It was not until third last day of our trip with CNP to the Masai Mara in early January that we saw our first Cheetah. The Mara is ideal Cheetah country with vast open spaces for these speedsters to really open up and use the competitive advantage. The next image shows the “dotted plains” with plenty of space for Cheetahs.

“Talent is never enough. With few exceptions the best players are the hardest workers.”

– Magic Johnson

The first afternoon we saw the Cheetah coalition they were on the slopes at the foot of the Oloololo escarpment. As visitors, it seemed unusual that they were working the steep rocky slopes rather than the grasslands. This male was perched on a anthill looking out from his vantage point.

The grass was much longer on these slopes than on the open grasslands of the plains. The change of environment made hunting more tricky and called for greater ambush tactics to catch the Impala and Oribis on the hillside.

We did not see the Cheetah coalition hunt on our first  day.  Two days later this Cheetah coalition were down on the grasslands in conservancy in front of Kitchwa Tembo camp. We first saw them under a Boscia in the open grasslands. The slightly blue tinge in the images is due to the shade. I did not want to colour correct it.

Earlier that day, we missed one of these Cheetahs taking down an Impala but they were quickly surrounded and robbed by the numerous Hyaena resident on the grasslands. The two males were licking the remaining blood off each other’s faces. Having lost their meal they were still hungry.

A closeup of these two males cleaning each other. The co-operation was evident.

Cheetahs have a distinct black “tear mark”, which runs from the inside corner of the eye down to the side of the mouth. These dark “tear marks” reduce glare from the bright sun, improving their already excellent vision. Binocular vision is a very important asset since Cheetahs rely on sight to hunt as opposed to scent, given the distance involved. The retinal fovea of the eye is an elongated shape, giving a sharp, wide-angle view. This aspect of the eye is also adapted for speed. You can imagine how it must sting when you are moving through the grass at 120 kilometres per hour.

The light frame of these Cheetah males emphasis their speed rather than enormous bite power which you find in a Lion or Hyaena. 

Having duly demarcated his territory,  this male had spotted something interesting in the distance which seemed worth investigating.

Everything about the frame of this animals indicates speed.

Look how proportionally big the Cheetah’s chest is to house its out sized lungs and heart. Its waist is the envy of many slimmers. Its legs are also proportionately large for its body. Those back legs are huge compared to their head. Everything about a Cheetah is built for speed.

The Cheetah males were walking along a sand track when they suddenly saw two Impala arms in the distance. Immediately their demeanor changed. They moved into the grass for better camouflage. They would stop and crouch every time the Impala looked up from grazing and would move closer as the Impala lowered its head to graze.

“There are only two options regarding commitment. You’re either IN or you’re OUT. There is no such thing as life in-between.”

– Pat Riley

According to http://bigcatrescue.org/, the Cheetah’s resting heart rate is approximately 120-170 beats per minute, and it’s heart rate after a chase can be between 200 and 250 beats per minute. The Cheetah’s resting breaths vary from 20-30 per minute depending on whether the Cheetah is in direct sunlight or in the shade. After a chase the Cheetah’s breaths per minute can be 150-200.

Once these Cheetahs got to within about thirty metres of the Impala with their heads down in the grass, these dragsters opened their turbos. It is actually really tricky getting good images of the Cheetah running at full speed.

A stride is the measured distance between successive imprints of the same paw. With the added reach given by the spine, one  stride can span 7-8 metres. The Cheetah averages four strides per second compared to the average 2.3 horse strides per second.

The Cheetah’s tail is an effective counter balance and rudder in high speed chases. On this occasion their hunting tactic did not work. The Impala were grazing next to a lugga. This must have been a old excavation left over from road building next to the river. As soon as the Impala saw the Cheetah hurtling towards them they dashed down into the lugga which broke the Cheetah’s speed advantage and they managed to get away unscathed.

“If you have everything under control, you’re not moving fast enough.”

– Mario Andretti

The Cheetah is a very vocal animal. It has the ability to mimic the calls of some birds, using a high pitched chirping sound. According to http://www.cheetah.org, coalition partners are very tolerant of one another’s close proximity, spending over 50% of their time in contact or less than one metre apart. They rarely separate and call continuously for each other when they do.

Having missed the two Impala the Cheetah males decided to move back up to the slopes of the Oloololo escarpment. Perhaps its was too hot in the grasslands with too many Lion and Hyaena to contend with.

The Cheetah were very obliging and walked on a ridge. This provided the perfect perspective and background.

Cheetah are very weary. They would walk for a while and at a suitable vantage point would stop and have a good look around presumably for both prey and predators.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

– African proverb

Both males were in good condition.

Having found a suitable look out, they both lay down in the sun to have a look around. They were well camouflaged when lying on the ground.

Cheetah’s ears are relatively small suggesting that sight is their primary sense.

When cheetahs display social behaviour, their greeting ceremony is limited to sniffing, face-licking, and cheek-rubbing. They do not body rub like lions.

Cheetahs groom each other mainly after meals when their faces have blood on them or after a rainstorm when their coats are wet. Cheetahs purr most often during grooming.

The Cheetah’s long tail acts as a counterbalance when it has to make sharp twists and turns while chasing its prey.  The tail is vertically elongated to act as a rudder when moving at high speed.

It is quite something to see two wild animals co-operating like this. Another sign of natural intelligence.

In the wild, few cheetahs survive longer than seven or eight years, though they can live to 10 or 12 years. Males tend not to get to old age. Less than 50% survive to old age as a result of fighting over territorial and mating rights. There is generally a higher ratio of adult females to males in wild populations.

