Monday, March 30, 2020

Africa: Looking for Lions - Masai Mara National Reserve

The best time to see wildlife is dawn and dusk when it's not too hot for the animals to graze. So we started our morning at six and got some breakfast before getting back in the jeep for another day. Since we had seen cheetahs and leopards the day before we decided to go looking for lions on the open plains.


The morning was slow as we checked the usual lion spots and some of the places people had seen them the day before. We didn't have much luck and by 11 we still hadn't seen any lions. However, we did see a bunch of giraffes right by the edge our path and stopped by to get a closer look. There were eight in total and two were calves. At one point three of the tallest giraffes walked right behind the jeep and to the other side of the trail.





After watching the giraffes feed we continued on in search of the lions when we got our first glance at the deadliest animals in Africa, hippos. You would never guess hippos - these big friendly looking animals, would be the most deadly animal in Africa especially with lions and leopards roaming about. But hippos cause more deaths every year than lions, leopards, and crocodiles. Usually people underestimate hippos to be lazy, slow animals that float in rivers but they can get up to 30 mph on land and with their huge jaws and tusks they are really dangerous. We made sure to keep our distance and since we were on a hill on the rivers edge we were able to leave the jeep to get a better angle at the hippos below.




Hippos graze at night because their skin isn't very resistant to the sun. Their sweat is mixed with blood which helps keep their skin from burning and also makes their sweat pink. We left the hippos and saw a jeep on a hill in the horizon. There was a cheetah sitting on a mound of dirt and once we arrived it started to walk parallel to the trail.





                           


We followed the cheetah for a while before continuing our search for lions. We kept going up the paths and we saw a jeep on the other side of the river and big ravine waving and flashing their lights. We didn't have a way across the river but we drove closer to see what was wrong. As we were getting closer out of the corner of my eye I saw a lioness lying in the bushes on the other side of the path. The other jeep didn't seem to be in any kind of danger so we went over to see the lions. There was a mother and two older cubs.




The two cubs were lounging out underneath a large bush and the mother was lying on her back like a dog that wanted a belly rub.


 Joe noticed that they had quite full bellies and must have made a kill the night before. We watched the cubs licking themselves clean and the mom rolling on her back and soon a few more jeeps came to see them after Joe called it in on the radio. After a while we had to leave to help lead a jeep back to the lions after they got lost trying to find them. There's no way to mark exactly where they are so the drivers always have to describe the landscape but it all looks the same to me. After leading the jeep back we started back to camp for lunch. On the way back we spotted a herd of elephants travelling across the open fields.






We caught up to them and drove parallel with the herd as they marched to an unknown destination. There were two elephant calves walking among the gentle giants playing waving their trunks.


Over the radio we heard that the other jeeps had found the rest of the pride and the male by the river. We were 15 minutes away now and going back would mean adding an hour or so to the trip. Joe decided it was worth it to go back to see the male so we back tracked and met up with the rest of the jeeps. Down by the river hidden in the brush were three more lionesses and a young male with a half mane. We watched them for a few minutes before we turned back to camp for lunch.




 We had a late lunch and some time to relax at the lodge before we headed back out for our afternoon game drive. After a half hour of driving we spotted a bunch of jeeps surrounding undergrowth and bushes creating an almost oasis in the middle of the grasslands. We found a spot between all the jeeps and spotted another leopard eating a kill in the largest bush. Our angle wasn't great and after a few jeeps left Joe was able to drive in for a better view so we got to see that there was also a young cub hidden behind the big bush.


 It turns out the mom was the same one we had seen last night and the 5 month old cub must have been hidden away by the river's edge. We left the jungle of jeeps and did a loop around to wait for a spot to open up. Around the back of the bushes we saw a jeep moving a bit to get a new angle on the leopards. We followed the path through the grass and got a perfect view of the leopards. Just as we got there the mother picked up the kill and dragged it over to the little cub. The cub rolled onto his back and raised its paws like it was trying to play with the mother.




The mom dropped the kill at his feet before returning to her spot in the bush. Soon after the cub had eaten his fill of the impala he joined his mother.


We left our spot and let the jeeps behind us get a chance to get a better view. We  continued on past the leopards and saw a jeep stopped way in the distance. Once we got there it was a cheetah with a fresh kill - a young Thomson Gazelle. 



We watched as he ate for a long time. Soon his entire face was covered in blood and the sun was setting so we had to get back to camp before dark. On the way back the last rays of sun shined through the clouds making for some great photos.


We thanked Joe for an amazing day before having a great dinner and settling in for the rest of the night.

