From Meru To Mara

[michael-ibk]

As mentioned before, one of our main hopes for this trip were cheetahs, and the Mara certainly had already delivered! But we had one very special wish - cheetah kids! I had read on Facebooks that two were with cubs, Imani and Malaika. Sadly, James told us that Imani had lost all four of her cubs to lions some weeks before our arrival, and Malaika had lost one of hers to a hyena just one week before, but she still had five and here they were:







"Malaika" means "Angel" in KiSwahili. She is the daughter of Kike, a cheetah who featured in BBC’s Big Cat Diaries. Like her mother she is famous for her car-jumping behaviour and has passed this behaviour on to her son, Bawa, featured in the post above (if it really is him.)





This is her third litter, and Malaika is doing a great job as a mother.



The little ones were about 2 1/2 months old.



In this part of the Mara, far South, there are not too many cars around. We spent almost four hours with Malaika and her offspring, at times we were alone with her, at one time four others were there - all quiet and well behaved.



One other car is always there - the rangers are constantly guarding the cheetah family, making sure that tourists are not harrassing them too much, so no off-roading happens around Malaika. Luckily, the tree she had chosen as their temporary home was not too far from the road.

 

 

They are also protecting them from other predators, trying to chase them away if lions or hyenas come too close.



Sadly, they also face more sinister, unnatural dangers - Cheetah cubs are precious "items" for wildlife traffickers. James told us three years ago some tourists found a cheetah mother in the morning, and her three cubs were gone. Just the evening before they had been with her. Their guide was suspicious about a car that had stayed with them even after dark, and summoned the rangers. Indeed, they could stop this car at the gate, and all three cubs were in there, caged in little boxes!



They immediately brought them back to their mother, but she was disturbed by the whole experience and probably by the smell of her babies as well, so she did not accept them back.



Only for a while fortunately, after a few hours she let them approach again and all three were suckling happily, already forgetting the crime they had become victims of. The culprit, a young Briton, was sentenced to seven years. He died in prison.



Back to the present: After a while something caught the attention of Malaika, she had discovered something in the distance.



She took a better look and then ambled off, slowly and relaxed, but determined.



"Where is Mommy off to?"



"Will she - sob - come back?"

[michael-ibk]

Malaika wandered off quite a bit, more than a km. I could follow her with the binocs, and soon saw what had drawn her there - a few Thomson´s gazelles with a fawn. It was dead as soon as Malaika had spotted it - no chance for these babies to escape a cheetah, and so they are of course favourite prey.



Hard work for Malaika to carry its prey back, she had to pause and rest several times.

 

 

When she was "home" Malaika needed a bit of time to recover, and it seemed like she and the Tommy fawn were resting.

 

 

 

The cubs were thrilled with what Mommy had brought home and did not hesitate to jump onto their lunch. Try as they might, they were unable to open the fawn up, Malaika had to do that for them - and then five voracious tiny mouths were dipping in blood. And one bigger one.

 

 

 

What a feast for the babies!

 

 

 

Starting at three or four weeks cubs start eating meat.

 

 

 

They are weaned at three months.

 

[michael-ibk]

After almost half an hour the cubs had finally eaten enough.



Cleaning time now!

 

 

 

While some of the young ones were circling their tree...

 

 

... the other siblings got their share of motherly love, one after another.

 

 

 

 

This one was a bit bolders than brothers and sisters (too early to know the sex) and came a bit closer, but it soon lost its courage and returned to Mum.

 

All that excitement of feasting had tired the cubs, and so the whole family soon went to sleep in the shade.

 

It was past 15:00 now, and after almost four wonderful hours we left the cheetah family. A safari highlight for me, and I so hope that all of them are still well and will make it to adulthood. (Chances are slim, I know, cheetah cub mortality is incredibly high, and with all the lions and hyenas around it´s hard to see how they could survive at all without the rangers intervention.)

[TonyQ]

@@michael-ibk

A great cheetah sequence - both photos and videos.

The cubs are so beautiful. The grooming after eating is wonderful to watch

[graceland]

What an amazing four hours you spent with Mailaika and her cubs. Seeing them in action (well moving about) via video brings them to life. If I could have one hour of this experience my safari would be perfect. Never have seen cheetah cubs on any of my adventures.

 

How fortunate you were Michael, and do hope they are able to survive as well.

 

Put cubs in a box and take them away- Where - a zoo? Disgusting a human being could be so cruel and petty. But I should know that; working in animal rescue here at home, there are horror stories of what people do to animals. The one time I think a gun should be allowed to go off.

