I have put together a collection of images which I thought you might find interesting as they show the dramas during and after the animals crossing the Mara river. All of these images were taken from Lou and Veronica’s specialized CNP photographic vehicles which were superb shooting platforms.

The migration takes place from east to west across the Mara river. This post highlights some of the dramas on the West side of the river. The Mara river appears to be gently snaking through the Masai Mara. This apparent gentleness masks a  fast flowing river full of crocodiles and Hippos. It is bordered by a thick groves of riverine trees on either bank, which hide a variety of predators from Lion to Leopard and Hyaenas. Crossing entry and exit points vary from flat sandy areas to treacherously steep alluvial banks and slippery rocky outcrops.

The river itself claims many victims. This young Zebra slipped off a rock ledge jutting into the  Mara river. It fell in right next to where a Wildebeest had drowned. After a few heart stopping moments, this young Zebra managed to scramble back onto the rock shelf unscathed. After this scare the Zebra backed away and we did not see them again that day.

Some young souls do not get to cross the river. A Leopard was taking no chances with this Wildebeest calf.

This lioness looked bored while waiting in the open for Wildebeest and Zebra to appear on the east side of the river . Presumably these predators can see, hear the herbivores coming and feel the vibrations of thousands of hooves through the ground. There are plenty of trees and Crotons alongside the river which provide good cover for an ambush.

 

The panic is clear to see. Once the crossing starts, the Wildebeest follow each other blindly through the dust and launch themselves into the boiling water.

The flowing river quickly drags them downstream. There were rapids just below where these Wildebeest were crossing – adding to the difficulty and danger of the crossing.

As the crossing builds, it becomes chaotic and the danger increases exponentially.

The crossing is not all panic and hard swimming. Some of the wildlife take it all ‘in their stride’, sunning themselves on the beach, while the Wildebeest summon up the courage to cross the river.

The fast flowing river can make the swim exhausting. Some Wildebeest get to solid ground under foot on the west side of the river but are so tired that they struggle to get out of the water. This is just what the massive crocodile basking itself on the river bank had been waiting for. He had obviously seen this situation many times before. It was incredible to watch this massive croc slowly swim, in plain sight, up to the Wildebeest. The Wildebeest must have seen the croc coming but it did not move.

During the drowning process, other Wildebeest swam very close to the victim and must have seen exactly what was happening.

There is high drama when these Wildebeest swim furiously to cross the river, all the while are being dragged downstream by the fast flowing river, knowing only too well what is lurking unseen in the water.

 

Once successfully across the river, the Wildebeest and Zebra face another challenge, getting passed the waiting and hungry predators.

We were  privileged to see a classic Lion ambush and kill. It took place on the West side about 100 metres from the river. It was late morning. We had already seen a Wildebeest crossing and were driving away to chat about what we had just seen up over a cup of coffee. We were driving parallel to the ‘single file’ column of Wildebeest and Zebra walking away from the river. Their coats were still glistening with water. Sammy, our guide, saw a Lioness close to the road lying in wait and intently watching the column of herbivores. We then saw a second Lioness lying in a clump of long Red Oat grass about 40 metres away.  The column of successful river crossers walked right between the two Lionesses, but could not see either. Once the lead animals had walked passed the Lionesses, the  Lioness closest to us burst from her lying position.

The line of Wildebeest panicked, focusing on the Lioness hurtling towards them. One Wildebeest did not even see the second Lioness break cover from the clump of grass behind it, and hit it with 120 kilograms of teeth and claws in the hind quarters. The other animals scattered and the second Lioness reinforced the attack on the collapsing Wildebeest. The images are not particularly sharp because of all of the dust on the scene.

The second Lioness held the Wildebeest down long enough for the first one to manoeuver the animal to get a choke hold.

The second Lioness did not do much after the Wildebeest was on the ground, not wanting to get in the way of flaying hooves. It was all over in a couple of minutes and the Mara returned to normal.

