07/08/2026
Nature can be both brutal and beautiful.
Spotted at Dinaka, a tree that at first glance appeared almost decorated with butterflies, each one delicately skewered on a thorn. The artist behind this display? A shrike.
Known as the butcherbird, the shrike uses thorns as its tools, impaling insects, lizards and even small birds to secure its meal or store food for later.
The butterflies pictured, Plain Tigers, also known as the African Monarch, are highly toxic to most birds due to the poisonous compounds their caterpillars store from milkweed plants. The shrike, however, has found its way around this. It impales the butterfly and simply waits, sometimes for days, until the toxins break down and dry out before eating. When it does eat, it targets the head and abdomen, where toxin concentrations are lowest.
A fascinating phenomenon unfolding in the heart of the Kalahari.
Images by Sarah M. Wang