Africa: Big Cats in the Mara - Masai Mara National Reserve

We woke up and unzipped our tents to a sunrise over the plains. We had some breakfast and said goodbye to everyone before starting our way to the heart of the Masai Mara. The drive was an hour or so and we mostly drove through the small towns and villages with the tin roofed shacks and the roadside markets. Once we arrived at the park gate there were a lot of people selling necklaces, trinkets and carvings through the jeep windows. They were very persistent and they wouldn't stop offering deals until we drove into the park. Right past the gate we saw a herd of Grant Impalas, a topi, and some zebras.




                                                                             



We kept going and right up the road we saw some giraffe walking towards us over the hills. I'm sure   everyone says this but it was crazy how tall they were. Eventually they got pretty close and we got to see them feeding in the high up branches.




After we left the giraffes we saw a huge water buffalo at the side of the road.


Up past the water buffalo there were a whole bunch of animals like Impalas, Elan, a Secretary Bird, Baboons, Marabou Stork, Zebras and Giraffes all in one spot. It was difficult to know where to point the camera.


                                                                                   

                                                                   
 
We left all of the animals behind and continued towards camp on the bumpy road. Up the road a bit there were five or six safari jeeps all stopped at the side of the road with cameras out of the windows. Once we caught up to them we saw what they were looking at. There were four Cheetahs lying in the bushes right off the side of the road. The were lounging in the shade looking quite content. Joe told us that the four cheetahs were brothers that all hunt together. Usually there is five but the fifth must have been farther back in the bushes.




We got some photos and then just watched the big cats lying in the shade. After about ten minutes we had to start to camp if we were gonna make it for lunch. On the way back Joe heard about a cheetah on the hunt that wasn't far off course from the camp. The cheetah was walking towards a big herd of Thomson Gazelles and this time there was only one jeep there not including us so it was less crowded.







The Thompson Gazelles were aware of the cheetah's presence and were staying close enough to keep an eye on him while not being eaten. The cheetah kept walking up the winding tire tracks towards the herd but they made sure to keep their distance.


After awhile the cheetah gave up on the herd and went off to find something else for lunch. We started once again towards camp but were stopped by some thick mud on the road. Joe got out to see if we could get through without getting stuck. While we were stopped I noticed a herd of antelope running on the horizon I zoomed in with the camera and noticed a big cat like shadow in a bush nearby that must have startled the antelope. Once Joe got back in we drove up to get a better look at the big cat. Once we got close we saw that it was a cheetah in the shade of the bush.



We left the cheetah and drove the rest of the way to the camp. We pulled up to a grove of trees in the middle of the park to Matira Bush Camp. The camp was really nice with a large lounge and a couple of dining areas. We were shown to our tents and then had spaghetti for lunch. Kaden, Zaddek, and I had a tent to ourselves with actual beds instead of just mattresses. We were staying there for three nights so we could unpack a bit and get comfortable. After a bit of relaxing we went out for our afternoon Safari with fully charged cameras. Only a few minutes after we left the camp we saw a cheetah up on a hill with the rolling blue sky behind it.


It sat up on the small hill for a bit before walking down weaving right through the jeeps and into the savannah grass.


We left the cheetah behind and drove around the savannah for a bit looking for wildlife when Joe heard something on the radio. The rest of us couldn't hear what it was from the back of the truck but we immediately turned around and picked up a little more speed. We came up to twenty trucks surrounding a tree on the edge of a riverbank. Half way up the tree partially hidden by branches and leaves was a Leopard with a kill.



 Leopards are extremely rare and even if you go for a two week Safari (which is the recommended trip) you probably won't see one. We got a good spot to see through the leaves and watched the Leopard eat. It was difficult to see through the branches but we were all happy just to see one. Then the Leopard started to move and simultaneously all the jeeps' engines started up getting ready to follow.  The leopard climbed into the crook of the tree and looked around quickly in the light of the fading sun before slipping down into the brush of the river bank.





Just after the leopard went into the river bank the other jeeps started pointing at something out of our view over a small mound of dirt at the edge of the river bank. It took a few minutes to get a spot with a view around the mound but once we did we saw the second leopard that had caused all the commotion. It was lying down right in the shade of the mound and was still partially concealed by it.
































Just as we thought things couldn't get any better it got up and jumped up the edge of the river bank and walked right in front of us and right along the river. It paused for awhile as if taking in the view of the river and the leaped gracefully into the tree and started eating its share of the kill.










 Joe told us that the first leopard was probably a two or three year old cub and the second leopard was the mother who had let her cub get her fill of the impala first. We could've watched the mother eat but the sun was almost down and you aren't supposed to be out after dark. We started to drive back and we went up the river to find a spot to cross when we saw some jeeps watching the cub lying next to the river.



We watched the cub by the river mesmerized by its majestic coat until we officially had to start our way back to camp. We loved the dinner in the dining tent and went back to our tents after an amazing day.