In the next image, this Wildebeest must have made it across the river but fell foul of a predator on the west side. We came upon two Hyaena around mid-morning. Both were feeding on parts of a Wildebeest. One Hyaena was progressively demolishing the Wildebeest head, skull and all. They really are waste disposal experts.

This Hyaena kept moving the head to keep it in the shade as the sun was rising. He was making good progress demolishing the head by the time we left.

One drowned Wildebeest was floating close to the river bank. The proximity of the carcass to the bank enabled this Water Monitor to get to it without having to swim the crocodile gauntlet.

On another occasion, while waiting for a crossing, we saw this massive crocodile downstream from us eating a Zebra’s head.

The same massive crocodile decided to swim upstream towards us. Just upstream of us, it climbed onto the bank to bask. The angle was not good but it gives an impression of the size of this predator with the Zebra’s head.

The grass is always greener on the other side. In fact, in the Mara it is green and gold. With the storm clouds building, the sound of distant thunder and the smell of rain on parched earth probably merge to become an intoxicating mix which drives the Wildebeest and Zebra to make such an epic crossing each year.

We did not see Leopard, unfortunately – perhaps another time! We often saw Jackals, the light-weight gang in the clean up squad. The Cheetah operated near the river on occasion, but we normally saw them out on the open plains where these speedsters have some room to move.

I hope you enjoyed the dramatic, and at times gruesome, images which portray  the story of the daily drama on the west side of the Mara river.

It’s  not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.
Henry David  Thoreau

Seek to understand nature, marvel at its interconnectedness and then let it be.

Have fun

Mike

When showing wildlife images, I tend to focus on animals and birds which are wonderful, but the vistas across the Mara were spectacular and the quality of the light in the early mornings and storm cloud-filled afternoons were moody and compelling. In this post, I want to share some of the sights I was privileged to see.

Wonderful how completely everything in wild nature fits into us, as if truly part and parent of us.  The sun shines not on us, but in us.  The rivers flow not past, but through us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing. 

John Muir

We would leave Kitchwa Tembo tented camp around 6h30. It was still dark with the soft glow of the dawn beginning to appear over the Mara. There were two reasons for leaving early. The main one was to get through the Oloololo gate into the park as soon after it opened as possible and the second was to catch the sunrise. Sometimes, if it had been raining the night before, clouds would still be hanging heavy in the morning sky. The colours were soft, saturated pastel shades and the vistas were capitivatingly beautiful.

The Desert Date trees made excellent foreground subjects for our sunrise images. The colours in the sunrise heralded a warm sun drenched morning ahead.

As we were driving on the bumpy road out of the camp, it became a ritual to stop and try to capture the sublime atmosphere of the sunrise in an image and to take in the smells and freshness of the bush first thing in the morning. Each morning at sunrise we would see balloons preparing to or having just taken off. They wafted away on the early morning north-east to south-westerly breeze down along the Mara river and off towards the Tanzanian border. Some mornings there were as many as six balloons in the sky. In the early morning light, the valleys were still relatively dark so when the balloon pilot fired up the burners, the red flame illuminated the balloon.

Some mornings you could hear the burners flaming hot air into the balloon canopy down in the valley.

The stillness of the early mornings created a serene atmosphere, hiding the dramas on the plains the night before. In the next image, I could not hear these Elephants, even in the stillness of the soft morning pastel light. At times you felt you were bathing in these soft colours, and almost had to pinch yourself to be sure you were awake.

As the sun started to rise in the easterly sky, so the warm sunrise glow started to fade, by which time the balloons were busy climbing into the sky.

By around 9h00 the sky had cleared and the heat had burned off the last clouds.  The clarity of the air enabled us to see for kilometres. The plains host a vast number and variety of game, with the Wildebeest and Zebra all around at this time of the year. One aspect I loved was the ability to look out over the vistas uninterrupted for tens of kilometres. That feeling of big sky country was liberating. The idea that these animals have vast areas of land to themselves without human beings messing it up for them or crowding them out, felt very good.

