Hangin' out with Laurien the Leopardess via Entim camp in the Masai Mara; a digital photographic safari and lots lots more......

[Laura82]

Your pictures are fantastic! I am going to the Porini camps in August. I sure do hope I can get some of those sunset/sillhouette pictures!

[madaboutcheetah]

Your pictures are fantastic! I am going to the Porini camps in August. I sure do hope I can get some of those sunset/sillhouette pictures!

 

Thanks @@Laura82 - the key for silhouettes and a tip to talk to your guide/ranger is to leave camp just prior to sun up and look around in the horizon if you see interesting subjects with the sun coming up (same at sun set) - just look around the immediate area with the visibility to the sun and the angles of the light filtering through the clouds (if any).

[loafer247]

I have been to the Olare Kempinski a few times now and although it may be marketed as a 'luxury spa' camp, I would say that the quality of guiding is phenomenal. I always use their head guide Rafael and he is brilliant! One day we were out from 6:15 AM through till 11 PM with the camp bringing us lunch and dinner.

 

We stayed out late to watch the Enkoynai Pride of lions hunting. It is not an experience you can get in the reserve as you have to be in camp by sunset. The immediate area around Kempinski is smack bang in the middle of big cat territory. I have regularly seen all three big cats within 5 minutes drive from camp.

[AKR1]

Thanks @@loafer247. Good info on Olare Kempinski. Does it have tents and how big is it in terms of capacity. Where exactly is it located from Mara Plains and/or Mahali Mzuri. Have you been to or know folks who have stayed at that camp ( MM) and what is the reputation of their guiding and location. Compared to Naboisho and definitely Ol Kenyei conservancies, the Olare Motorogi conservancy now has significantly more beds ( is it almost the same now as Mara North). Yet everyone loves their experiences in the OMC. Any comments.

[loafer247]

@@AKR1 - Olare Kempinski has the largest rooms of any tented camp I've been to - they are huge with an indoor and outdoor shower, bathtub, double sink, and huge bedroom area etc... There are 12 tents of which 1 is the 'Honeymoon' tent with a private plunge pool. (think it's tent no. 12)

 

It is located not far from Mara Plains, about 4-5 km's north on the Ntiak Ntiak River. I think the closest camp to it is Porini Lion.

 

I know the head guide at Mahale Mzuri - Dickson. He's an amazing guide but the location of MM is not the best. It's in the Northern part of the OMC and game there is still very skittish although I'm sure this will improve with time. They do a lot of their game drives in the southern part of the OMC where all the other camps are.

 

To me the beauty of the OMC is that it's surrounded by 'game land' - the reserve to the south, Mara North to the west and Naboisho to the East and hence that wild feeling is always there. It is also unbelievable for big cat sightings and is scenic.

[madaboutcheetah]

@@loafer247 - If you don't mind ...... One more question - What do you think of Porini's Ol Kinyei camp/location/guiding? I'm told they have access to Naboisho conservancy too from there ....... Sounds very intriguing to me. Your thoughts, please?

 

Have noted your preference for early December ....... So one of these years on my list!

 

Thanks in advance

Hari

[madaboutcheetah]

"Cubs greeting each other" ...... (found a few more raw files that needed to be edited )

[madaboutcheetah]

Silhouette of impalas in rut .....

[ZaminOz]

Some fantastic photos here Hari!

[madaboutcheetah]

Thanks @@ZaminOz

[Kitsafari]

awww to the greeting cubs, and what fire those impalas generated! splendid colours.

[loafer247]

Just returned from a 3 night safari in the Mara - stayed in the reserve at Mara Intrepids as usual and despite the thoughts that April is not a good time to go, there was no rain and game viewing was fabulous.

 

Despite it being the Easter break, there were very few vehicles around. I drove in my own car so had full flexibility and generally was in the field form 6 AM to 7 PM with a quick break for lunch in camp.

 

Cat's wise we had some amazing sightings. I go by quality and not quantity and we sure had some quality this trip.

 

Lions - The Marsh Pride, Rekero Pride and the Double Crossing Pride plus a few male nomads. The Double Crossing pride males have left for the OMC, leaving their cubs unprotected and indeed on the day we arrived two nomads were in the pride's territory and killed 4 cubs. We also saw the pride kill a warthog right in front of the car and then eat it in about 5 minutes!

