Photo of an ugly marabou of the Okavango

Marabous have a powerful beak

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Marabou is a big scavenger bird with a powerful beak. It can reach 1.5 meters high and weight up to 7 kg. I spotted many marabous while boatriding the Okavango river in Moremi game reserve Botswana.
I think marabou is the ugliest bird I have ever seen, and probably the ugliest animal. No wonder it is often associated with death, notably in the cartoons. On top of that the marabou is a scavenger. It is not seldom to see it among a flock of vultures on a decaying pray or competing with hyenas.
Marabous are definitely the kind of memory I want to keep about my trip to Botswana!