With the first light of morning a small group of zebras approaches a waterhole in the Etosha national park. Together they will quench their thirst to prepare themselves for the rising temperatures of the day. Although they are drinking peacefully, they are alert, ears pricked, listening to the sounds around them, ready to run from any threat.

In their search for food, the elephants have moved back and forth across the bed of the Sands River in the Kruger National Park. On one of these crossings, two members of different troupes meet on the riverbank. The caressing welcome they share emphasizes the empathy between animals of different herds.

With the rising sun the hunt is over for the pride. For the rest of the day the lions will spend their time in the shadows of the bush, and sleep. However, if for a couple of days the nightly hunt was unsuccessful, their empty stomachs will force them to hunt during the day. A big pride has a greater likelihood of a kill.

A few minutes ago the seal cub had still been in the silent warmth of its mother΄s womb. But now, exposed to the cool wind of the Atlantic Ocean, it finds itself in the roaring noisiness of the seal colony at Cape Cross, Namibia. Slowly it starts to recover from the exertion of its birth. Anxiously, but with open ears and eyes, it begins to notice its surroundings. In this moment the consoling nearness creates a link between the mother and cub.

Although having the greatest of views from the head of the giraffe, the ox peckers show no interest, for they are concentrated on the parasites found on the giraffe΄s skin. Pecking them out of the fur make those birds one of the giraffe΄s best friends.

The young leopard has porcupine΄s spines stuck in its coat indicating that the previous night΄s hunt was not successful. With the rising sun he tucked himself into the hollow of an Acacia tree. There he observes a herd of Impalas in the distance. But the wind betrays him. The Impalas have pick up his scent and so he will stay hungry.

The grass is still wet from the morning dew as the white rhinos approaches from the bush. As long as the sun is low in the horizon they will remain in the open savannah to graze. But as the temperature rises they return to the bush and search for a shady spot to escape the heat of the day.

The midday sun shines persistently on the landscape of the Kruger national park and makes the air above the waterhole flicker. The hippos remain in the cool water and wait for the sunset. Only then will they leave the water in their search for food. But even in the cool water their tempers rise under the sun, erupting in a great roar.

It is already late in the afternoon when the Kudu buck lowers his head to quench his thirst at the waterhole. On his search for food he has wandered the whole day through the savannah tree areas of the Etosha national park. With the sunset the Kudu will search for a safe place to spend the night from where he will continue his wanderings with the first light of the following morning.

Apparently bored, the African buffalo stares towards us. Nothing indicates that deeply hidden behind its stoic look lays an aggressive and unpredictable character.  From one moment to the next its mood can change and the gawping fool becomes an aggressive mountain of muscle that will attack and trample down anything that stands in its way. Nothing will then stop him.

Reluctantly the crocodile is leaving its warm spot on the bank of the lake, but the herd of elephants that has approached to drink is not willing to accept the reptile in their presence. But things will change. The long shadows of the setting sun announce nightfall. The crocodile can then start the hunt again.

No other antelope has adapted so perfectly to life in the desert as has the Oryx. The absence of water for many days and permanent temperatures above 40°C cannot harm him. His long and straight horns in combination with his striking colour markings on head and body make this survivalist one of the most elegant of antelopes.

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