The wild Cheetah population, as reported by http://www.Cheetah.org, in 1900 was approximately 100,000 in 44 countries throughout Africa and Asia.  In the last 20 or more years, the population has declined by 30% and the human population has doubled. Today, the total known population is estimated at 7,500 mature breeding individuals and the unknown populations may raise the total to no more than 10,000. Their population numbers were last assessed by the IUCN in 2008.

“Many a trip continues long after the movement in time and space have ceased.”

– John Steinbeck

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

The Masai Mara National Reserve covers some 1,510 square kilometres in south-west Kenya and is one of Africa’s greatest wildlife reserves. It is the northern-most section of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, spanning 25,000 square kilometres across Tanzania and Kenya. It is bounded by the Serengeti National Park to the south, the Siria escarpment to the west, and Masai pastoral ranches to the north, east and west. Together with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, this reserve forms Africa’s most diverse and most spectacular eco-system.

The reserve  is named in honour of the Maasai people (the ancestral inhabitants of the area). They use the Maasia word “Maa” which means “spotted” to describe the pattern of scattered trees and scrub over vast tracts of savanna, which are often punctuated with cloud shadows.

“Hidden in the glorious wildness like unmined gold.”
― John Muir

The romance of the Mara lies in its ‘big skies’,  vast savanna plains, wildlife spectacles such as the annual wildebeest migration, associations with films like ‘Out of Africa’, an abundance of wildlife as far as the eye can see and the unmistakable roar of hot air balloons rising from the early morning mist on the plains.

One aspect of wildlife photography which CNP’s Lou Coetzer has impressed upon us is that we need to show  depth and versatility in our wildlife photography, so that when we compile a portfolio it shows the photographers skill, versatility and insight. So in that vein, moving away from the “big cats”,  this post shows you some of the wonderful vistas and scenes we immersed ourselves in.

On the afternoon of our arrival at Kitchwa Tembo, we were greeted by this pride of Lions lying very close to the airstrip.

I took the next image a few days later looking north  from the west bank of the Mara river from the” & Beyond” Conservancy quite close to where the Leopard cub was killed by the Lion pride. There was a reasonable flow of water in the river though it was not as strong as I expected after all the rain we had  each night. Needless to say the reptilian terror is ever present.

The light was challenging as, for the most part, it was heavily overcast. Every now and then the sun would break through the cloud cover illuminating the grasslands. Even when the syn was out, the moisture haze complicated the focusing. The next image is of a Lioness wandering  over the grasslands towards the Mara river with her cubs running three steps for her every one. The ubiquitous Topis were in the background.

There are numerous Topis on the grasslands. During daylight hours they are too alert and too fast for the Lions to catch and the adults are too big for the Cheetahs. At night the game changes. Often the Hyaenas catch the Topis asleep in the grass. This was a daylight silhouette of a few Topis. A black control point placed on the foreground helped to emphasis the silhouette.

One of the unique aspects about the Mara is its spotted plains. The Desert Dates and Boscia’s dot the plains. I asked our ranger Douglas why the trees were so scattered and not growing in groves and he told us that the Giraffe and other herbivores destroy almost all of the new saplings. The next image shows the scattered trees at last light looking west towards the Oloololo escarpment.

The “spotted plains” become more apparent in the evening light.

As a potential Cheetah hunt slowly dissipated in front of us, while the sun was setting over the Oloololo Hills, there was a minute to two when this Impala ram stood silhouetted in the fading light.  This is one of those magic moments which photographers love to capture and which, in hindsight, become strong emotional hooks. When I look at this image I am transported back to that moment.

In the Masai Mara Reserve down near the Mara river in the marshy area, where you can easily get stuck in the black cotton clay, we came upon this breeding herd of Elephants.  The adults were very protective around the calves. You can see the haze in the background.

One afternoon, we travelled south in the Masai Mara reserve looking for a new pride of Lions. We found them close to Figtree crossing on the Mara river and this was the scene looking south west from there. There is something very soothing for the soul when you look out over these vast natural places.

In the tree line along the river there is a good chance of seeing Leopard. They are elusive but they are there. This was the Leopardess who had lost her cub to the Lion pride when it was wandering through the trees on the edge of the grasslands.

The vast grass plains are ideal for Cheetah. They operate during the day to reduce conflict with other predators such as Lion and Hyaenas. There is plenty of room for these speedsters to open up and use their advantage to catch their prey. This was one of a coalition of two Cheetah males who were hunting on the conservancy.

Camouflage, vigilance and patience are  vital attributes in the open.

Later in the afternoon of the day we spent with the Cheetah males, for some inexplicable reason, they left the game filled grassland of the conservancy to move to higher ground closer to the Oloololo escarpment. The terrain was more difficult for them to hunt on, though the grass was longer allowing them to stalk closer to their prey. We could only assume there were too many Lions and Hyaenas on the conservancy at that time making it too risky for them to hunt in the open.

When the moisture haze allowed, the sun cast its spell and the light was captivating.

Hopefully I have given you a sense of scenery in which you can immerse your senses. All the images were taken in the Masai Mara Reserve and the adjacent “& Beyond” conservancy in front of the Kitchwa Tembo camp.