The Mara river changed mood with the colour of the sky. Despite its mood, the river flowed at about five kilometres per hour adding to the difficulty of the crossing for herbivores, which are not built for swimming. The  river was bordered by riverine forest comprising Fig Trees, Fever Trees, Quinine Trees, Magic Guarris and clusters of Crotons (very different to those seen in Mashatu).

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For the most part, the Mara river had steep alluvial banks. There were many crossing points, some of which were flatter but of course they were also preferred by crocodiles and predators waiting on the West bank. Often the more popular crossing points had Hippo pools. Needless to say, the Wildebeest were easily spooked by the Hippos snorting but once the crossing started the Hippos knew to get out-of-the-way of all those paddling hooves.

The Mara river snakes through the spotted plains.

After crossing the Mara river, most of the Wildebeest and Zebra moved north to the foot of the Oloololo Escarpment where the grazing seemed to be particularly good. This next shot was taken just below where Denys in ‘Out of Africa’  was buried (after crashing his biplane) and where those two Lions lay on his grave looking out over the Mara.

The Mara plains rolled right up to the Oloololo Escarpment (part of the Great Rift Valley), which provided a picturesque backdrop. Many animals moved up the escarpment at night, perhaps for more protection, and then came back down onto the plains during the day.

It was good to see gravel only roads in the Mara Triangle. The main roads in the park were relatively good. In the high traffic areas, visitors were not allowed off-road but in the less travelled areas there were many tracks into the plains.

On our last day, Nic one of the photographers in our vehicle ,who heralded from London and who had not seen many Elephants on his last Tanzanian trip, was treated to a full showing. We came across a breeding herd of Elephant which had just emerged from the riverine forest. The Elephants in the Mara are nothing like as big as those in Etosha. The Elephant also have a different, more rounded shape to their head and their tusks are long and thin. It is almost as if these Mara Elephants were genetically half way between our southern African Elephants and Indian Elephants.

Border post, Masai Mara style!. These bollards served to demarcate the Kenyan-Tanzanian border in the Mara Triangle. This shot was taken looking south into the Serengeti.

One late afternoon right down at the Tanzanian border, a storm was brewing in the easterly sky. The sky darkened and big cumulonimbus clouds thrust their massive white plooms upwards. Down near the Tanzanian border you will find low flat-topped Inselbergs, volcanic remnants. These Inselbergs together with the Desert Dates and stormy skies made a distinctive background for this lone bull Elephant.

After watching our bull Elephant for quite a while it was getting late and we still had to travel about 40 kms back to the Oloololo gate in the north of the Mara Triangle. Inevitably, in the park when you are late and rushing for the gate, you either come across really unusual sightings or fantastic sunsets which you have to stop for. The stormy sky with the late afternoon golden light created a wonderful image.

Another shot taken when rushing back to the closing gate. These three Elephants were half silhouetted in that late afternoon light emphasising the golden Red Oat grass against a very dark storm filled sky.

Another evening, also on our way back to the closing gate, we had to stop for this sunset. The timing of sunsets coincided with the closing time of the park gate, which made choices very difficult. This shot was taken looking westerly toward the Oloololo Escarpment just after the sun had set. For twenty minutes after the sun has set, the evening sky is usually illuminated with gorgeous saturated  yellows, reds and blues.

I hope you have a sense of the scenery and vistas in the Masai Mara. The open expanses are deeply soul soothing!!

“Wilderness is a necessity … They will see what I meant in time.

There must be places for human beings to satisfy their souls. Food and drink is not all. There is the spiritual. In some it is only a germ, of course, but the germ will grow.” “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.”

“How hard to realize that every camp of men or beast has this glorious starry firmament for a roof. In such places, standing alone on the mountaintop, it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make — leaves and moss like the marmots and the birds, or tents or piled stone — we all dwell in a house of one room — the world with the firmament for its roof — and are sailing the celestial spaces without leaving track.”

