I shall weep with joy at my first encounter of any creature seen in the wilds of Africa on my upcoming trip.

Upon recoving, I will then want to see leopards, rhinos, lilac breasted rollers, baby anythings and as a bonus wilddogs.
Sherry

It has always been the LEOPARD, especially after witnessing a 2hr night stalking/killing of Impala (Lion Sands SSGR, Sept '04)where she used the vehicle to its advantage! An absolutely awe inspiring image/s that will remain with my wife and I for the rest of our lives!!

Elephants--I love their little societies of moms and babies. Love their wrinkled looks. Love how small the babies are compared to adults. Love how they look like they are smiling when they bring their trunks to their mouths to drink. Love 'em.

Thanks for the interesting thread, Santharamhari.

Can't come up with a real answer so I'll just say my favorite is the one waiting around the corner.

Also appreciate any that make the effort to come near my tent/hut, etc.

Wish I would warm up to those long faced antelope like the topi and hartebeest. Just don't find them all that appealing.

Even though impala are so common, I still think nicely grouped herds in a picturesque setting are a lovely African safari scene. But not an easy one to photograph well.

So I've done 5 paragraphs without really answering your question. Maybe I should campaign for president!

I feel the same way as Atravelynn – except that I LOVE topis. Their glossy coats with a purplish colour on the top of their legs. Their inquisitive stares and nice posing until I pick up my camera – then, like most animals, they turn their hindquarters towards me. I haven’t seen any topis since my first trip to Kenya in 2003 and I really miss them.

Hartebeests are nice as well. They aren’t too pretty and I saw a couple of them galloping like rocking horses while landing at Ol Kiombo air strip on my first trip.

Wish list: giant forest hog, honey badger and snakes of all kinds.

What about the Warthogs??? A family of Warthogs lived in the bush near the Chobe Safari Lodge when we were there last week. There was even a mother Warthog nursing her baby in the group which would come onto the lodge grounds in the afternoons when the sprinklers where on watering the grass.
They would roll over on their backs, run with their heads up to catch the water, what a riot.

I also think that the Malachite Kingfisher is stunning as birds go.

Saw many elephants at Chobe and 9 lions, including a very young cub.

All the animals fascinated me, even the monkeys that tried to break into our room when we stepped out on the deck to view the hippos through binoculars.

The most memorable encounter for me was in Simba public campsite at Ngorongoro rim where in the night I was woken by a cape buffalo knocking into the door flaps: I opened them up (perhaps somewhat unwisely) and held my breath. We looked at each, him pulling up grass, my barely breathing. Awesome. I love the black maned lions from the crater - and my few cheetah sightings in SNP were most awesome.

But as someone else posted, when in Africa I'm so glad to be there any wildlife encounter is amazing.

However I would like to track a greater Kudu as did Hemingway, but of course with camera rather than rifle.

Matt

Hmmm....seems that people forgot the original rule of naming only one :-)!

The leopard is certainly right up there for me. And I have to agree with the malachite kingfisher.

The most impressive, though, for sheer "wildenss (and yes, even evil in its eye) would have to be the hyena.

I had to think about this for a long time but I have to go with the cheetah, although I prefer viewing less popular animals and have a soft spot for topis because they were the first animal I had to ask our guide to identify.

For my wife, dik-dik and giraffes (extremes of cuteness)