 “We need the tonic of wildness…At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable we can never have enough of nature.”
― Henry David Thoreau

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

This is the fifth post from my trip with CNP to the Masai Mara in early January. The main purpose of the trip was to photographic wildlife and the “big cats” in particular. We were interested in seeing how good the photographic opportunities were outside the Wildebeest migration season. The first four posts were about predators and the “big cats” in particular. I intend posting four more series of photographs and stories from this trip. This post will show some of the birds we saw while following the “big cats”. The next post will show scenery and silhouettes. The second last post of the Mara 2015 trip will show a day in the life of two Cheetah males. The last post will show a variety of images in black and white.

 “Give me the storm and tempest of thought and action, rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith! Banish me from Eden when you will; but first let me eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge!”
― Robert G. Ingersoll

East Africa is a birder’s paradise. The field guide ” Birds of East Africa” documents 1388 birds in the Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi area. Although the tented camp, Kitchwa Tembo , was situated in an indigenous forest but we did not try to photograph the birds in the forest because that was not our focus and the heavily overcast weather substantially reduced the available light in the forest.

The birds we saw but were not able to not photograph were the Black and White Casqued Hornbill feeding on the figs in the camp. There is a wonderful group of some 15 different beautifully coloured Barbets in this region but they eluded us. We saw a flock of Schalow’s Turacos cavorting in the fig tree above our breakfast table. There were lots of Common Bulbuls and White-backed Mousebirds in the camp. As you can hear I am angling toward a bird photography trip next to see the extra-ordinary variety of Shrikes, Weavers, Rollers, Bee-eaters, Sunbirds and Barbets to mention just a few. 

The birds we did photograph were those mainly in the open grasslands which we saw while looking for the “big cats”. There are many different types of herbivores in the open grasslands such as Eland, Zebra, Topi, Buffaloes, Giraffe, Waterbuck, Thompson and Grants Gazelle, Impala and of course, Elephant and Hippo. I did not see any of the Bohor’s Reedbuck this time. Where there are herbivores there are Oxpeckers. Unlike SA, where we mainly see Red-billed Oxpeckers, in the Mara you will find mostly Yellow-billed Oxpeckers. These health workers have plenty of clients to work on.

These two Yellow-billed Oxpeckers were sunning themselves on a large Buffalo’s boss.

Double click on the image with a blue border and you will be taken to the Xeno Canto website. Click on the right pointing triangle at the top left hand side of the list and you will hear that bird’s call. Hit the back arrow key on your browser to return to this post. 

One bird you will commonly see in the Mara is the Grey-crowned Crane. We never saw them in flocks, only in pairs which were widely scattered. They forage in the grasslands for insects and grass seeds. I never fail to marvel at the exquisite beauty of these birds. 

“Cranes are ubiquitous in the earliest legends of the world’s peoples, where they often figure as sentinels of heaven and omens of longevity and good fortune.”

That Golden Crest of specialised feathers is something exquisite!! Mother nature has an ability to put colours and textures together which work, and must be the envy of any fashion designer.

Grey-crowned Cranes are quite vocal with there distinctive croaking call. 

Black-headed Heron were ubiquitous in the Mara. There were many places in grasslands which had filled with rainwater. These provided the Herons with plenty of food from frogs to Terrapins. Once they see their prey, they can stand motionless for a long while watching and waiting for the prey to move closer. They then start to weave their head left and right in what looks like a hunting ritual.   The weaving of the head  from side to side to thought be assist the Heron more accurately estimate the position of the prey in the water, enabling it to compensate for refraction in the water. The Heron then uses its bill to spear its prey.

While we were looking around the marsh area in the Masai Mara reserve down near the Mara river, we came across two Lapwings which I had never seen before. The first was this Senegal Lapwing which never stopped for us to get a decent image of it. There was a small group of five or six.

The second new Lapwing, for me, was the Spur-winged Lapwing. This character was much more accommodating mainly because it was looking for insects in the old Elephant dung in the middle of the road.

This Spur-winged Lapwing paraded around in front of us for about five minutes.

“It is the soul that sees; the outward eyes
Present the object, but the Mind descries.
We see nothing till we truly understand it.”
― John Constable

While we were watching the Cheetah males, a pair of Temmnick’s Coursers ran in front of us. You don’t often seen them. I have only ever seen them before in Mashatu, Botswana. They were very busy scurrying around looking for insects in the grass.

The heavy duty clean up crew were coming in. This Lappet-faced Vulture banked sharply for a grand entrance to partake in cleaning up the remains of a Hippo calf.

The air space was getting busy as more Vultures arrived. A pair of Hooded Vultures coming in on finals.

The Hooded Vulture are much smaller than either the White-headed or the massive Lappet-faced Vulture. The Hooded Vulture tends to lurk around the periphery of a kill skirmishing for scraps rather than competing on the main carcass.

We only saw three Vultures close up and that was on the first day. The Hooded, White-headed and Lappet-faced Vultures flew in to pick at the remains of a Hippo calf close to the airstrip. It is only when you see them together do you get a real sense of relative size and their hierarchy at a kill. I was surprised how big the White-headed Vulture was which in turn was much bigger than a Hooded Vulture. The White-headed and Lappet-faced Vultures tucked into the remains while the Hooded Vulture remained on the fringes of the carcass.

“The concept of conservation is a far truer sign of civilisation than that spoilation of a continent which we once confused with progress.”

 – Peter Matthiessen

The open grasslands are paradise for the Larks, the most common of which are the Rufous-naped and Flappet Larks. The Rufous-naped Larks are ubiquitous and the males seem to love having their photograph taken. In the open grassland they either sit on top of a small bush or anthill and advertise their availability and prowness.

