More Masai Mara Shots

A few shots from Masai Mara. I have yet to go through all my photos and videos, but I'll get there eventually and will post anything interesting here.

I watched this handsome male lion for a long time, wondering how he could stand all the flies that seemed to be a permanent fixture on his nose. Finally he yawned and I think you can even see the flies' wings as they buzzed around. I think a few ended up as lion lunch - you can see one or two on his tongue. The female lioness that he was with didn't seem to mind his fly breath at all.

There's a funny story behind this shot. Everyone in our group (mostly professional photographers) was trying to get a good close-up shot of a hippo when it surfaced. I was one of the more inexperienced photographers and definitely more lax in my approach. If I get a good shot, bonus.  I happened to be the only photographer in our group standing where I was and I was just taking in the sights, looking around, laughing at stuff. Then all of a sudden this hippo pops out of the water right in front of me - just a few feet away. I was able to get this shot but after that he became more elusive and wouldn't come as far out of the water as he did in this pic. Here's to quick reflexes and luck. I'm sure there are much better hippo-peeking-out-of-water shots, but I was happy with this one. I especially love that he has a sleepy/lazy look in his eye.

I think this guy is a Cape Griffon or Cape Vulture, but if I'm wrong I'm sure someone will correct me.

I was honestly amazed at the detail in this photo because I wasn't anticipating it to be a decent shot. These are the guys that we'd see swarming around carcasses. The hyenas were constantly trying to chase them off but these guys are pretty quick.

This mother cheetah was very protective of her young 'un and this pose perfectly displays that. 

This was the first time I had seen cheetahs in the wild so it was pretty damn cool for me. The cheetahs would perch on top of these termite mounds that appear all across the savannah so they can get better viewing of any game they want to hunt.

Ah, this big beautiful matriarch elephant was one of my favorite sights. I told our Maasai driver that he could just drop me off with the elephants. I'd hang with them all day and be perfectly happy. Elephants are my all time favorite; their sensitivity and intelligence are just amazing. Rumor has it they're telepathic.

This "cute" little hyena cracked me up because he reeked! Stink doesn't begin to describe it.

It was quite frankly like something out of Satan's ass. Or, what I'd expect something out of Satan's ass to smell like. After seeing the look on his face in this shot, it made it even funnier. It's as if he knew he reeked and was in on the joke.

Animals Matter. Even the stinky ones.

Elephants!

During the first two or three days of our stay in Kenya, we had only seen a lone male elephant from time to time but no large groups of elephants (much to my dismay). Then, on the fourth day, to my delight we came across a family of elephants. I told Wilson, our driver, that he could just drop me off to stay with the elephants and pick me up on the way back. I loved just being in their presence, just watching them. Their social interaction is so fascinating to me because they're highly intelligent, sensitive and social creatures.

Once we saw the first group of elephants, in the days to come we began seeing more and more elephants. Mike, a professional wildlife photographer who was also staying at the camp, was able to answer my question about why there weren't more elephants around. Apparently the elephants don't particularly like the massive herds of wildebeest and zebra that come thundering through and they move to other areas where the wildebeest and zebra aren't migrating. Makes sense to me. Hopefully on my next trip I'll be able to spend more time with the elephants. I was able to get a few decent photos and get my elephant fix.

An elephant in the Mara in sepia

An elephant mom and her calf

A small elephant family procession

The First Wildebeest Sightings of The Great Migration 2012 in Kenya

The Great Migration of 2012 got off to a late start due to rains, but the wildebeest are already arriving in parts of Kenya.

Here's another blog post of the progress of the Megaherd.

The Great Migration

on Wednesday, 25 July 2012. Posted in Properties, Mara West Luxury Tents, Entumoto

THE MIGRATION IS NOT A SINGLE OCCURRENCE; IT IS A NEVER-ENDING CYCLE WHICH BEGINS FOR A WILDEBEEST WITH ITS BIRTH AND ENDS WITH ITS DEATH.

A little later than in recent years, the Great Migration of 2012 finally kicked off just over a week ago. Due to heavy rains in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem since early this year, the Plains grass has been long and has hampered the progress of the wildebeest, delaying their arrival north into Kenya.

However, as of 17^th July, the herds have been making steady progress into Kenya with the first reported arrival in the Mara of a group of around 10,000 Wildebeest on 17^th and 18^th July. From the Sand River area, isolated concentrations of Zebra and Wildebeest were observed congregating in the north of the Serengeti. According to sightings in the area, the current migrating herds have split into three distinct groups with one making its way up from Grumeti in the eastern Serengeti; another moving north from Bologonja (approximately 10 miles south of the Masai Mara in the northern Serengeti) towards the Sand River; and a third approaching from the eastern side of the Kuka Hills. This third group started trickling into the Mara on 17^th July. On 20^th July guests at Porini Lion Camp reported having seen several hundred wildebeest crossing the Mara River and on 24^th July thousands of Wildebeest were seen crossing the Sand River between Sala’s Camp and the Mara River South Bridge, very likely part of the group which had been coming up from Bologonja - so the action has most definitely started!