 

However, perfect day for you - hope there is more!!

[michael-ibk]

@@graceland

See here for example, cheetah cubs are popular "pets" for the rich, especially in the Middle East.

http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2014/04/11/dying-in-a-living-room-the-illegal-trade-in-live-cheetahs/
http://cheetah.org/what-we-do/human-wildlife-conflict/illegal-pet-trade/
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/15/cheetah-smuggling-wild-luxury-pets-gulf

[Atravelynn]

How fortunate you were fully recovered in time for home-made pizza. Even more fortunate for the baby cheetahs. "A safari highlight for me, and I so hope that all of them are still well and will make it to adulthood. (Chances are slim, I know, cheetah cub mortality is incredibly high..." So true! I had been told similar stories about cheetah cubs suddenly going missing. Just how did that guy who stole them think he would get them out of the country? Maybe he lived in Kenya. Anyway, that whole sordid scenario had a happy ending.

 

 

Not to dwell on your illness, but as guidance for others, how did you deal with it? Was it merely the passage of time that made you better?

 

While it is disturbing to see cheetahs jump on the vehicles, I must say that guy you photographed found the perfect spot--height and shade.

[michael-ibk]

It was late afternoon now, and a storm was brewing over the Southern Mara.



Still, with the Serengeti Mountains so close, we couldn´t resist going to the border.



The Main road in the South leading to the South Mara River Bridge.



The border, a bit off the road. I just had to get out here and took a childish delight in walking a few steps on Tanzanian soil.




The Serengeti.



James was eager to get back to camp, we had a few rivers and creeks to cross, and he told us that could become difficult if we would get into heavy rain. So, just a few stops on the way.



Yellow-Throated Longclaw




We were kind of doing a slalom between the rain clouds.





Lazy Jackals.



I enjoy storms, and experiencing one coming up in the Mara was awesome, the air felt almost electrical.



For once, I spotted something, a few quick somethings on the ground a bit off the road:



A business of Banded Mongoose, a first for me.



They are fun to watch, always scurrying around, never resting.





Something scared them, and they did their best Meerkat impersonation, but we couldn´t see what it was.



All of them standing up at 00:40:

We finally returned to camp at about 18:30 and dashed through the heavy rain to our tent. Wet and a bit tired, but happy - it had been a great "Malaika day". Tomorrow it would be "Gnu day".

[michael-ibk]

Not to dwell on your illness, but as guidance for others, how did you deal with it? Was it merely the passage of time that made you better?

 

 

Fortunately it was just the one night and the morning after, by noon I was still feeling a bit queasy but better, and on the evening I was fine again. Did nothing in particular, just a few drugs.

[Atravelynn]

I was going to update my last post with a few more comments and I see you snuck another exciting installment in here. This rainy sky only reinforces what I was going to say about your landscapes with the big skies--you must have a special sky and cloud button on your camera! Doing a slalom between the clouds is something I bet you are most familiar with. Any ski trips coming up?

 

The whole cheetah scenario is so fortunate how it played out for you, with all aspects of family life from watching mom go off to work with what appeared to be a few tears, to mom coming back with a meal and everybody eating. The washing up after dining is my favorite.

 

It seems the approaching storm stirred up the mongoose, a whole business of them. I had not seen that word, but it is the perfect term the way they scurry about on their important business.

 

Rarely do you get that particular giraffe perspective, midway between standing tall and leaning down. It's poking its long neck right at us.

[michael-ibk]

High time to give Mara Bush Camp its due - I dare anyone to go there and NOT love this place. As good as it gets, incredible value for money! (Just to get an idea about their rates see here: http://www.maasaimara.com/entries/mara-bush-camp )

Tucked away in a small riverine forest along the Olare Orok, right where the river is doing a U-turn, so every tent (12 of them) is facing the river, as is the main area.



The view from the main area, this is where we took our meals when it was not raining.



Hippos were a constant presence. I so enjoyed just sitting there with a cold beer watching the grumpy giants puffing and blowing, sometimes even getting into a very noisy fight.





Even though camp was fully booked on all our nights there (mostly with regular customers) it never felt crowded - all tents have a good distance to the next one, ensuring privacy. The lunch and dinner area is spacious, so everyone is having one´s private table five metres away from the next one. (Though we sometimes chose to join up with others which is no problem either.)







Coffee and Cookies cart.

After dinner everyone would gather around the campfire and chat about the day´s sightings.



When it rains (which it did on some evenings) the mess tent is a comfy place to chill:





Trust barman Anthony to mix up some very stiff drinks.



Food was extraordinary. The chef really knows how to make people happy - everday he would perform magics in the bush kitchen and present absolutely delicious stuff, and something very different every day. Kenyan tradionals, Asian live-cooking, fresh Pizza, home-made Lasagna, Russian Boeuf Stroganoff and much more, I went "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmh" every time. Just that good.

Packed breakfast was super too (and what can be better than taking a meal under a tree in the Mara?). Lunch boxes were a bit less convincing but still absolutely fine. We always started our game drives at around 06:00, and were always woken before with fresh coffee and some yummy cookies. Perfect way to start the day, and much more efficient than the time-consuming almost full breakfasts in Botswana.



The all-local staff are simply a pleasure. Very competent and incredibly friendly, always trying to fullfill all wishes and starting from minute one everonye is calling you by name, so they make it a point to create a very personal atmosphere. Very successfully, I felt like being treated as a very special guest, someone who had been coming here for years. It´s always the same staff member taking care of "his" guests, so we had our waiter Joseph, our room steward Patrick and our Askari Mike. Which also gives you a better chance to get to know them, talking in more details about their lives in Kenya.



Our tent.





A perfect "home" for our time here, always a lovely breeze coming up from the Olare Orok, and comfortable, spacious accomodations with no unnecessary over the top luxury, it still feels like being in a tent, and I do like that a lot. Beds are super-comfy, there´s a sink with running water (and always one litre supplied for teeth-brushing), ensuite-toilet and a bucket-shower.



No charging stations in the tent, but there´s a photographer´s tent at the main area with plenty of plug-ins.



Loved the bucket showers coming "home" from safari in the evening, Patrick would only need 10 minutes to get it all running, and inside you wouldn´t even notice that this is not a "normal" shower.



Our own private river sitting are at the river.



With our own private lady croc - she is hatching her eggs here, we saw her every day.

Loved going to sleep, the sound of Africa was always around us - the hippos of course, but also the sneering laughter of hyenas, the awe-inspiring roaring of lions and even the guttural, "sawing" call of the local leopard.

A simply wonderful stay, I cannot recommend this camp highly enough. Lots of the praise must go to camp manager Leslie, a very hard-working woman always talking to her guests and staff making sure everything is running smoothly. We were a bit in doubt if we had made the right choice before the trip, if it wouldn´t have been better to go to one of the conservancies but Mara Bush Camp (and the main reserve) surpassed all our expectations - for us, this was simply perfect, and it´s definitely one for the "must return to soon" bucket list.

[michael-ibk]

This rainy sky only reinforces what I was going to say about your landscapes with the big skies--you must have a special sky and cloud button on your camera!

Yes, it´s a bit more useful than the "blow nine out of ten shots" button..

 

Doing a slalom between the clouds is something I bet you are most familiar with. Any ski trips coming up?

Still waiting for snow here, it´s unusually warm for the season. But of course, some cliches are true - as an Austrian I am genetically hard-coded to go skiing, and I´m seeing three different skiing areas from my house here - so lots of possibilities.

 

It seems the approaching storm stirred up the mongoose, a whole business of them. I had not seen that word, but it is the perfect term the way they scurry about on their important business.

I´m still quite partial to "Mongaggle" I found somewhere online but I´m highly suspicious someone was just making fun of animal collcective nouns there.

[Marks]

@@michael-ibk Incredible cheetah cub photos and interesting story about someone attempting to smuggle the other cubs. Glad the ending was a happy one, though you had me worried for a moment. Camp also looks quite nice, and the rates are indeed good!

 

@@graceland I also used to work in animal welfare for a few years, and I agree that it was often quite shocking.

[graceland]

@@michael-ibk

 

TERRIFIC all around; thank you also for including so much info on your camp...Mara Bush looks delightful; and though I have friends who would say, no, say its; not true...say its's not, She really hasn't..but

 

I have totally gone from "ultra lux" - or I am not going, you can't make me."... TO, hmm, bucket showers, yes they are delightful. And being ON the ground and not up a boardwalk - superb! Just what is outside your tent??? Really is an Africa experience. And the food these camps provide...creative, delicious, healthy!

 

The Mara shines doesn't it? Hopefully people will get their acts together and realize what they are missing by being so misinformed.

 

I hope this is not the end; think of something else to show/tell us please. ONE more cheetah cub, come on.....

 

Your photos really told the story...thank you

[michael-ibk]

Thanks, Nancy, not the end by far, I still have 3 1/2 days to cover, and as already mentioned before ... the Mara always delivers!

[graceland]

Thanks, Nancy, not the end by far, I still have 3 1/2 days to cover, and as already mentioned before ... the Mara always delivers!

You know you just blew my "cover"

 

I was posting as Grace Kelley

 

Now I am an Elvis impersonator.

[Atravelynn]

Your own personal egg laying croc! No wonder you loved Mara Bush Camp! I don't think I've ever encountered one. Did they mention if there is a season for laying eggs?

Edited December 3, 2014 by Atravelynn

[michael-ibk]

And then there were four. Sadly, Malaika lost one of her cubs a few days ago.

[madaboutcheetah]

Hi Michael, just catching up with the updates to your report again ........... fabulous images and videos of Malaika and cubs!!!! As you say, very sad to hear that she lost one cub recently - here's wishing Malaika and the remaining 4 all best wishes going forward!!!

How did you like that Look Out/ Sand River area closer to the Serengeti border?

[loafer247]

@@michael-ibk - great trip report!

 

Just checked the spot patterns on your male cheetah that was on the car. He is actually the son of Amani - the guides call him Hodari which means champion in Swahili. He had a brother who disappeared and he is the litter mate of Imani.

 

The easiest way to identify him is to look at the spot pattern on his right rear leg - he has two small dots which are almost connected.

 

FYI Bawa has been spotted regularly in the last couple of months - more towards the eastern side of the reserve

[Game Warden]

@@michael-ibk Thanks for the great overview of the camp. Sometimes people forget to take detailed photos of camp. Nice one. Matt.

[michael-ibk]

Your own personal egg laying croc! No wonder you loved Mara Bush Camp! I don't think I've ever encountered one. Did they mention if there is a season for laying eggs?

Not sure, Lynn, I think they said she´s there for the second year, but I don´t know if she lay her eggs the same time last year.

 

 

Hi Michael, just catching up with the updates to your report again ........... fabulous images and videos of Malaika and cubs!!!! As you say, very sad to hear that she lost one cub recently - here's wishing Malaika and the remaining 4 all best wishes going forward!!!

How did you like that Look Out/ Sand River area closer to the Serengeti border?

Thanks, Hari. I enjoyed the area down South very much - loved the background of the Serengeti mountains, and in a way the place felt more "remote", the lack of other cars certainly helped in that regard.

 

 

@@michael-ibk - great trip report!

 

Just checked the spot patterns on your male cheetah that was on the car. He is actually the son of Amani - the guides call him Hodari which means champion in Swahili. He had a brother who disappeared and he is the litter mate of Imani.

 

The easiest way to identify him is to look at the spot pattern on his right rear leg - he has two small dots which are almost connected.

 

FYI Bawa has been spotted regularly in the last couple of months - more towards the eastern side of the reserve

Thanks, @@loafer247 , I will try to hone my identifying skills, we saw Hodari (cool name btw) two other times - at least I think it was the same cheetah.

[michael-ibk]

A beautiful morning the other day but quite cloudy and pretty cool. We drove down to the Talek river where we found an Elephant familiy with a baby.

We watched the big guys for a while on the other side of the river until the eles ambled off.



A bit further to the West we found a big, massive wildebeest herd and spent the next few hours with them.







More and more of them were coming to the river and gathering here - thousands of gnus! I very much enjoyed this, big herds like this are such an iconic "Africa image" so often seen on TV, and it was great being right in the middle of them. All alone, no other cars were here at the Talek.

But not without other people. Just when we were sure that the herd would cross the Talek river the morning balloons arrived, flying very, very low (too low), and scared all the wildebeest away.

After a while the herd returned to the river, but they seemed less determined to cross now, they were pretty nervous and moving forwards and backwards all the time. A few Tommies always accompanied them, keeping a bit of a distance however.



In the far distance some Masai were grazing their cattle - deep in the reserve here.



No other tourists seemed to take an interest in the huge herd, so we had them all to ourselves all morning at the Talek river, a very relaxed, beautiful experience.



A few zebras were with the herd, enjoying the day.





Every once in a while the sun would come out.



Elands mingled with the gnus as well. An impressive bull here:









After a while it became clear that the wildebeest were quite happy with staying on this side of the Talek, and so we left the area.

[Atravelynn]

Great immersion in the wilde herd. The balloon showed up at just the wrong time. But who knows what's in the minds of the wildebeests? They may not have wanted to cross even without the balloons. The difference in sound between just the herd and the birds and the herd with the balloons is noticeable.

[TonyQ]

@@michael-ibk

Loveley seeing the baby elephant. Being in the midst of a large herd must be amazing (shame about the balloon!). The Eland bull is an impressive animal.