This Rufous-naped Lark must have been a male as he was displaying to all the passing females. We were also giving this casanova the attention he was seeking.

There is a wonderful variety of Hornbills in East Africa. We found the Southern Ground-hornbill in the Mara but the Abyssinian Ground-hornbill can be found in Uganda and north western Kenya. This solitary Southern Ground-hornbill was feeding on insects it was uncovering from old Elephant dung. The Abyssinian Ground-hornbill has a blue rather than red skin around its eye and throat.

The haze reduced the contrast allowing us to achieve reasonable detail in the dark tones. This Southern Ground-hornbill had a very successful feeding session thanks to the Elephants.

Another bird seen regularly foraging on the open grasslands is the Secretary Bird. It strides out across the grasslands looking for insects, rodents, frogs and small birds. These raptors are not big tasters. They grab their prey usually with their feet, stomp it into submission and swallow it whole, often still alive. The distance they can cover while striding can be quite remarkable.

Those long scaly legs protect them from snake bites. Their feet are clawed and have thick hard pads underneath. They use their feet to stomp on prey, often pounding it to death.

This is a small selection of the huge variety of avians which can be seen in the Mara. This reserve is a real Eden of wildlife.

“Soon the child’s eye is clouded over by ideas and opinions, preconceptions and abstractions. Simple free being becomes encrusted with the burdensome armour of the ego. Not until years later does an instinct come that a vital sense of mystery has been withdrawn. The sun glints through the pines, and the heart is pierced in a moment of beauty and strange pain, like a memory of paradise. After that day….we become seekers.”

 – Peter Matthiessen

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

This is the fourth post from my recent trip to the Masai Mara with CNP. The first post showed a female Hyaenas walking off with a Hippo calf skull after some interaction between three different types of Vulture and a Black-backed Jackal. The second post showed some of the interaction between two of “Scar’s” coalition partners and the Marsh pride. The third showed the dramatic and deadly interaction between the pride and a Leopard family.

This post shows some interaction in the pride and some Lion lessons a few hours or so after the killing of the Leopard cub. The one overriding feature of the pride this day was that it had become enlivened, in strong contrast to what appeared to be a very listless pride the day before. The cubs were playful and despite the different ages and sizes the cubs, piled into each other. It is clear you have to toughen up early in a Lion pride. The next image shows heart and not size in important.

 The robust playing among the cubs has an important role . The cubs start to get the jist of how to tackle prey. This next cub is getting the hang of  attacking its prey from the back – watch out future Buffalo, Zebra and Wildebeest.

“Play energizes us and enlivens us. It eases our burdens. It renews our natural sense of optimism and opens us up to new possibilities.”

– Stuart Brown, MD

During this sighting we were privy to a number of captures and killings of Warthog piglets. The Warthog families would venture out from the trees onto the open grasslands of the conservancy to feed. Once out in the open they were vulnerable. It was fascinating to see the different tactics used by the pride. On this particular day, the pride scattered, lying down in an open dispersed formation. There were very few trees in the conservancy so conventional ambushing was not possible. Once a Warthog family ventured onto the open grassland they would identify one or two Lions but did not see others scattered around in the grass.  This tactic led to six Warthog piglets being caught and killed that day. The adult Warthogs were fast enough to get away, but at least one of their piglets would run into a waiting Lion. The next image shows one of the Lionesses moving into position.

While Lionesses were setting the trap for the unsuspecting Warthog families, the cubs were cavorting. Perhaps even this was a distraction used  by the Lionesses. The next images hows two sub-adults play fighting.

“Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father.”

 – Roger von Oech

One of Lionesses managed to catch a Warthog piglet and immediately a cub ran up to her to claim its share. The cub was quickly walked over, literally.

What was particularly interesting about this interaction was that the Lioness would not let the cub have a look in at this potential meal. Despite being swung around like a rag doll, the piglet was still alive.

I can only presume that this cub was closest to her when she caught the piglet but it was not her cub and she was intent on  giving the piglet to her own cubs. The Lioness was not gentle.

The Lioness dropped the injured piglet in some tufts of grass. Any cubs which were not her own were summarily chased away. I am glad I never had an aunt with an attitude like that.

The Lioness swatted one or two over enthusiastic pride cubs making sure her cubs got the live piglet.

It immediately became apparent what she was trying to do. She wanted her cubs to finish off the piglet, a hunting lesson. I was surprised at the aggression and competitiveness of the small cubs. One of the Lioness’s cubs grabbed the piglet by the back of the neck and started to run off with it, but not without stiff competition from a sibling.

“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.”
― Theodore Roosevelt

The two cubs ran through the grass with their live piglet and their mother riding shotgun.

Needless to say, with an escort like that no other cubs joined the foray.

At no point did the Lioness try to stop the “running of the pig”. Her two cubs were very aggressive and intent on taking the piglet for themselves.

In all my excitement  watching all this action, I forgot to check my shutter speed. The light has dimmed somewhat and the my shutter speed fell sharply. Needless to say, the image of the Lion cub tackling the piglet was, frustratingly, not pin sharp but you get the impression of what was happening. This poor Warthog piglet was getting mauled but was still alive. The cub had it by its ear.

“The one excellent thing that can be learned from a lion is that whatever a man intends doing should be done by him with a whole-hearted and strenuous effort.”

In their mad dash with the piglet, the cubs had unwittingly run straight back towards the sub-adults. One sub-adult decided to knuckle in on the potential meal. The sub-adult grabbed the piglet but one of the small cubs, a female, was not prepared to give in.

