Serengeti Dawn...

Our last full day in the Serengeti started off early with a 5:30 breakfast and out of camp by 6:00. This was going to be an ambitious day - there were still things on our list, like a river crossing of Wildebeest, rhino, and more lion. We had seen a lot of amazing things so far, but it would be nice to cap the safari off with a big day.

The plan was to head some 30 km east - the last known location of the local rhino, spotted just a day earlier. That's a long way in an open vehicle on dirt tracks. We were probably looking at a couple of hours, plus any game viewing time. We would be very lucky to see even one rhinoceros; they are seriously endangered due to poaching. We had already seen four of the "big five" (rhino, cape buffalo, elephant, leopard, and lion) and today would be our last chance to complete the list. The rhino in Tanzania are of the black rhino variety, and are very scarce. In mid-November of this year the same species was declared extinct in West Africa - a sad turn of events.

This is one of my favorite images from Africa. The early morning light on a clear Serengeti day is amazing. The moisture in the air gives the distant landscape a beautiful softness, and the dew on the grass glitters like a carpet of jewels. This cheetah mother sat at the edge of the valley, enjoying the sun and looking to break her fast with her almost-grown twins, playing nearby.

Unfortunately, mom didn't spot any likely meals, so she gathered the kids and headed for a more profitable area.

There was a streambed at the bottom of the valley that the cheetah had been surveying, and we had to drive a short distance downstream to find a crossing point. This brought our first lions of the day - probably resting after an active night of hunting. We thought they might be a breeding pair, but after crossing the stream we discovered another large male who favored us with a very direct stare. I'm not sure I want to know what was going through his brain...

We wandered east for a bit, then spotted a herd of several hundred wildebeest on the far side of the Mara River. We were delighted about this as we thought we might get to check the crossing off of the list early. It wasn't the giant herds the Great Migration is famous for, but would still be exciting. We sat and observed for awhile, but it became apparent that they were in no hurry to brave the water. Many, in fact were laying down. The early rains were working against us; with good grazing to the north, they had no incentive to push south across the Mara. Wondering if this would be our only chance to see a crossing, we carried on. There was a lot more to be seen today.

I mentioned yesterday that there were skeletons littering the plains. This example is a fairly complete small elephant. Judging from the size if the skull, the wear on the teeth, and femurs I would guess two or three years old and about five feet at the shoulder. I imagine this was either a natural death or the work of an entire pride of lions.

In the Serengeti, if it rains there are mudholes, and they can get pretty deep. We came across this scene in late morning - two Landcruisers trying to pull a third out of an axle-deep predicament. We stopped to see if we could help (out in the bush it is really bad form to not help if you can!), but this was going to take some serious muscle to rectify. It turned out that the stuck vehicle was carrying a young man from South Africa named Ben who was headed for Sayari tonight, so we invited him to ride with us for a few hours until we could arrange to transfer him to a new vehicle. He had a lot of stories to tell about other safaris he had made. Also, if they should happen to see this, a big hello to Ranjit and Danuta, who can be seen in the lead tow vehicle. They were fellow guests at Sayari and wonderful to talk to. Drop us a note through the blog if you see this!

When we left the mudhole, it was still only mid-morning - lots left to see and experience. One of the greatest experiences of the entire trip was next; we came upon a breeding pair of lions and were able to approach them within about 10 meters. The mating of lions is a long process. Females enter estrus every 90 days, and when this happens the female and her mate will pair off and isolate themselves from the pride. For the next three days (yes, three days) they will mate about every 15 minutes, only taking breaks to hunt and feed. You can tell just by looking at this pair that they have been at it awhile - they look exhausted.

The mating cycle begins with the female getting up and circling the male a few times, signaling that she is ready. After a couple of minutes of this, she presents to her partner, who proceeds to mount her. The actual act only lasts about 30 seconds, and then all hell breaks loose. The female starts growling at the male and eventually rolls over and starts behaving as if she is being attacked. At this point it is all teeth, claws, and snarling, and it is pretty unnerving at a distance of 10 meters when viewed from an open vehicle. If you look closely at the picture of the lioness on her back you will see that she has actually has hooked the skin of the male's foreleg with her claws. This is serious business for these cats, and the male's forelegs appear to be covered with wounds and scars from similar encounters. It is something you have to see to really appreciate. The lions seemed almost unaware of our presence, though - they were pretty preoccupied.

The excitement was soon over, though, and the pair separated. The male gave us a look that pretty clearly said "can't a guy get a little privacy around here?". All of the spots on his face are flies - insect repellent is your friend in the Serengeti!

While the male just dropped in his tracks for his brief rest, the female retired to the top of a nearby termite mound. We watched this pair for about a half hour - two complete breeding cycles. It was definitely a high point of both the day and the trip.

I developed an appreciation of cheetahs during our safari. They are beautiful, graceful, highly specialized hunters, and creatures of the open savannah. Nothing on two or four legs is faster for short distances, and their body simply reeks of speed and agility. The same qualities that give them these capabilities rob them of endurance, though. They need to get close before the chase - if their target has too much of a head start the cheetah may run out of gas before it can make contact. It is also a relatively weak cat. Small to medium antelope species and smaller young of larger species (like wildebeest) are about all a lone cheetah can manage. It is also not a big fan of conflict, as we saw in Tarangire.

This is another of my favorite pictures from the bush. The cheetah is completely focused on the gazelle on the horizon, a quarter mile or so away. The gazelle is looking straight back at it as if to say, "I see you there - you can't catch me from there and if you walk toward me I'll leave, so don't bother!".

The cat took the advice to heart and soon wandered off to seek an easier meal.

We drove up the ridge toward the group of animals the cheetah had been espying, and found this big bull buffalo hanging out with a bunch of wildebeest. I don't think that the cheetah would have had any interest in messing with him; a bull this size is a couple of thousand pounds of belligerent muscle and sharp horns wrapped in a bad attitude. Buffalo are one of the most dangerous animals in Africa, right up there with hippos, crocodiles, and leopards.

By this time we were near the eastward limit of our day's drive, so we started poking around in wooded areas looking for rhino. They can be found wandering the plains, but will as often be found in wooded areas enjoying the shade and browsing on leaves. We didn't find a rhino in this copse, but we did find a whole troop of vervet monkeys, whiling away the warm day by picking pests out of each other's fur.

As we were starting to think about heading back east, we spotted another group of several hundred wildebeest milling around on the far side of the Sand River. After a brief encounter with some rangers we found a good vantage and settled in to watch. Sure enough, within a few minutes the first wildebeest hit the water...

... and soon it was a mad dash for the far shore.

Fortunately the river was shallow at this point, because the last across was one of the smallest...

We followed the herd back to the main road, and soon found Waldo (or at least his monochrome cousin)! Zebras frequently embed themselves in herds of wildebeest, presumably for protection. We estimated this herd to be about 800 animals. Not huge, but we were able to drive right into their midst and get some great pictures

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The herd finally wandered off to the southeast, leaving us with another memory and the knowledge that it was time to turn for home ourselves. It was just about noon, and we had a long trip back to camp in front of us. No rhino (yet), but it had been an amazing day so far...