We set out with our guide from the lodge to get closer to the ostriches that we had seen from the lodge. On our way, we saw a Black Necked Heron, who blended in so effortlessly with the scenery that we almost missed him. When we came upon three ostriches, we learned that the grey ostriches we had seen earlier were the females and the black were males, and the coloring is not arbitrary; females are grey so that when the sit on the nest during the day they are camouflaged with surroundings, and the same is true for the black males who sit on the nest during the night. The males, whose legs are typically white, develop pink on the front of their legs when they are ready to mate to attract eligible females. As you can see, this is the case for the male on the right:
We made our way down the trails, past the helicopter hanger, and out towards the east. After several turns, we found ourselves in the land of high trees and giraffes. We learned that all giraffes have unique spots, and that male giraffes get darker as they get older. We came very close to a giraffe who was eating:
We also got to see a baby giraffe who was still nursing: 
We traveled from the giraffes to an open area where zebras were grazing.
We learned that each zebra has a unique striping pattern and that the baby zebras are born with brown instead of black coloring. We later learned that zebras live harems of about 6 or more, ruled by one male who impregnates all of them. The gestation period for a zebra is 11 months, and the females give birth virtually ever year (or else their numbers would sharply decline), meaning that they nurse while pregnant. Most of the females were pregnant with bulging bellies that seemed to slow them down. The females in our group were, for the first time in their lives, thankful for a pregnancy lasting nine months.On our way toward the wildabeasts, we passed an enormous pile of rhino dung that confirmed the radio message our guide had previously received: the elusive rhinos were out and about in the area today. Lo and behold, further down the road we encountered a both a mother white rhino and her baby. The mother rhino approached our car suspiciously:
and we waited in silence as she inspected us before turning down the path where we were headed. We learned that their mouth areas are very flat so that when their head is bent towards the ground, they can easily graze. As well, their much sought after horns are not actually attached to the bone; rather, they attach directly to the skin. Unfortunately, many rhinos are killed each year for their horns because people do not know this. The rhinos started to walk down the path, and we pursued them from behind. 1745 At intervals all the way, they would trot some distance before slowing down to a walk. 
It was amazing to see them defy expectations and deftly make their way down the path. When we got to place where the path rejoins the road, a car from the direction in which the rhinos were headed approached. Stuck between two now-silent cars, the mother rhino became agitated, looking as if she might prefer to run through the car than away from it. We waited quietly in the car for her to make her decision, hoping in the event that she chose to go through the car, it would at least be the other car…