I was astounded at the tenacity and aggression of the smaller cub. It had one paw in the sub-adult’s face and three feet trying to keep its balance as it was being dragged along. At this point the piglet was still alive and clearly terrified.

“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”
― Abraham Lincoln

The sub-adult won the prize and duly despatched the piglet and the Lioness allowed it to happen. One big lesson from this incident, always check your shutter speed no matter how exciting the action is getting. The image on the screen at the back of the camera does not give enough clarity to be really discerning.

After all the excitement the pride settled down but remained dispersed waiting for the next unsuspecting Warthog family to venture into the kill zone. Here a Lioness and her near adult cub were playing.

After play and school time, the pride does have it’s quiet and tender moments.  This was one of those serene times.

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.”
― Mary Anne Radmacher

Anyone who has the patience to wait and watch to see the unfolding intelligence of the pride cannot help but be impressed. Humans seem to judge intelligence by their level of consciousness and ability to communicate. Nature  does not reveal its intelligence in necessarily the same way but in my opinion is no less intelligent. The strategies and tactics used by the pride show its natural and effective intelligence.  The adult Lions and the cubs’ ability to control their strength and aggression shows a high level of intelligence. The way the pride moved every day around the edge of the conservancy so as not to overwork any particular area shows natural intelligence. In a small way this shows the vast knowledge and intelligence embedded in nature, most of which humans have still to discover. In Africa, as in many other parts of the world, the problem is that these vast natural libraries of knowledge are being destroyed by the human race’s inability to live in community with nature. Rather the human race is acting more like a ravaging swarm of locusts consuming everything in its path.

“Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.”

– Joseph Chilton Pearce

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

Half of the Marsh Lion pride was still on the “& Beyond ” conservancy in front of the Kitchwa Tembo camp adjacent to the north-eastern end of the Masai Mara national park. This part of the Marsh pride included four Lionesses, seven cubs and the coalition of four large males – “Scar” and his three coalition partners.

“Wild animals have few rights afforded them by humans, but they have every right to be here”.

– Unknown

This was the third day we had seen the pride which seemed to be methodically working clockwise around the fringe of the open grassland area of the conservancy. Interestingly, the pride did not seem to overwork one particular area. Each day we found the pride further around the conservancy long the edge of the treeline.  It had rained hard the night before and the pride must have had a decent meal because it seemed to be altogether more vital, unlike its listless demeanour the day before.

“A world without the distant roar of lions at dawn as the mist starts to lift is too terrible to contemplate”.

– Dereck Joubert

Our sighting started with a few Lionesses and a couple of the sub-adults lying on top of an anthill. They were alert and carefully watching the goings on around them.

The light remained low due to very overcast conditions. There was a haze which looked like smoke but was in fact moisture. This haze played havoc with the pin-sharpness of our images. Photographing the Lions created depth of field challenges forcing us to push up our camera’s ISO to maintain higher shutter speeds. I was using a 600mm lens with a 1.4 times converter and, using our rule of thumb of 3x the focal length, I needed a minimum shutter speed of around 1/2500 per sec.

After watching this group for about half an hour, around mid-morning the Lionesses began to wander down along the treeline towards the Mara river. One vital aspect about wildlife photography is that photographers need to understand and be able to read animal and bird behaviour. This is vital to be able to better anticipate the shot and improve the resulting image. We were  following the pride slowly along the treeline when our ranger excitedly pointed out that the Lions had surprised a Leopardess and her cub on the ground just inside the treeline.

“It is a curious feature of our existence that we come from a planet that is very good at promoting life but even better at extinguishing it.”

―  Bill Bryson

The Lionesses were just wandering through the trees and bushes along the edge of the open grassland when they surprised the Leopard family. Without hesitation the Lionesses attacked the Leopards. The Leopard cub was caught and the Leopardess given a hard paw swipe but she managed to escape up the tree.

One Lioness immediately mauled the Leopard cub. It died quickly with its mother watching from the tree above. Apart from being upsetting to watch, the incident clearly had a dramatic effect on the pride. The Lionesses were flehmening after having killed the cub and the whole pride was very edgy and kept looking up the tree at the Leopardess.

The Leopardess was helpless and greatly out numbered so stayed up the tree while the Lions were around.

She was clearly upset by what she was watching.

After the Leopard cub had been killed, one of the sub-adults picked it up and began to wander out of the trees into the grass fringe on the edge of the open area.

“Here the ancient spirit of Africa still dwells, crying out for protection so that it may help mankind in this long, often perilous journey to the understanding of the earth and ourselves.”

 -Dr Ian Player

This was certainly one of the more difficult incidents we have witnessed. There was no attempt to eat the Leopard cub but the Lion cubs and sub- adults seemed to be spellbound by what they had just experienced.

The pride followed the sub-adult who had wandered into the open with the Leopard cub. The next image shows just how hyped the pride was by the incident.

The sub-adults were intrigued by the limp Leopard cub and one by one came to smell it. Interestingly, the sub-adults did not exhibit the flemen response only the adults. Perhaps this is a learned response.

The one sub-adult who had wandered into the open with the dead Leopard cub was protective about its catch. At no point did the sub-adult attempt to bite the Leopard cub further or try to eat it.

Perhaps half an hour after the incident, the Lions moved off leaving the dead Leopard cub lying in the grass. This seemed to be a classic example of dispatching the competition. The Leopardess remained up the tree long after the Lions had left the area.

“The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders.”