“The mountains are fountains of men as well as of rivers, of glaciers, of fertile soil. The great poets, philosophers, prophets, able men whose thoughts and deeds have moved the world, have come down from the mountains — mountain-dwellers who have grown strong there with the forest trees in Nature’s work-shops.

– John Muir

Founder, The Sierra Club 

I hope you enjoyed the journey from sunrise to sunset in the Masai Mara.

Look, listen, enjoy, marvel and let it be.

Have fun

Mike

I had to get one post in showing some of the birds in the Mara. The Mara offers exceptional sightings of raptors. The main reason being that there is so much food available on the plains. Watching a raptor hunt is as fascinating and spellbinding as any big cat hunt. In fact, raptors do a whole lot more, during the day, than big cats.

The first afternoon we went to the southern part of the Masai Mara Triangle down close to Fig Tree bend in the Mara river. We had stopped to watch the Wildebeest massing on the opposite side of the river, and out of nowhere this male Secretary bird dropped in, landing  close to the vehicle. It promptly started foraging. The amazing thing about birds is that time and time again you can struggle to get a decent shot of a particular bird, then when you least expect it, one arrives and poses perfectly. The long tail on a Secretary bird seems to be a sign of a male where the female has a shorter tail not much longer than its wing feathers. These raptors are voracious eaters, happy gulping down a live baby francolin without a blink.

On the third morning, we were driving onto the Mara when we came across this pair of Grey Crowned Cranes. This was the only pair we saw but what a treat. They are stunningly beautiful and ornate birds.  These Grey Crowned Cranes were foraging in the water-logged gullies alongside the road. They normally feed on insects, frogs and the like. The male is slightly bigger than the female and it appeared to have a red marking just below its crown which the female did not have. The Grey Crowned Crane has a hind toe which allows it to roost in trees. Other cranes lack the hind toe and so cannot roost in trees.

After a hectic Wildebeest crossing down at Fig Tree bend, we retreated up the hill to have a coffee break under one of the statuesque Desert Dates. It was not long before these Superb Starlings flew into the tree above us. They really are superb, even more colourful than our Glossy Starlings. In North Kenya ,you can find the even more colourful Golden Breasted Starlings which are dressed in yellows, blues and greens and in West Africa you will find the Emerald Starling.

In the next image, this male Ostrich was full of testosterone. The red colour of his face, neck and legs advertises his sexual status and readiness to mate. Thankfully, the redness in our faces does not give us away beyond the rouge of embarrassment. We saw quite a few Ostriches on the Mara, with the girls out numbering the boys..

I have been trying to get a shot of a Long Crested Eagle for some time. One afternoon early in the trip, as we were driving back towards camp, there one was just waiting to be photographed. The light was not ideal, having washed out skies, but he was an impressive specimen. His colouring and fierce yellow eyes give him the appearance of a Brown Snake Eagle, but for the long crest.

Eagles don’t flock, you have to find them one at a time.

Ross Perot

One morning between nine and ten just after we had been watching a mating pairs of Lions who were resting after a hectic night, we began to head back to the main road. Just as we were doing so this juvenile Black Shouldered Kite flew to within 30 metres of us and started to hover. It must have hovered for a couple of minutes in front of us.  I had my focusing point dead on its head. It was remarkably still while it was hovering. I never realised they could be that stable in the hover. I suggest this is a juvenile because its eye is not ruby-red and its breast feathers are mottled and not pure white.

We used to have Tawny Eagles at school at Falcon College. They are impressive raptors which come in a variety of colour morphs from pale blonde to Tawny to dark brown. This particular female flew up to a branch alongside her nest in a Desert Date tree, which was close to the an Inselberg down near the Tanzanian border. We were looking for a coalition of three male Cheetahs when we found this female Tawny. The light direction was tricky but the pose was iconic American!!!

We saw many vultures in the Mara. This particular White Backed Vulture was lying flat on the ground sunning itself. Interestingly, we did not see many vultures thermalling. When I asked the reason, I was told it was because there was so much food they just needed to sit in a tree and watch the goings on around them and they would see a potential meal.

