Week in Pictures: Seize Every Moment

Anyone who has spent days, months, or years traversing the arid landscapes and swamp-like wetlands of Africa will tell you that it all comes down to luck of the draw. Astonishing wildlife moments occur unpredictably and without warning. You might be in the right place at the right time to see a leopard leaping metres into the air to catch a bird in flight, or to watch an elephant tend to its newborn calf, or to witness something as rarely seen as an aardvark. You are the lucky ones! For the rest of us, we learn to seize every moment, to recognise the beauty in the ordinary; because if we spend our lives waiting for that epic shot, we might miss everything in between. This week, for our Friday edition of the Week in Pictures, we are celebrating every moment beautifully captured by our photographers who are out and about capturing the ordinary and making it extraordinary!

Umkumbe Safari Lodge, Sabi Sand Wildtuin, Greater Kruger Park

Life at the top!

Perfect monochrome in the details of a zebra's mane

The cherished patterns and textures of an elephant's precious ivory

Tatowa's unmistakable eyes focus on a flurry of movement in the darkness

Ezulwini Game Lodges, Balule Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger Park

The dextrous finders of a vervet monkey

Starting out in the bush, full of oversized ears and lessons in life

An elephant's eye, resembling the aged centre of a tree trunk; such a soul and majesty within

Life in the fast lane as one of Africa's most successful antelope species

nThambo Tree Camp, Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger Park

Shake it off, it's the weekend!

Feasting on the leaves out of reach of any other terrestrial mammal

Clinging to the last joint of meat, claws readily grasping at the remains

Black and white portrait of a painted wolf

Africa on Foot, Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger Park

Eye level with a dozing lioness

Young Bundu emerges from the greenery to sneak a drink

A brown snake eagle silhouetted against a fiery sky

Summer time hunting with a pack of African wild dogs

Tuskers Bush Camp & Xobega Island Camp, Botswana

Face to face with African giants

Queen of the Moremi, resting with her brood

A grey heron illuminated in the pinkish dusk

Dead still in mid-air: a pied kingfisher hovers expertly, waiting for the perfect moment to strike