– Ed Abbey

Eventually and very warily, the Leopardess descended the tree to search for her cub.

The Leopardess could not see her cub so started to wander around in the grass fringe.

Humans are hardly aware of the “scent picture” left at the scene. There must have been heavy mixed Lion scent all around this area. Watching the Leopardess, it seems the scents lingering around the scene create what must amount to a mental picture of what had just happened.

The leopardess could not see her cub and could not identify, scent wise, exactly where it was lying.  We could see her cub lying in the open behind large tufts of grass. The Leopardess was not prepared to risk moving further into the open grass after what had just happened. After around ten minutes she melted back into the trees. We assumed she would come later, perhaps when it was dark to remove her dead cub. Female Leopards have been known to eat their dead cubs to remove the evidence to prevent Jackals, Hyaenas and vultures from feeding on them.

We went back the next morning to see what had happened and the dead Leopard cub had not be touched. We were surprised as there were many Hyaena and Jackals around. We later heard from other rangers that the Leopardess returned to her cub.

As wildlife photographers we stand by the principle of not interfering with or manipulating the natural behaviour of the wildlife to achieve more dramatic images. The more time you spend in the bush watching wildlife, the better you get to understand its behaviour and marvel at its natural intelligence. This respect and knowledge is the best way to improve the quality of your images – not behavioural manipulation.

I have been into the bush regularly over the past 50 years and have never seen this type Lion-Leopard interaction. I am immensely grateful for the privilege. It is only the human condition which applies a moral judgement to nature’s outcomes.

“Has joy any survival value in the operations of evolution? I suspect that it does; I suspect that the morose and fearful are doomed to quick extinction. Where there is no joy there can be no courage; and without courage all other virtues are useless.”

 – Ed Abbey

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

There are an estimated 19,409 white rhinos and 1,752 black rhinos in South Africa. Since 1970 poachers have killed 90% of the rhino population in South Africa. – https://www.environment.gov.za/mediarelease/molewa_integratedstrategicmanagement_rhinoceros

Source:outlaw.org.za

A new record level of rhino deaths was achieved in South Africa in 2014  –  1215.

Source: http://www.savetherhino.org/rhino_info/poaching_statistics

If the rhino population in South Africa is currently around 21,000  and the poaching rate in 2014 was a mind-blogging 1215, equates to a poaching rate of 5.8% per annum in 2014. I cannot find the natural death rate statistic for rhino in South Africa but it is probably one to two percent, at least. The combined poaching and natural mortality rate is therefore somewhere between 6.5% and 8.0%. The estimated rhino birth rate is between 6% and 7% per annum. This implies that the rhino population in South Africa, despite all the efforts of so many hardworking dedicated people trying to stop the poaching, is about to resume its decline.

If the current poaching growth trend is not stopped, South Africa will lose 1,460 rhino in 2015 and 1750 in 2016 – on so on and so on!!! 

This escalating level of poaching implies greater numbers of armed gangs in our game parks – the new terrorism!!!!

This is the second post from my recent trip to the Masai Mara with CNP.

“Whatever you are physically…male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy–all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside.”
― Cassandra Clare

We drove onto the Kitchwa Tembo conservancy, which is about 10 square kilometres and stretches out in front of the Kitchwa Tembo tented camp for about three kilometres down to the Mara river on its eastern boundary. This conservancy is adjacent to the north-eastern boundary of the Masai Mara national park. One of the key advantages of operating on the conservancy is that we were allowed to drive off-road so could get the sun behind us and get manoeuver to achieve better perspectives.

We were bedeviled by the weather. Each night it would rain hard and the mornings would be heavily overcast with a mist which looked like a smoke haze until midday. The haze eased but did not go away in the afternoons. We were told by our ranger that this was atypical weather. Photographers have to learn to work with the weather rather than against it. There was one advantage in that the haze reduced the contrast in the afternoons but it did remove some of the pin sharpness in the images despite high shutter speeds.

We had heard that half of the Marsh pride had crossed onto the west side of the Mara river. The ruling coalition of four big male lions, “Scar” and his three brothers had followed half the pride, a group comprising 11 Lionesses and cubs. After finding the Lionesses and cubs on the conservancy near the airstrip the afternoon we arrived and went out looking for them late this particular morning once there was enough light.

We found the pride of Lionesses and cubs which we had seen the day before but they were not looking in good shape and appeared listless. The sub-adults and cubs were very thin and the cubs did not play at all. At the very northern part of the conservancy, we found one of the four coalition males. He was a massive specimen and emerged from the treeline at the edge of the open grassland.

There was very little going on and the male was just surveying the scene when his attention suddenly fixed on something in the distant grassland. He had spotted one of the Lionesses who had caught a Warthog piglet. Immediately he got up and began running about 400 metres to her.

The male ran passed a small herd of Buffalo. The next images shows the scene in front of the Kitchwa Tembo camp.

Warthog families would emerge from the tree line to forage on the open grassland area of the conservancy. Once in the open they were vulnerable to predation by Lion. Although the grass was low on the conservancy the Warthogs could often not see the Lions because of the undulations and large tufts of grass and there were distractions from the many animals on the conservancy. The next images show the initial score – Lions one and Warthog family minus one. The Lioness started to eat the piglet as fast as she could, probably knowing the male would appropriate her prize.

The piglet was just enough for one Lion so the Lioness tried to get away to eat in peace.

Once the male got to the Lioness she tried to run away with her kill but there was no negotiation the male just piled in a took it from her.