When ever you see  a group of vultures waiting around, either the predator is still around or they are waiting for the butcher, the Lappet-faced Vulture. to open up the carcass. The Lappet-face is a massive bird with a wingspan fo around 2.6 metres similar to that of a Martial Eagle, but both pale against the Wandering Albatross’s wingspan do 3.6 metres.

Close to the Tanzanian border, waiting for some action from the coalition of three male Cheetahs lying in the shade of a Desert Date, we watched the impressive hunting prowess of this Fiscal Shrike. Time and time again, it flew down from its perch in the adjacent tree and nailed an insect in the grass.

One afternoon not far from the camp we went down to watch the antics at a Hyaena den. On the way, we came upon this Sooty Chat. He hung around for a short while, but was scared off by the activity of the Jackals and Thompson’s Gazelle running all around us.

At first glance this looks just like a Brown Snake Eagle but the white bars on its tail feathers indicate it is a Southern Banded Snake Eagle. The Mara revealed many different raptors.  Amazingly, we were not especially looking for raptors but were lucky enough to see quite a variety of them.

Another afternoon on our way back to camp, we were treated to a good sighting of this Augur Buzzard. I haven’t seen one since a child in Zimbabwe.

This young Bateleur Eagle must have just bathed in a nearby pool of water and flown up into this dead tree to dry itself. It spread its wings in a pose I have seen a Fish Eagle adopt on the  Chobe River when it was drying its wings.

These were just a few of the birds, mostly raptors, which we saw on our travels around the Mara. The best time to see birds in the Mara is around the end of the year, or so I am told. Around the Kitchwa Tembo tented camp there were Ross’s Turacos and Double-toothed Barbets. I did not see either but we had little time in the camp. The birds in Kenya are fascinating and many of which are very different to our southern African friends.

The Masai Mara is big sky country and big cat country. This is where much of Big Cat Diary was filmed and where parts of “Out of Africa” were filmed. Once you gaze over the Mara it is easy to see  why!

We came across many Lions in our travels, different prides, different individuals, male coalitions, lone young females and mating pairs. The plains are covered in Red Oat and thatch grass, which provides ideal cover for crouching Lions. The temperature tends to show little variation during the seasons in the Mara Triangle because it is one degree below the equator. In the short time we were scouting the Mara, the days started with soft pinks, yellows, blues and greens at sunrise. The mornings usually offered blue skies and it was hot by midday, The sparely scattered Desert Dates provided the animals with some respite from the midday sun. In the afternoon, the cumulonimbus clouds would build, creating a moody dark sky and wonderful photographic backgrounds.

Among the many Lions we saw on the Mara,  one of the big attractions were two Lionesses each with four cubs. The Lionesses had chosen to stay alongside the road, resting in the cool of a moist gully during the day and probably keeping their cubs in the culvert at night for protection. Here Lou taught us an important lesson. When you have an ideal photographic opportunity like this you work it. The chances of finding an opportunity like this again will probably not come again this lifetime – lesson learnt Lou – thanks.

The two Lionesses took turns to look after the cubs, while the other off-duty Lioness could catch up on some well earned rest.

When the cubs moved onto the road we had clear backgrounds.

The three ‘mischief-makers’ off to seek another adventure!!!

Ahh – the next target insight.

The cubs were very cute and Mum’s tail was clearly an ideal way to sharpen your attack techniques.

Cubs have needle sharp teeth, so as fun as catching the tail must be, a bite must be really sore. This Lioness shows her irritation.

Generally, the  cubs stuck together as they were just waiting for one of their playmates to start a game.

Most of the time the cubs played with each other, but there were times when one would find a toy and have great fun biting and throwing it about – uncomplicated joy!

The Lionesses took turns to watch over the cubs and so giving each other a break. This Lioness is just basking in the warm, morning sun in peace.

The cubs were very demanding at times and it was clear the Lionesses teats were raw, so when the cubs competed for a teat it must have been excuciating.