On a slightly disappointing note, anger and dissension was triggered a few days ago when Controlled Burning in northern Tanzania was falsely and maliciously reported in the local press as arson and an “attempt to stop the Migration” (yes, really!). This is emphatically not the case and Controlled Burning, or “Swailing” as it is also known, is a technique widely employed both here and indeed worldwide as a responsible method of not only preventing hotter and more dangerous fires later on but also, and equally importantly, clearing the way for the germination of fresh grass – thereby renewing the plains and actually helping, rather than hindering, our Game.

The Great Migration

Throughout the Serengeti and Masai Mara, approximately 1.5 million wildebeest, 400,000 zebra, 500,000 Thompson gazelles, along with numerous other species, are on their epic annual journey. It's referred to as The Great Migration and is an annual movement of animals - a megaherd - migrating to areas with more abundant rains, vegetation and food. The megaherd moves in a huge clockwise circle, starting from the southern Serengeti plains in January.  By February movement has slowly begun. The herd stays in the Serengeti during calving and is moving again by April. By June the megaherd has begun crossing the Grumeti River before making its way north towards the Masai Mara in Kenya. By July many have arrived at the Mara River but the animals often wait for more to arrive so their numbers can grow. The term "safety in number" definitely applies here, since predators await them at every turn. At water's crossings that includes crocodiles. They're "not out of the water" yet, even after crossing the treacherous waters filled with crocs since prides of lions lie in wait on the other side of the river hoping for a meal.

I'll be lucky enough to be in the Masai Mara very soon and will be experiencing this wilderness spectacle for myself. I hope to get some great shots, as well as video, and will be posting them here live from the Mara.

A semi-animated map of the migration can be found here; you can click on each month to see the herd's route:

http://www.wildwatch.com/great_migration/

This site has a fully animated map showing the animals as they move:

http://www.africasafari.com/great_migration.cfm

For more updates on The Great Migration of 2012, please check back here in the coming weeks. I'll do my best to provide some entertainment along with viewing of the migration and the assorted array of animals that I encounter out in the bush.

Animals Matter.

Born Free's Zoo Check's New Report Published

Born Free is a great resource for keeping abreast on what's going on with wildlife around the world, both the good and the bad. They share stories of poaching in Africa, stories about the dramatic rescue of a former circus lion now confined to a small cage in a dusty village where he's taunted by locals, and stories about what we can do to help. Born Free's Zoo Check is a wonderful organization that visits zoos around the world and reports back on their conditions which pressures the zoos into making changes. All sentient beings deserve to live quality lives. If we're to keep animals in zoos at all, the facilities must be as close to their natural habitat as possible and they absolutely must be well treated and cared for and provided with the stimulus they would naturally receive in the wild.


Here's Zoo Check latest report. Most zoos with deplorable conditions were found in Europe. Read on to see what they found and what they hope the zoos will change to improve the quality of life for these animals.

The photo and information below is the intellectual property of Born Free and Zoo Check.

http://www.bornfree.org.uk/campaigns/zoo-check/zoos/eu-zoo-inquiry/

This investigation is part of an extensive EU-wide project that involves 21 EU countries and a total of 200 zoos.

The EU Zoo Inquiry 2011 has been conducted by the Born Free Foundation, in association with the European coalition, ENDCAP. It is an independent study evaluating the implementation and enforcement of the EC Directive 1999/22, relating to the keeping of wild animals in zoos, which was fully implemented in EU Member States (25) in 2005 (and 2007 in Bulgaria and Romania). The Directive requires all zoos (as defined) to be licensed and controlled through regular inspection, to ensure they are engaged in activities to conserve biodiversity, educate the public and maintain high standards in animal welfare. The investigation, which has included a review of national law, law enforcement and compliance in a selected number of zoos in 21 EU Member States, has identified inconsistencies in application and substandard conditions in zoos, which is primarily due to a lack of knowledge and training of enforcement personnel and zoo operators to ensure an understanding of the legal requirements of the Directive.

As a result of this work, the European Commission has agreed to provide additional training to veterinarians in fundamental and applied animal welfare science, as well as to meet Born Free’s main request to develop a ‘best practice’ zoo guide to assist Member States and zoo operators to meet the legal requirements. Born Free continues to produce country reports, as a result of the investigations, which will be available online once published.

Fast track to the country reports >

1. Make a donation to our Stop Captive Animal Suffering appeal

2. Sign our letter to the Commissioner for the Environment urging him to study Born Free’s EU Zoo Inquiry 2011 reports and take action for the animals.

3. Contact your MEP and ask them to support higher standards in animal welfare of wild animals in zoos in Europe.

4. Report animal suffering through Travellers Animal Alert

Thank you for caring about the animals. This is their planet, too. 

Animals Matter.