Reporting Date: 09.02.2012

Charlie Mike had just radiod me that he had sighted a pride of 15 lions and they were all lying in the open basking in the morning sun. We drove to the location south East of the Maasai Mara Reserve and found the pride of 15 lions which consisted of 1 old lioness, 6 subadult males and 9 young lionesses. About 300m away were a huge herd of buffalos, grazing gently by the stream. The attention of the lions were drawn to the herd and interesting enough, one of the female buffalos was giving birth. The lions took note and started to hunt the female buffalo and the calf becase they would be an easy target. The lions were not organized as usual and 4 of them went straight for the calf and her mother who were by then surrounded by the other members of the herd.  The rest of the pride watched keenly on the next step. No sooner had the lions started running for their prey than the rest of the herd noticed and started rebuffing them. They were chased by the furious buffalos for almost 100m until they joined the rest of the pride who seemed to have lost the battle. They all crouched on a rocky outcrop keeping the watch over the buffalos and making sure they did not come too close. It was amazing seeng the lions run for their dear lives, making one to wonder whether they are really the 'kings of the jungle'.

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Reporting Date: 07.02.2012

Tracking cheetahs can be very interesting especially in the morning when the day has just begun and the sun's warmth is just right. We came across a mother cheetah and her young cub walking across the Ololoitikoishi plains, in the South eastern tip of the Maasai Mara Reserve. The young cheetah raced behind her mother who from time to time stopped to scan the horizon for prey. After walking for about 200M the mother decided to stop and rest under a 'Gardenia tree' shade while the young cheetah instead opted to climb onto a dead tree and look out into the open plains, probably for prey as well as to watch out for potential predators such as lions, leopards and hyenas.

Before a cheetah can go sprinting and pounce on unsuspecting prey such as small sized antelopes, it has to look out into the field to see what's for lunch. Fallen dead trees, ant hills and kopjes make for great lookout points since they are among the few raised areas in the plains that offer a strategic view of the plains.

Cheetahs always keep their prey animals in their sights, even if they do not intend to hunt at a particular moment. Cheetahs also teach their young the techniques in hunting via a demonstration by the adults so it should be a good location for them as well for that purpose.

If you run as fast as the cheetah, you probably need a lot of rest. Just like the lion, cheetahs spend most of the day lying around and conserving energy. Hunts can be quite draining so it should be no surprise that cheetahs lay around for most of the day.

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Reporting Date: 06.02.2012

We had a fantastic Early Morning Game Drive (EMGD), having seen lots of Elephant, two prides of Lions and a Cheetah with her a 4 month old cub. We tracked her for about 20 minutes as they played together in the open savannah before deciding to have our break fast in the bush! We then set our table to enjoy our sumptuous breakfast under a 'Desert Date' tree, overlooking the breathtaking Oltukai Hill. During the whole breakfast time we were surrounded by a herd of 25 giraffes, Topis, Impalas, Thompson's and Grant's gazelles, Warthogs and buffalos. 

We had planned to combine both EMGD and a Full Day Game Drive (FDGD) since this was the only full day our guests had with us. Therefore, after the Bush breakfast, we embarked on the second part of our game drive experience - a Full Day Game Drive. We decided to go to Sandriver area which was closer to the area where we were. Sandriver area is also very scenic. As we drove alon g the river, we sighted elephants and baboons in the river bed. The climax of the Sandriver drive was the unbelievably large herd of buffalos which were migrating from The Seregeti National Park to Maasai Mara National Reserve. The thousand plus buffalos covered the grasslands on both sides of the river. We soon after came across a lioness which had killed one of the buffalos and was eating away her kill.

Bufflo are gregarious, occupying a large permanent range. Older bulls often associte in small bachelor groups of five to ten individuals, or remain solitary for much of the year.

The mixed herd are a movable collection of sub groups, each containg a number of related cows and their offspring. Status within these breeding herd is determined by fighting ability with male and females ranked in separate dominance hierarchies.

Reporting Date: 5th February 2012
 

Hippos on the “beach” .

Hippos have an advantage over the other wild animals in that they do sometimes enjoy “beach” life. Their ''beaches'' are in the form of sandy banks or small islands in the middle of the rivers. On a morning game drive along the mara river, we  watched  a group of Hippos get out to sunbath on a sandy bank. One by one they followed each other out of the water slowly until the “beach” became too small for the nearly a hundred animals. As their skin is too sensitive to the sun, they cannot stay out in the ''beach'' for longer periods without heading back into the waters to cool down.

Reporting Date: 03.02.2012

Two lionesses were on a hunt in the same area where two brother cheetahs were resting under a 'desert date' tree. On sensing the danger the two brother cheetahs took to their heels and 'ran away like ghosts', loosing each other in the process. One of the two realized that he had lost his mate and started calling. The sound made by this cheetah is called chirping - a distress call. Chirping can be heard over a mile away thereby enabling them to reunite.

Cheetah sounds include purrs, bleats, barks, growls, hisses and chirps. Cheetahs can not roar. Roaring is made possible by a special two-piece hyoid bone in the throat. All of the non-roaring cats like the cheetah have a one-piece hyoid bone. Only 4 cats can roar: the lion, tiger, leopard, and jaguar.

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Reporting Date: 3rd February 2012
The Lamai pride holds an area of about ten square miles in the extreme north of the Serengeti. In this place there are some scattered  trees  in the vast grasslands known as  ''Desert dates'' which they like resting under during the strong heat of the day. It is below one of this trees that ranger Godson  and his guests found them during their  full-day game drive . The pride which consists of  two mature males with several females and older cubs do sometimes  break up and patrol their territories  in smaller groups or individually then come together for a hunting mission.

Reporting Date: 1st January 2012
The “thinking” Cheetah.

We were settling down for lunch while on a full day game drive  on the Lamai plains overlooking the Masai mara when from a distance of about 200 meters emerged a lone cheetah  from the back of a dead tree. The heat of the day was very strong and the cheetah was panting and looking around as if in a ‘’thinking’’ mood. We then left our lunch for a while and drove towards the cheetah for a closer look before he disappeared. He did not care about our presence but continued to look around then crossed the border into  the Masai Mara grasslands.