The Lionesses were remarkably tolerant of their boisterous cubs but every now and then when a cub would  approach its mother with the clear intention to suckle, she would indicate in no uncertain terms that she was not ready by snarling. If my mother looked at me like that I reckon I would defer to her snarl – oh mother what big teeth you have!!!

We came across other Lions too. Not too far south of the two Lionesses with cubs, we saw a mating pair. It was about nine in the morning and the pair were catching up on some rest in the soft morning sun after what must have been an adventurous night.

The two were lying close together with the female stretching often and lying full stretch on her back looking at us. The male eventually moved some distance away and the female moved to a anthill find a soft bed of grass with a view where she promptly feel asleep.

On two separate occasions, we saw a lone Lioness lurking in the trees and bushes along the Mara river waiting for a crossing. We were also fortunate enough to see a classic Lion kill after one group of Wildebeest and Zebra has just crossed the Mara river, but this is a story for another post.

We also came across two young males resting in the shade of a Desert Date tree. We found them close to where we had seen a Cheetah mother move her cub. After seeing the Cheetah mother, we drove some distance away to have a ‘relief break’ and Veronica said be quick as there were Lions there. I thought this was just a ploy to get us to be quicker. It was only when we were climbing back into the vehicle that we realised there really were Lions there. When you have got to go you have got to go!!!

On the way back to camp one evening at last light we came across a lone young Lioness lying on a mound along side the road. We drove around to get a better perspective so that we were looking up at her. She was not fussed by us and in fact was inquisitive.

The Mara is a wonderful place to see Lions but perhaps our childrens’ children will not see them.

LionAid reports that over the past 50 years Africa’s lion populations have plummeted from over 200,000 individuals back in the 1960’s to fewer than 25,000 today. A shocking number if you consider the size of that continent, and by far the greatest number of remaining lion populations are small, scattered, and highly vulnerable.

There have been many conservation foundations working to improve the lot of the African lion, but sadly to date the declines have not abated. In fact the rate of decline in lion numbers is accelerating. Ghana, Coted’Ivoire, and Congo are the latest African countries added to long list that have lost all their lions, and Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda predict local extinctions in the next ten years.

West African lion virtually extinct: Population numbers are dangerously low with just 34 left in Nigeria.

LionAid say there are just 645 wild lions remaining in west and central Africa.

There are no lions in 25 African countries and are only just surviving in ten others.

The current world population is estimated at 7,100,000,000 and in the next 27 years another 2,000,000,000 people are expected to join their ranks, most of which will be in Asia and Africa. Don’t procrastinate,  wild places in Africa are disappearing fast and with them Lion, Rhino, and Elephant, you may not see them in 20 years, other than in canned enclosures.

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.”
― Mahatma Ghandi

“If people were superior to animals, they would take better care of the world”

 – Winnie the Pooh

Seek, watch, enjoy, respect and let it be.

Mike

On the second morning of our Masai Mara trip, instead of driving down to the river in the hope of seeing a river crossing, Lou decided to look around the area directly north-east of Kitchwa Tembo, our tented camp. It was just after six in the morning and dawn  was breaking – the start of a new day. The colours on the plains are soft and muted. The air was fresh with the latent temperature releasing fragrances from the grass and bushes. The wonderful thing first thing in the morning in the bush is that your mind and heart are clear but you are full of expectation, without any idea of what you are going to see.

This particular morning we were privileged enough to come across a lone young female Thompson’s Gazelle in the final stages of labour.

She milled around intermittently grazing and stopping to cope with the contractions.

When the birth started in earnest there was no noise but for Hyaenas’ whooping in the distance, which caught her attention. The morning was temperate, not cold, and the sun was rising.

After a short while she got onto her knees and eventually lay down, There were no other animals around and we watched in respectful silence as this miracle of life unfolded in front of us.

Quietly and without fuss as she lay on the cool wet grass, this petite female ‘Tommy’ started to deliver her fawn. There was no noise  just a quiet acceptance of the natural advance of nature.

