The best 101 photos

Africa Geographic Editorial

Friday, 10 May 2019

Our Photographer of the Year 2019 competition is brought to you by Airlink, with a stunning prize provided by Klaserie Drift Safari Camps. The competition has now closed for entries and this week we will look at the first of our finalists: The Top 101! Keep an eye out for the upcoming galleries in May as we continue announcing the finalists and eventually the winners at the end of the month!
The competition runs from December 2018 through to the end of April 2019, and there is a great prize up for grabs! The overall winner, first runner-up, and second runner-up (along with their partners), will experience the ultimate private safari at Amani Safari Camp and the soon-to-be-launched Misava Safari Camp, located in the heart of the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, part of the Greater Kruger National Park in South Africa.
Read about the safari enjoyed by the 2018 winners here.
There are four galleries showcasing the Top 101. To see the other galleries for the Top 101 click here: Top 101 Gallery 2, Top 101 Gallery 3, and Top 101 Gallery 4.

A leopardess looks towards the tree where she left her kill the night before in Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve, South Africa © Randall Ball

A busy waterhole in Etosha National Park, Namibia © Matt Hofman

A lioness with flies in Lake Ndutu in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania © Roie Galitz

Textures on the back of an elephant’s ear in Kruger National Park, South Africa © Ernest Porter

A white rhino calf refuses to leave its mother after she was darted for a dehorning, South Africa © Hesté de Beer

A gelada (also known as a bleeding-heart monkey) in the Ethiopian Highlands, Ethiopia © Kevin Dooley

Mzee (100) poses with his wife (90) for a portrait in Jinja, Uganda © Bob Ditty

A bateleur in full flight in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa © Willie van Schalkwyk

Dust fills the air as wildebeest make their way across the Mara River in Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya © Tania Cholwich

Lion cubs look up at their mother while at a wildebeest kill in Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve, South Africa © Daniel Koen

On a hot day an epauletted fruit bat mother lets her young catch a breeze in her open wing to help cool it down, Balule Private Nature Reserve, South Africa © Anna-Carina Nagel

A male lion stretches out and rests in the high grass of Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya © Björn Persson

'I see you' – a silverback mountain gorilla from a newly habituated group keeps a close eye on the photographer in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda © Guillaume Niger — “I see you” – a silverback mountain gorilla from a newly habituated group keeps a close eye on the photographer in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda © Guillaume Niger

Baby meerkats at play in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa © Prelena Soma Owen

A lion drags an elephant calf under a tree to feed after it was killed by two lions the previous night, Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe © Jens Cullmann

'Pride of Africa' – an elephant in Amboseli National Park, Kenya © Thomas Vijayan — “Pride of Africa” – an elephant in Amboseli National Park, Kenya © Thomas Vijayan

A young mountain gorilla from the Nkuringo family group waits out the rain shower in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda © Bruce Miller

Close up of a dancing ritual for the bull jumping ceremony, Omo Valley, Ethiopia © Cohan Zarnoch

A mother lion and her cubs walk into the sunset in Maseke Balule Game Reserve, South Africa © Adrian van Zyl

The legendary elephant herds of Amboseli, with Mount Kilimanjaro rising above, Amboseli National Park, Kenya © Fiona Noyes

Close up of an alpha female painted wolf in Vumbura Plains, Okavango Delta, Botswana © Nick Leuenberger — Close up of an alpha female painted wolf (African wild dog) in Vumbura Plains, Okavango Delta, Botswana © Nick Leuenberger

“This highly intimate image of an elephant calf suckling its mother is a celebration of the future of these behemoths. He was conceived, born, raised to this stage, healthy and well on his way to becoming a fully grown elephant to partake in the same natural cycle of life and propagation again. This is surely a celebration of success in Africa. Although the image was taken in a national park where they are protected, to me, the image is representative of all life flourishing all over the continent against very severe odds.” – Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa © John Vosloo

'Peeping frog' – a painted reed frog sits on the reeds in a dam near Port Edward, South Africa © Ingrid Sellschop — “Peeping frog” – a painted reed frog sits on the reeds in a dam near Port Edward, South Africa © Ingrid Sellschop

A gelada (also known as a bleeding-heart monkey) yawns in Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia © Patrice Quillard

"Ocean giant" – a giant crown jellyfish at Protea Banks reef, South Africa © Pier Mane — “Ocean giant” – a giant crown jellyfish at Protea Banks reef, South Africa © Pier Mane

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ALSO IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE

GALLERY
To see the other galleries for the Top 101 click here: Top 101 Gallery 2, Top 101 Gallery 3, and Top 101 Gallery 4.