Wildlife / Animals nominee

One of the rarer African finds, a lifelong dream for many is seeing an Aardvark. These are nocturnal creatures, who come out under thr cover of dark to search for ants of which they can eat 50,000 in one night. However, they are also cold sensititive, feeding in bursts and returning to their burrows to digest and be warm. A very sudden cold snap in the central Kalahari meant night time temperatures really plumeted, below what the aardvark can handle, and so his night time feeding schedule was not long enough for the volume of food he required. Which meant, one this very rare occassion, a sunset aardvark existed on earth. It was a truly special event, to be out with an aardvark as he went about his business, digging, feeding, relaxed in our presence. A once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase this rare species, and to see in so much sunlight detail, all that makes up one of Africa's stranger mammals. Makgadikgadi, Botswana, 2024