The fawn lay still on the wet grass as it was being born. The mother soon started to reach back and smell and touch her new fawn as its head peered out of the foetal sac.

Progressively and naturally the bond between mother and new-born started to be formed.

She started to lick the foetal sac off the fawn’s head and shoulders and the fawn started to react to its mother.

The foetal sac still bound the fawn’s legs so the mother began to eat the foetal sac to free the fawn and remove traces of the birth.

Even before the foetal sac had been fully removed the fawn was trying to get up onto its feet.The result was the inevitable nose dive.

Within a couple of minutes of the birth, the mother was on  her feet cleaning up her fawn.

Within 24 minutes of being born this fawn was attempting to get on its feet. All the while there were Hyaena whooping some distance away but the mother without fuss continued to clean up her fawn.

The fawn fell a few times when it tried to get up, but with splayed legs for balance it soon got the hang of gravity and was standing unsteadily.

Despite the nose dives the mother continued to encourage her fawn to get up onto its feet.

I am not sure whether it was the smell of its mother’s milk, but with no guidance this fawn knew exactly where to find its mother’s nipple. The natural intelligence displayed during this birth was spellbinding.

After a quick suckle and 27  minutes after the birth, the mother started wandering off from the birth site followed by the fawn. Apart from the privilege of being witness to the birth  of a new life,  I was so impressed by the lack of drama and the sense of naturalness and calm with which this mother delivered her fawn quietly at about 6h30 on the Mara.  All of us photographers sat in silence and reverence at what we had just witnessed.

There is no value in life except what you choose to place upon it and no happiness in any place except what you bring to it yourself.

Henry David Thoreau

I hope you enjoyed this miracle unfold.

Have fun

Mike

I have just returned from an exceptional photographic trip to the Masai Mara hosted by Coetzer Nature Photography (CNP). After arriving at Nairobi and an interesting journey across town, we took off in a light SafariLink plane from Wilson airport heading for the Masai Mara. This flight, lasting 45 minutes, took us over the Great Rift Valley and landed us in the northern part of the Mara Triangle, close to the Oloololo Gate. The migration is one of the main spectacles at this time of the year. The Mara river crossings usually start around June/July and end in October each year. This year the main body of the migration seemed to have taken place about three weeks earlier than normal. The migration involves mainly Wildebeest and Zebra but also Thomson’s Gazelle. These herbivores migrate  in a clockwise direction from east to west across the Mara river.

Wildebeest apparently have no herd structure beyond the mother and calf relationship. This means that any individual can start a crossing. In the next image I have shown a small herd gathering on the east side of the Mara river, massing before they cross. This herd  was very skittish with the slightest disturbance triggering a mass retreat. The tourist vehicles you can see closest to the river bank were a real problem as over enthusiastic game guides kept pushing too close to the crossing points resulting in the herd abandoning the crossing. This happened four times over three days.  The Mara (which means spotted plains because of the Desert Date trees scattered across the plains) is relatively flat. As such the Mara river meanders through the plains in a snake-like fashion. This provides the animals with many places to cross. This sequence of images was taken at Fig Tree bend down close to the Tanzanian border. The river banks were steep in this part of the river.

The Wildebeest mass on the east side of the Mara river preparing to cross

Once massed there appears to be a push from the animals at the rear to drive the front animals to take the plunge. It is clear that the more experienced animals know exactly what the dangers are during the crossing. Not only do they have to run the gauntlet of  huge Nile Crocodiles in the river but also carnivores such as Lion, Leopard and Hyaenas which are waiting for them the other side of the river. In places, the Mara river is deep and fast flowing, probably five kilometres per hour. Easily fast enough to sweep a weak swimmer downstream.

The Wildebeest do not just rush in to the river but are very cautious trying to assess the danger.