The Lions’ antics had not gone unnoticed by the Buffalo bulls. The male Lion had to pick up his stolen goods and retreat in the face of an aggressive onslaught from the Buffalo.

All the attention had brought the second male out of the treeline. He did not try to knuckle in. Both males looked in good shape in stark contrast to the thin sub-adults and cubs who were at the bottom of the feeding hierarchy.

When one sees how male Lions kill cubs that are not their own, it is remarkable to see the tolerance they have for their own cubs.

The males eventually got together. The next image disguises the deadliness and power of these males. This relaxed position can change to full combat mode in an instant.

Comrades in defence but independent seekers of females.

A close-up of one of the four males in “Scar’s” coalition – a magnificent big cat!

Before long this big male got up and started to wander down to where the Lionesses had begun another hunt.

When close to big male Lion one’s heart does skip a beat to two. We never got to see all four together. This must be an almost invincible coalition at this point.

Interesting how the change in perspective alters the apparent shape of his face.

“There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay attention to the story.”

-Linda Hogan

The Lionesses’ hunting tactics were fascinating to watch. There was no chance of a surprise attack in the open so they started a “divide and conquer” approach to open up the herd. Lionesses would take turns to draw different Buffalo out of the herd. Slowly but surely the Lionesses managed to open up the herd enough for two Lionesses to separate one Buffalo. The Lionesses quickly took down the separated Buffalo among some small bushes in the conservancy grassland. The bellowing of the fallen Buffalo was a call for help. This came quickly in the form of an intimidating wall of agitated Buffalo.

It did not take long before the Buffalo had forced the Lionesses off their catch. What was surprising was the two large males did nothing to help the Lionesses at a time when a large meal for the pride was desperately needed to feed the younger members of the pride. Three Buffalo escorted their injured herd member away from the scene while the remaining Buffalo chased the Lionesses in the opposite direction.

After the one male had stolen a piglet from one of his Lionesses and the females had not managed to kill the downed Buffalo. The two big males decided to look for a little more peace and quiet.

“Nature is man’s teacher. She unfolds her treasures to his search, unseals his eye, illumes his mind, and purifies his heart; an influence breathes from all the sights and sounds of her existence.”

-Alfred Bernhard Nobel

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

This is my first post for 2015.

Happy New Year – I wish you a year filled with interesting people, unusual adventures, far away places and new insights.

“Life is a daring adventure, or nothing.”

 – Helen Keller

We stayed at Kitchwa Tembo tented camp. It is a wonderful tented camp, very comfortable with a view straight onto its Conservancy which is around 10 square kilometres at the north-east end of the Mara triangle. The beauty of the conservancy is that it is not part of the main park so we could drive off-road. This was important as we could get into position to minimise grass in front of the subject and to get the most favourable light direction, which was usually behind us.

“Masai Mara is probably the most famous of the reserves and is located in Kenya’s south western corner and boasts an astonishing amount of game. The national reserve is unfenced, with the Mara being bounded in the east by the Ngama Hills and in the west by the Oloololo Escarpment.

Gazelle, Wildebeest and Zebra graze in large numbers and attract many and varied predators.  The wide green-gold savannahs are spotted with thorn trees.”

After an easy flight from Nairobi to the Masai Mara we set off on our first bush drive the afternoon of our first day. We heard that “Scar” the male lion with a damaged right eye had killed a Hippo calf the day before on an open area close to the airstrip, so we travelled down to see what we could find. In no time at all we found a few Hyaenas and Vultures on the remains of the reported Hippo calf. We found three vultures picking at the bones. Each vulture was a different species, Lappet-faced, White-headed and Hooded. The next image is of a White-headed Vulture gliding in to feast on the Hippo calf.

The White-headed Vulture is large, not much smaller than the Lappet-faced, and is one of the more strikingly coloured of the three Vultures we saw that afternoon.

Vultures have amazing vision. Once they see other Vultures landing they know there is a kill or food of some sort which is worth investigating. Shortly after the arrival of the White-headed Vulture, the massive Lappet-facerd Vulture flew in. The Lappet-faced is usually the first to open a carcass, if it has not be already opened up by a predator.

The Lappet-faced is the second largest of the African Vultures after a Bearded Vulture. Lappet-faced Vultures are not common and classified as vulnerable.

“The earth has music for those who listen.”

 – George Santayana

It did not take long before the Black-backed Jackal saw the Vultures flying in and came over to see what was available. The next image shows the Lappet-faced Vulture dominating the Jackal. He went hungry that afternoon.

A pair of Hooded Vultures joined the party. Being such smaller than the Lappet-faced and White-headed Vultures they operated on the fringes of the carcass area minding not to get too close to the other Vultures. This Vulture is more of an opportunist when there are larger Vultures and predators feeding on the carcass, darting in to snatch scraps.

The Hyaenas never fail to miss an opportunity to feed. The Vultures and Jackal attracted the attention of two Hyaenas.

The Lions has not left much of the Hippo calf carcass. By the time we arrive there was just the skull and part of the spine left. One female Hyaena decided it was time to take the remains to a quieter place and proceeded to pick up the skull and part of the spine and run off with it.

It was amazing how far and fast the Hyaena ran with what looked to be a heavy mouthful.

This was another example of the strength and endurance of these top predators. The Hyaena was quite capable of eating the remaining bones.

A pair of Topis were watching the Hyaena with a keen eye. A Topi looks like Hartebeest and belong to the same family but are a different species.

