Hunting game on the Serengeti

bat-earred fox

The evening game drive from camp was full of anticipation to fill out the last of the big five, east Africa’s five most sought after game animals: the lion, elephant, rhino, leopard and cape buffalo.  We had yet to see the leopard.  Charlie, our driver, was determined to find us a leopard, but all the while knowing that there were no guarantees. 

The great feast

Close to the shores of Lake Ndutu we saw plenty of Bat-eared foxes, families of them just poking their heads out of burrows where they shelter underground.  The guys earn their names with ears that can only conjure up images of a bat.  The dung along the road had promise of elephants in the area, but not in the last few days. 

Drying in the Sun

Next we spot our first “big kill”.  Not far along the lakeshore road we spot a large group of buzzards, mostly on the ground and a few in the air, the tell-tail sign of kill.  Nubian vultures, African white-backed vultures and Ruppell’s Griffon vultures were all busily competing and eating away at a dead wildebeest.  Clearly, the lions took their share and left a good amount for the big birds to clean up.   We were also amazed by the on-looking gallery of vultures who had already had their fair share, or, more likely, were waiting their turn to dig in.  It was quite a sight to see them all drying their wings in the mid-day sun while waiting patiently for snack time.

Heading south and west of camp we quickly found lots of Cape Buffalo, the lone Hartebeest, and plenty of interesting shore birds, including greater and lesser flamingos.  Shortly thereafter and perhaps less than a mile from camp we found a small pride of lions, complete with its leader, a male, sporting a full mane.  They were trying to sleep off the day’s earlier feast, but the tourists and their safari cars were circled around.

Quite an interesting lecture Bill!

Charlie wanted us to get a good view of the lions and so he pulled the vehicle to within about 10 feet of one of the resting lions.  Windows were opened and quickly closed, with the wonder, or should I say fear, of how fast do we need to close these windows.  We were close enough to inspect the backs of their throats during the frequent yawns, but not close enough to smell their breath.  Roberta wondered aloud to Charlie, “do they come up to the vehicle?”  Then casually Charlie replied “yes, and I’ve seen them come up and peer down into the vehicles from the open canopy”, which immediately changed the tenor of comfort in the car.  I think he enjoyed letting that one sink in.  Of course, Charlie was asked if he had ever lost a client, to which he correctly replied, “not yet”.

  

Sure feels like snack time to me.

The lions were great to watch, but we wanted to see more.  We headed further south along the stream that feeds into Lake Ndutu, where we find more wonderful birds including a majestic immature Martial Eagle (thanks to Cin-Ty Lee for the correct identification).  Coming on to the open plains of the Serengeti we begin to see Gnu or wildebeest.  Is this the migration?  But just then we see a cluster of vehicles making a hemisphere, which means only one thing: another big cat or two.  It is three cheetahs waiting and thinking about a hunt.  They keep us all in suspense, but the big news is we see for certain the spectacular migration of the wildebeest.  Yes, the horizon some distance off is filled with wildebeest.  Sadly, Charlie says that that treat is for tomorrow, and that we need to head back to camp to make it there with daylight in hand.

Martial Eagle hunting for food

Returning to camp after our evening drive gave us plenty of time to think about the closeness of the lions and what kind of sleep we had ahead of us that night.  Patrick was ready to search out the areas around camp.  Most of us were interested in relieving ourselves of some of the road dirt that covered our clothes and skin. 

The next morning we shared stories of what we heard outside our tents during the night.  Kevin and Patrick caught photos of Cape Buffalo walking some 15 to 20 yards away behind our tents in the morning quiet.  After breakfast it was off to do some more game hunting and shooting with or cameras, of course.  

Secretary Bird