Samburu was the place we spotted this little DIk Dik. Tsavo was also a good location for Dik Dik.
This was one of the first animals we got during our four week Kenya Safari and it is a cautionary lesson which I keep having to relearn. As a photographer, the first thing you do when you come across an opportunity to take a pictures is - take it.
Don't worry about technicalities - get the shot. Well I did get the first few shots as you can see here. But then, seeing dik dik everywhere, I listened to our tracker who kept saying there will be better opportunities later. If anyone says that to you, don't listen. They may well be right, after all, they are the animal experts. But things don't always work out as expected. You want the picture? Get it now.
The Dik Dik was one of my favourite little animals, but because we saw so many of them, we kept putting off taking good quality shots "until a better opportunity came up". The end result is that I got virtually no shots of Dik Dik and no really good ones at all.
Still, I hope you can see why I loved this little creature so much. All of a foot tall, even grass is an obstacle to it. Some of them are very timid and will move away as you approach. Some will move into shade or behind grass.
Occasionally you get one which is just as curious as you are and he will stare back at you whilst you take your pictures.
But look at those eyes, and those huge eye lashes. And they always seem to be smiling, as if they know something about you which you have yet to find out.