Topis are very fast, so Lions and Hyaenas struggle to catch them during the day. They are most vulnerable at night when they sleep. Most Topis are attacked and killed by Hyaenas when they are asleep.

 ” There is something about safari life which makes you forget about all your sorrows and makes you feel as if you had drunk half a bottle of champagne – bubbling over with heart-felt gratitude for being alive.”

 – Karen Blixen

We saw our first Lion pride within an hour of being on the Conservancy. This was part of the “Marsh ” pride. This pride comprises around 28 Lions and is ruled by a coalition of four large males, “Scar” and his three brothers. Half the pride and three males had crossed the Mara river into the Conservancy, the other half of the pride remained on the eastern side of the Mara river. The next image shows a few of the Lionesses with their cubs resting on a mound near the airstrip in the late afternoon.

This pride was operating in the Conservancy less than a kilometre in front of the camp. Needless to say that first night we went to sleep with a chorus of Hyaena “whoops” and Lion “roars” and the odd Hippo “grunts”.

The Lionesses were very alert and looked ready to hunt in daylight hours.

A typical scene, in the Mara area.

We got off to a good start on our first afternoon. The Mara was looking very green. In the Conservancy area the grass was not too long so we were excited about the potential photography in the days ahead. The Mara is full of animals at this time of the year but the Wildebeest migration is down in the south part of the Serengeti in preparation for the calving season in February and early March.

One of the reasons we undertook this trip was to see what the photography was like outside the Wildebeest migration. After the first afternoon it was looking good.

“When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty.”

 – John Muir

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

Christmas  – a time for the family, friends and sharing. It is also a time to look back at what was a wonderful photographic year and planning for an even better one in 2015.

I wish you a wonderful Christmas surrounded by your family and friends. If you do not celebrate Christmas, I wish you a time of merriment, sharing and peace.

2014 is almost over and it is a good time to look back.

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
― Epicurus

I have selected a few images from the past year which I think reflect what has been a fantastic photographic year.

January 2014 – Cederburg in western Cape, Kagga Kama

Kagga Kamma on an overcast January afternoon looking south west out over the Cederburg mountains.

Having fun with landscapes at Kagga Kamma.

January 2014 – Walkerson’s, east of Dullstroom, Mpumalanga South Africa.

Cape Wagtail feeding a Common Cuckoo chick

February 2014 – Marievale Bird Sanctuary, near Nigel in Gauteng, South Africa

Relaxed but always alert – African Crake

April 2014 – Chobe National park, northern Botswana border with Namibia.

Unusual sighting of a Western Banded Snake-Eagle along the Chobe River in Botswana.

Fish Eagle almost caught a large bream in the Chobe river in Northern Botswana.

Breath -taking shafts of morning light beaming through the clouds at around 6h15 on the Chobe river in April.

Seeing double – Juvenile African Jacanas.

This fight was for real – two female Hippos going for it

Sunset at Jackalberry point on the Chobe river

May 2014-Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

Lioness looking down the valley in Ngorogoro Crater.

Looking west in Ngorogoro Crater out over the Ngoitokitok spring.

A herd of impala caught this Lioness’s attention early one morning in the Serengeti.

Two young Lions, nomads, disturbed by a passing herd of Elephants in the Serengeti.

Young male Lion lying in the grass on top of a mound in the Serengeti grass plains

Red and Yellow Barbet at Lake Manyara, Tanzania

June 2014 – Tembe Elephant Park northern KwaZulu Natal.

Crested Guineafowl at Tembe Elephant park at last light.

Arch way through the indigenous forest in Ndumo Game Reserve.

Fish traps in the Kosi Bay estuary early in the morning

July 2014 – Giant’s Castle, KwaZulu Natal South Africa

Adult and Juvenile Bearded Vulture gliding passed the Vulture’s hide at Giant’s Castle

Adult Bearded Vulture gliding passed the Vulture’s hide at Giant’s Castle

August 2014 – Chobe river, north Botswana border with Namibia.

Young Sable drinking at Elephant Valley from the Chobe river.

If your brother is too heavy – a snorkel will come in useful.

Dead-tree display – A pair of Lilac-breasted Rollers flank an opportunist along the Chobe river.

Full display by a Lilac -breasted Roller.

September 2014 – Mashatu Game Reserve, south-eastern Botswana.

Young female Leopard peering through a fork in a giant Mashatu tree.

One cub needed a litle extra loving from Mum.

After playing around, the cubs calmed down and settled to suckle.

On top of Mmamagwa Hill looking west at sunset passed Rhodes Baobab.

October 2014 – Eagles Rock, Mpumalanga South Africa.

A Lanner Falcon giving a male Black Eagle a bit of a “rev” probably because the former’s nest was close by.

Male Black Eagle standing guard near the pair’s nest in Eagle’s Rock Estate.

October 2014 -load shedding, South Africa.

Rosy-cheeked Lovebird came to visit outside my office window.

“Cackling Widow” or Green Wood-Hoopoe posed momentarily outside my office window.

Crested Barbet- a regular visitor to the branch outside my office window.

December 2014 – southern tip of Mozambique,Ponte Malongane

On the beach at Ponte Malongane in southern Mozambique,looking north towards Maputo .

Lone yacht sailing the high seas. Image take directly into the bright morning sun-unadjusted.

Looking down towards Ponte malongane. Warm, almost no wind with soft pastel sunset shades of pinks, blues and peaches – sublime!

“I love Christmas, not just because of the presents but because of all the decorations and lights and the warmth of the season.”

Merry Christmas!

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike