Second week of safari in Africa. After the first week, we flew from Naivasha to the Mara, the expansive homeland of the Masai, a herding culture. They subsist on the milk, meat and blood of their cattle.
The variety of wildlife was mind-blowing. Wildebeests in abundance, giraffes, cape buffalos who stared down a pack of lions--they are safe if not separated from their herd, many lions--mothers and offspring devouring a buffalo (and chasing away white-backed vultures that eventually managed to fill their bellies, and at another time lions patiently waiting out a leopard that was nervously viewing them from high in a tree; the leopard's prey was evident higher up in the tree--the leopard is capable of carrying heavy prey in its mouth to high up in trees. Lions sometimes kill leopards. We heard later that the leopard survived because the lions took cover during a storm that we had also experienced. I like to think that was true.
Cheetahs are often solitary creatures but we did see a pair of siblings and another time, a lone one. Ostriches, both male and female, are so interesting to watch. What a creature!
The terrain was mind-blowingly beautiful. We drove around all day looking for wildlife--an expert at sighting distant animals with binoculars would alert the driver guide, give the location in the Masai language, and off we'd drive to see whatever it was. The pair of cheetahs were originally so far away--very cool to see them lazing side by side. The animals are familiar with humans and go about their wild ways, partially ignoring us. We were safe (or at least our driver, Enock, told us so, when a large elephant separated from his herd and walked over within 8 feet of our vehicle and looked us over, and when an older male lion was the same distance away from us another time.
The variety of wildlife was mind-blowing. Wildebeests in abundance, giraffes, cape buffalos who stared down a pack of lions--they are safe if not separated from their herd, many lions--mothers and offspring devouring a buffalo (and chasing away white-backed vultures that eventually managed to fill their bellies, and at another time lions patiently waiting out a leopard that was nervously viewing them from high in a tree; the leopard's prey was evident higher up in the tree--the leopard is capable of carrying heavy prey in its mouth to high up in trees. Lions sometimes kill leopards. We heard later that the leopard survived because the lions took cover during a storm that we had also experienced. I like to think that was true.
Cheetahs are often solitary creatures but we did see a pair of siblings and another time, a lone one. Ostriches, both male and female, are so interesting to watch. What a creature!
The terrain was mind-blowingly beautiful. We drove around all day looking for wildlife--an expert at sighting distant animals with binoculars would alert the driver guide, give the location in the Masai language, and off we'd drive to see whatever it was. The pair of cheetahs were originally so far away--very cool to see them lazing side by side. The animals are familiar with humans and go about their wild ways, partially ignoring us. We were safe (or at least our driver, Enock, told us so, when a large elephant separated from his herd and walked over within 8 feet of our vehicle and looked us over, and when an older male lion was the same distance away from us another time.
