Tamaryn Slieker Wild Art & Photography

23/08/2026

Six Feathered Encounters in Kruger: A Recent Safari Through the Eyes of a Wildlife Photographer

There is something about a safari in Kruger National Park that keeps you looking. Even after years of spending time in the bush, I still find myself scanning the trees, watching the sky, checking the tops of dead branches and listening for the calls of birds I may not have seen yet that morning. It is easy to arrive in Kruger thinking about lions, leopards, elephants and wild dogs....

There is something about a safari in Kruger National Park that keeps you looking. Even after years of spending time in the bush, I still find myself scanning the trees, watching the sky, checking the tops of dead branches and listening for the calls of birds I may not have seen yet that morning. It....

15/08/2026

Sometimes the universe whispers: be patient.

Sometimes it sends you a Pied Kingfisher sitting on a branch, staring intensely into the distance as if she’s contemplating the meaning of life. 😂

Maybe there’s wisdom in it — stay still, stay focused, and when the right moment comes… dive in.

📍 Kruger National Park, South Africa
📷 Canon PowerShot SX70 HS

14/08/2026

A quiet moment with a White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus) beneath the endless African sky.

Often misunderstood, yet so important to the balance of the wild. Nature has a place for every creature — even those we may not always see the beauty in.

Perhaps that is the lesson: every life has purpose, even when we cannot see it.

📍 Kruger National Park, South Africa
📷 Canon PowerShot SX70 HS

13/08/2026

When you’re at the top of the food chain, lunch hits a little differently. 🦅

A powerful Martial Eagle taking some time out to enjoy a hard-earned meal in the treetops.

No rush. No fuss. Just wild Africa doing what wild Africa does best.

📍 Kruger National Park, South Africa
📷 Canon PowerShot SX70 HS

🎵 Way Down We Go — KALEO

13/08/2026

Over the weekend, I witnessed a kill in the Kruger… just not the kind of kill you’d usually expect. 😂

No lion. No dramatic chase. Just a beautiful Lilac-breasted Roller and one very unlucky grasshopper.

Even the smallest hunters have their moments, and there’s something wonderfully humbling about being reminded that the circle of life happens at every scale.

📍 Kruger National Park, South Africa
📷 Canon PowerShot SX70 HS

12/08/2026

Some souls are here to remind us that even in death, there is purpose.

The Lappet-faced Vulture may not be the easiest creature to love, but it plays an essential role in nature’s sacred cycle — returning what has passed back to the earth, so life can continue.

Nothing is wasted in the wild. Everything has a place. 🖤

📍 Kruger National Park, South Africa
📷 Canon PowerShot SX70 HS

10/08/2026

“There is beauty in becoming.”

An immature Bateleur Eagle, still wearing the colours of youth, reminding us that not everything beautiful arrives fully formed.

Some things take time.
Some wings need to grow before they can carry us where we're meant to go.

🦅 Terathopius ecaudatus
📍 Kruger National Park

Canon Powershot SX70HS

15/07/2026

Professional branch lounger. 10/10 would recommend this lifestyle. 🌿

(Speckled Mousebird)

Canon Powershot SX70HS
f/6.5
1/1250s
ISO 160
247mm
No flash

08/07/2026

https://tamarynsliekerwild.com/conservation/

Learn how every artwork supports wildlife conservation, with 30% of each artwork sale donated to conservation organisations chosen by the collector.

27/06/2026

Every masterpiece begins with a single mark.

The first layer of charcoal is finding its place on the canvas as I begin this special commission for K9 Project Watchdog, a national project of the SANParks Honorary Rangers supporting the conservation K9 units protecting South Africa's wildlife.

One layer, thousands of marks, and one remarkable story to honour.

A1 | Charcoal on Canvas