 

Leopards - We saw 6 leopards, including Lorian and her cub, Bahati, Saba, a shy female, and a huge male who was not shy with cars at all. Interesting thing is that you get two types of leopard in the Mara - the traditional 'shy leopard' who will run into the bushes as soon as she sees a car, and the 'habituated leopard' who completely ignores cars! We got both and in a strange way, finding the shy ones was somehow more satisfying?!

 

Cheetah - Were more of a challenge, but we saw Malaika and followed Narasha for about 2 days. Narasha is the oldest cheetah in the Mara at 11 years old and her age is showing. We saw about 5 chases and misses and as is usually the case on a safari, the afternoon we decided not to follow her she finally made a kill! We also met with Dr Elena the cheetah researcher to compare notes and she said that cheetah sightings are good in the eastern part of the reserve and the conservencies right now but not in the Western Mara.

 

Plains Game - It actually felt like August it was that good! Around Topi Plains and Musiara Marsh there were huge herd of Thompsons Gazelle, Zebra, Topi and Hartebeest. At Double Cross we actually saw a Wildebeest / Zebra Crossing (a a herd of c. 500). Elephants, giraffe, and eland were plentiful as well as warthogs. This is unusual for April but I suspect that the lack of rains has drawn animals into the reserve!

 

All in all a super trip as usual!

[madaboutcheetah]

Super news!!! Thank You!!!! Glad to know that Lorian's cub is doing well ........

[amybatt]

 

 

Lions - The Marsh Pride, Rekero Pride and the Double Crossing Pride plus a few male nomads. The Double Crossing pride males have left for the OMC, leaving their cubs unprotected and indeed on the day we arrived two nomads were in the pride's territory and killed 4 cubs.

 

This is why I can't work with animals. I'm all over the loss of those cubs. I spent HOURS watching them in Feb. Wah! I know, I know, circle of life...

[loafer247]

@@amybatt - That's nature for you!! On our last day the two males were hunting down the remaining 3 cubs of that pride. I too hope that the lionesses keep them out of harm's way. But the real fault lies with the old pride males who decided to go out and seek new adventures!!!

 

Male lion dynamics in the Mara have gone all haywire again with very few stable prides meaning that cubs are facing a tough time. But this goes in cycles - the last 2 years had been very stable resulting in many cubs reaching maturity, restocking the lion population. But then where do all these lions go once they're kicked out of the pride?? Human encroachment is rapidly increasing!

[madaboutcheetah]

The day I transferred over to Mara Plains, those males were sleeping under a bush right around the OMC border .... Daniel mentioned that those were the Double crossing males that were there mating with some females from one of the other prides.(not Monico or Enkoyeni)

 

@@loafer247 - there was also a badly injured lioness with small cubs around that Lookout hill area. Any updates from your recent visit?

Edited April 23, 2014 by madaboutcheetah

[loafer247]

@@madaboutcheetah - Yep those must have been the Double Crossing Males.

 

Whilst we didn't see the injured female at Lookout, I heard from the guides that she is still surviving and her cubs are OK. The Lookout Pride has 3 strong males so hopefully they will protect her.

 

Lions have remarkable powers of recovery!

[TonyQ]

@@madaboutcheetah

Yhank you for the report - and some great pictures!

[madaboutcheetah]

@@loafer247 and @@amybatt - more sad news ...... Just saw facebook reports from Olare Orok that some cubs from Enkoyeni in the OMC have been killed by new males ......... as you say, the circle of life in Lion pride dynamics!!!

Edited April 26, 2014 by madaboutcheetah

[amybatt]

@@loafer247 and @@amybatt - more sad news ...... Just saw facebook reports from Olare Orok that some cubs from Enkoyeni in the OMC have been killed by new males ......... as you say, the circle of life in Lion pride dynamics!!!

I saw that too! Unbelievable how the landscape changes in an instant!

[Atravelynn]

Nice lion cub and sunset shots.

 

Cub killing is part of the circle of life but when humans shrink the diameter of the circle of habitat it upsets the balance. And it upsets me too. I'm all too.

[loafer247]

Yes the Double Crossing Males have gone into the Conservancy and killed some of the cubs. The old Enkoynai Male had no chance of defending such prime terriitory. But that pride is very successful, most of the last litter of cubs made it and are roaming around OMC