“Some people may think that my favourite animal to photograph would be a lion, but the enthralling sight of a bird in flight uplifts me in an indescribable way. When I was very young, I used to dream that if I flapped my arms that I too could touch the sky. Now, of course, I know I can never do that but I can watch birds swoop and soar, and that is my joy. It’s hard to choose between a Superb starling and a Snow Goose.

In the animal kingdom, though, for my favourite animal to photograph, I would choose the gerenuk, the tall, slender, dark-eyed, gazelle of East Africa’s dry country. I am told the gerenuk, which means ‘giraffe-necked’ in Somali, never needs to drink.

Gerenuk are quite scarce and inhabit country that is usually well off the beaten track, but they are a joy to behold, especially when they stand on their hind legs to stretch for the tender leaves of brilliant green thorn bushes that are too high for other gazelles and too low for the giraffe.”

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My Big 5

Gerenuk
Lion
Hyrax
Wolf
Giraffe