SINGITA GRUMETI RESERVES, TANZANIA – More images of the moon-like landscape
We had a dramatic moment in the late afternoon. A hyena ran down a young wildebeest. As noted elsewhere hyenas eat their prey without killing it first. Here the hyena eats the wildebeest starting with its hind quarters as we hear the wildebeest’s continuing screams. That night in our tent I imagined that every sound that I heard outside of our tent was a hyena.
MAASAI MARA, KENYA – Ride back from the crossing and late afternoon bush walk. Here’s a heard of Maasai cattle. As noted in an earlier post the Maasai are semi-nomadic cattle herders. They prefer large horn cattle in white with small black markings. The Maasai believe that all the cattle in the world belong to Maasai, leading to behavior that is considered cattle theft by others. Historically their diet consisted primarily of milk mixed with cow’s blood drawn from an artery – they patch up the wound after drawing the blood. They supplement it with sheep and goats. Cows are to valuable as a measure of wealth to slaughter for food.
This gives some idea of just how ugly the spotted hyena is:
We took a late afternoon bush walk. This is Maria with our Maasai guide, Ping, inspecting a termite hill. Ping is an amazing story teller; he’s the fellow who spent six month’s in Orlando advising on the safari ride.
MAASAI MARA, KENYA – We have been extraordinarily lucky to witness a major crossing of the Mara River by the wildebeest migration. The crossing is popular with both animals and photographers. The guides refer to it at the “BBC crossing” – its where BBC send a camera crew if they need shots of wildlife crossing a river.
A four shot sequence of a croc killing a zebra:
Wildebeest and Zebras massed at the crossing.
Wildebeest diving competition:
MAASAI MARA, KENYA – Part I is our morning game drive.
The Maasai who guard our camp at night (from from animals) walking 12 miles back to their village.
Wildebeest:
Setting up for breakfast in the bush:
Lion up close:
Cape buffalo. These large, tough animals are considered dangerous if you’re on foot.
Here’s a Thomson gazelle with a group of impala. The guides refer to Thompson gazelles as “cheetah snacks”.
MAASAI MARA, KENYA – Another huge game day, so I’m dividing the day into multiple parts. We started at 4:00 am, driving to a hot air balloon launch site and making an hour-long balloon trip across the bush. Zebras from on high.
Ditto impalas:
Here we are, eye-to-eye with the giraffes:
Bush:
Dry watering hole:
Hot air balloon landing:
MAASAI MARA – More game. The Mara Plains Camp generously lent me a Canon 50D (a so-so camera) and a Canon 500 mm telephoto (a helluva lens). The camera has a relatively small sensor and a 1.6x focal multiplier (producing the equivalent of 800mm with the telephoto) but was entirely adequate. Our vehicles were provided with platforms and bean bags in lieu of tripods – this worked very well. The 800mm focal length demands seriously good technique, but when mastered yielded terrific results.
More leopard.
So here are three wildebeest. It’s an odd-looking animal – it looks like it was assembled from the spare parts bin. It looks a bit like a bison, but smaller. Since the Serengeti plain looks a lot like the North American Great Plains (except for the acacias) the large herds of wildebeest give a sense of what the North American Plains must have been like before they were settled.
Our only jackal of the trip. Here’s a link to info about the jackal: Jackal
MAASAI MARA, KENYA – Here’s where this gets intense. In the Maasai Mara we find ourselves in the middle of the Wildebeest migration. Here’s some info on the Wildebeest (also known as the Gnu): jWildebeest entry. Quoting from the Wikipedia entry:
“Wildebeest are known for their annual migration to new pastures. Many documentaries feature wildebeest crossing rivers, or being eaten by crocodiles or drowning in the attempt. Although it is assumed that this migration is a frenzy and that the wildebeest cross blindly, recent research has shown that a herd of gnu possesses what is known as a “swarm intelligence”, whereby the animals systematically explore and overcome the obstacle as one.”
Official estimates place the wildebeest population on the greater Serengeti at 2 million; knowledgeable NGOs suggest that its more like 1.2 million. The migration brings with it teaming game of all species. I’m breaking today’s entry into two parts because of the wealth of images.
Dirt airstrip at Chyulu Hills as we prepare to depart for the Maasai Mara.
Our greeting when we arrive at Maasai Mara. Poaching is a serious problem throughout Kenya and Tanzania – these animals are killed for their ivory.
On our drive from the airstrip to the Mara Plains Camp (a fairly simple tented camp where we will spend three days) we pass these hippos. Hippos are nocturnal herbavors, grazing on the plains at night. In the daytime the stay in the water as a strategy to regulate their body heat and as protection from the sun. A large group of hippos have found this watering hole. The crud on the surface is hippo excrement – they aren’t too selective about where they hang out. They are noted for their bad tempers and can move surprisingly quickly.
A lion killing a wildebeest.
Another take on the lion and the wildebeest.
A lion cub.
