Quiet moments

In between being chased by elephants and watching predators stalk their prey, there were quiet, magical moments spent with creatures such as this Giant Eagle Owl. As I write this, it is almost hard to believe that we sat at the foot of the tree, gazing at this beautiful bird as he calmly gazed back at us, looking for all the world as if he had nothing better to do, and was a little amused that we didn't either. He is a big bird, over two feet tall. His most distinctive feature, in my opinion anyway, are his pink eyelids. He looks like he just came from the Mac or Lancome counter in some department store, where some young makeup artist got a little carried away. It gives him an exotic, fanciful look that is mesmerizing.