zebras have the same stripe pattern; individual elephants can be recognized by the different patterns of nicks or damage to their ears and by the size and shape of their tusks. Lions can be distinguished by scars on their faces and the pattern of their whisker spots. Baboons have tails of various shapes and lengths and individual antelopes may have unusually shaped horns.
Look to see the composition of the group: Is there one male with several females, all males, all females or a mix? As you watch carefully you may begin to notice the way the animals interact with each other, how the young play together, how closely they feed together and their courtship displays. If you watch for long enough you can learn the 'social organization' of a group of animals, and get as much enjoyment out of watching the herbivores as the carnivores.
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