Stunning photos capture continent at its most wild and beautiful - PHOTO

The breathtaking pictures were taken by Heinrich Van Den Berg, 43, from Johannesburg, as he travelled from country to country documenting the region's wildlife.Many of the photos feature animals threatened by extinction due to mass poaching, such as the white rhino and African elephant.One of the images shows a flock of egrets flying around a white rhino's head.Mr Van Den Berg took the photo several years ago in South Africa - and says poachers killed the animal this year.He said: 'I was lucky to capture the rhino with egrets flying around its head. They seem to form a halo around the animal as if it were a saint.'Rhinos in South Africa are being poached at an alarming rate.'Last year more than 1,000 rhinos were killed for their horns. For this reason I have a real affection for these creatures.'On his travels, the full-time photographer visited Madagascar to see sifakas, a type of lemur, and to Botswana to catch a rare sighting of a leopard.He added: 'I love photographing leopards. They are secretive, and difficult to find, so to find one and being able to photograph it is a great experience.'(dailymail.co.uk)Bakudaily.Az