Reporting Date: 14TH APRIL 2012

WILDEBEESTS MIGRATION UPDATE.

After giving birth in their ancestral calving lands of southern Serengeti in the months of February and march,  the wildebeests have started their long and winding trek towards the northern parts in search of grazing lands and water. They started the trek as one large group but shortly thereafter split into three major divisions which will eventually end up in the Mara game reserve in Kenya  as from the months of June  or July onwards.

The first group is moving towards the western corridor of the Serengeti  which is not far from  lake Victoria, this group will after sometime shift  their course towards the North-east after venturing into the Ikorongo game reserve adjacent  to the Serengeti.

The second group of the wildebeests is moving towards the central parts of the Serengeti after leaving behind the Simba Kopjes. This group is likely to either  team up with the first group or follow them towards the western corridor into the Ikorongo game reserve, a place with black cotton soil and poor drainage.  Here a good number of them could fall prey to the crocodiles of the Grumeti river, especially the young and inexperienced first year migrants.

The third group decided to follow the boundaries of the park  on the east  towards the Loliondo game controlled area. It is this group that we expect to be the first to arrive along the sand river on the border between the Serengeti and the Mara around the month of June as they seem to have taken a more direct route.  It is also at this time that we expect to start seeing these "nomads" of the grasslands in the area around the camp.  In between these large groups are to be found some tail-pullers who walk in small groups long after the rest have moved on.

There is plenty of green grass almost everywhere for this animals at this time of the year after we had some rains in the past few days but the surface waters in most places can’t last long, hence  the reason why these animals keep moving.

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Reporting Date: 11TH APRIL 2012

LAMAI HYENAS KILLS TOPI.

Lamai plains in the extreme north of the park usually teems with a large clan of hyenas. Topis too occur on this area in large numbers because there exist a watering hole they share with the hyenas. During the heat of the day, some topis would be tempted to doze with their long snouts resting on the ground. Hyenas would sometimes take advantage of this situation and quickly attack from all sides. This is what happened today when ranger Kokan and his guests ventured onto the lamai plains while on a game drive. The hyenas devoured the topi with their powerful teeth and jaws and within no time they had consumed every bit of it.

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Reporting Date: 4th April 2012

It was about mid-day when a lonely bull elephant  walked across the camp on his way to catch up with his herd that had left him behind enjoying some lush vegetation  around a swamp. We saw him walking passed our fire-break path in big strides. At some point he stopped for a while and sniffed the air by lifting his trunk  up while pointing at our direction  before hurriedly walking away. He was a strong bull that we reckoned was in his early forties.

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Reporting Date: 26th march 2012

Waiting by the river.

On a morning game-drive along  the banks of the Mara river, we came upon a crocodile waiting in the river which  is home to some of the biggest Nile crocodiles in the Serengeti. Many times we have found them floating with only their back showing, as was the case today, and that is the way they deceive and trap animals coming to drink water. The crocodiles of the mara river have over the years eaten thousands of wildebeests that cross their way in the waters. At the moment they are waiting for food to come to them again as from the months of June onwards when we expect the migration.

View the table of sighted animals