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