The first animals in a newly arrived group do not run straight into the river but mill around very unsure of whether to cross or not. They advance down to the river’s edge and are easily spooked by either a Hippo snorting or sight of a crocodile or Lion on the far bank. The herd can advance and retreat from the river’s edge a couple of times before they finally start to cross. This process can take hours. Sometimes the crossing is abandoned for that day. Patience and luck are key in seeing and photographing a crossing.

Eventually one brave soul starts the crossing.

The modus operandi at a river crossing for the tourist vehicles on the west side of the Mara river was to stay back around 100 metres from the river’s edge until the first animal had entered the water, Then there was a mad dash to drive down to the river bank to get a good sighting of the crossing. Fortunately photographers with long lenses do not have to vie for the closest position.

The numbers of animals crossing builds up.

The crossing starts in an orderly manner with a single line of animals swimming across the river. The crossing sometimes includes a mix of Wildebeest and Zebra but in the few crossings we saw, the Wildebeest tended to move first. It was not long before the order turned to a scramble. Any Hippo in the area knows to get out of harms way.

The Mara river turns a muddy brown where the animals are crossing.

As the numbers of animals grow, so they kick up the dust making the scene more and more dramatic. Once the crossing starts the river turns a muddy brown.

The straight line of animals soon becomes a curve as the fast flowing water drags some of them downstream.

The spectacle of the crossing is something to behold.

What seemed very strange to me was the wildebeeste on the bank especially those high up on the bank would watch the animals in the water and follow them down stream. Then all of a sudden on what seems to be a suicide route they would start to jump down the steep cliff in the bank to get the water’s edge and launch themselves into the river.

The drop over the edge can be as much as six metres.

Once of the Wildebeest start jumping down the cliffs, the line of animals entering the river becomes fragmented and the crossing starts to become more chaotic.

The dust builds up.

The animals can hardly see so just seem to follow the animals around it.

Primal dash.

It is clear that the animals are terrified of what they think is in the water.

Wildebeest after Wildebeest irrespective of size.

The Wildebeest launch themselves off the steep river bank.

The dust removes visibility so they follow the animals in front of them.

The dust gets thicker and the  herding is dictated by the  animals around them.

Visiblity worsens.

Once in the water, away from the dust the task of crossing the river starts in earnest.

Each animal for itself.

Wildebeest are clearly not built for swimming so a herculean effort is required by them.

Swimming for its life.

The fear in their eyes is evident.

The terror associated with the crossing is evident in their enlarged eyes.

Once they get to the other side of the river they either find an easy sand bank to climb onto and make their escape or else they face a rock outcrop.

The Wildebeest get dragged down stream by the river where some of the exit points are very difficult because of the rock outcrops.

It is remarkable how many of the Wildebeest make it across the river.

The sweet Red Oat grass awaits the Wildebeest and Zebra on the other side of the Mara river -so too do the predators.

Once across they face the predators on the other side of the river and the smell of the sweeter Red Oat grass. Once this grass has been cropped the herbivores move on down to the Serengeti, usually toward the end of October.

What triggers 1.5 million Wildebeest and an estimated 300,00 Plains Zebra to make this daunting journey, no one knows for sure? They clearly need fresh grazing so perhaps the sound of thunder or smell of rain is the trigger. The prevailing wind in the Marais  North West to South East.

The full spectacle of a crossing is indescribable because of the combination of animal movement, sounds and the enormity of it all.

This is the first of a number of posts each week showing images from our journey through the Masai Mara. The abundance and variety of game make me think Noah must have parked his ark at the gate and allowed the animals to just pour onto the plains.

I am going to link this post to CNP’s Facebook site and want to thank Lou and Veronica for an awesome experience. The sightings and experiences were way beyond my expectation. We don’t see plains like the Masai Mara in SA , other than in the Karoo and parts of the FreeState, which don’t accommodate the variety and quantum of game.

I hope over the next series of posts, one per week, I will  convey the ‘specialness’ of the place.

What is life?

It is the flash of a firefly in the night.  It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time.  It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the Sunset.

Crowfoot

I hope you gained a sense of the spectacle of the crossing – until next week.

Have fun

Mike