Tsavo West, Amboseli, Meru & Samburu — January, 2015

[Tom Kellie]

~ The stay at the Emakoko has been marvelous!

 

Numerous lions, rhinos, gorgeous birds and a baby t or toile.

 

Now back to Beijing.

 

Tom K.

[twaffle]

Just catching up and have missed so much. The colobus are priceless, who doesn't love them!

 

Beautiful Meru, I'm looking forward to more. I'm very glad that your mini Mara break has been rewarding and look forward to that report in full later. Safe travels.

[Atravelynn]

 

Aquila rapax and Canis mesomelas Contend for a Eudorcas thomsonii Carcass

Your own version of Relentless Enemies.

 

There must be a term for reading someone's most recent trip report at the same time they are on their next trip. I don't think double dipping is quite right. Simultaneous safari-ing? Multitasking? Cup runneth over-ing? If anybody could coin a term, I feel it would be you Tom! No pressure though.

[TonyQ]

@@Tom Kellie

What a wonderful sighting of Wild Dogs (sorry - I am only up to that section so far!). I didn't know this was a park where one might see dogs! Your photos of them are excellent - really enjoyable. I also really like your close-ups of the buffalo and the male impala. (It is very easy to ignore impala and they are such beautiful animals).

[Tom Kellie]

Green indeed! Glad you are having a great time.

 

~ @Marks:

 

Thank you very much!

It was a far more rewarding safari than I had imagined.

Plentiful game, birds and wildflowers everywhere, almost no other visitors.

The verdant savanna was so unlike what I've seen during past safaris.

The long rains had a remarkable effect on all vegetation.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

 

 

I believe some scientists still hold on to the idea that Yellow, Olive, and Chacma are all one species, Papio cynocephalus cynocephalus, P. c. anubis, and P. c. ursinus.

One of the more basic requirements for species separation used to be that members of two separate species cannot produce fertile offspring. The classic example is the offspring of a horse and a donkey, being a sterile mule (see also Common and Grevy's Zebra hybrids, which are believed to be sterile). Conversely, sub-species, despite some differences, can still produce fertile offspring - Kobus ellipsiprymnus ellipsiprymnus and K. e. defassa are a great example of this.

I suspect (although I have no scientific data to back this up) that Yellow and Olive baboon could produce fertile offspring. Whether that makes them one 'good' species or not is another topic.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15085544 is the link to the abstract for this paper: http://biology.kenyon.edu/courses/biol241/baboon%20cladistics%20Newman%202004.pdf

 

 

~ @@armchair bushman:

 

Thank you so much for your enlightening explanation.

I'd read about this in a field guide, but your citation above is most helpful.

This is just the sort of explanation which my ecology students will most appreciate.

Once again another visit to Kenya has concluded, and once again it was a joy.

As it happened my safari was completely unaffected by rain, aside from a short downpour while I was eating dinner on the terrace of the Vogue Cafe at the National Museum of Kenya on 1 May.

With Appreciation for Your Expertise,

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

Just catching up and have missed so much. The colobus are priceless, who doesn't love them!

 

Beautiful Meru, I'm looking forward to more. I'm very glad that your mini Mara break has been rewarding and look forward to that report in full later. Safe travels.

 

~ @twaffle:

 

Thank you so much for your kind comments!

I returned home in Beijing about three hours ago, without incident, by way of Abu Dhabi, UAE and Seoul, South Korea.

Within a few days Meru will continue.

The Mara and Emakoko stays were superb in all respects, completely unaffected by the heavy rain falling elsewhere.

The colobus have a mild temperament which especially appeals to me.

With Appreciation,

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

 

 

Aquila rapax and Canis mesomelas Contend for a Eudorcas thomsonii Carcass

Your own version of Relentless Enemies.

 

There must be a term for reading someone's most recent trip report at the same time they are on their next trip. I don't think double dipping is quite right. Simultaneous safari-ing? Multitasking? Cup runneth over-ing? If anybody could coin a term, I feel it would be you Tom! No pressure though.

 

 

~ @Atravelynn:

 

You're so right — the unending struggle which between such evenly matched foes ends in a stalemate.

Maybe ‘a safari within a safari’?

The Mara and Emakoko mini-break was thrilling, delightful and lively.

The next safari will be in late July, to various destinations within Kenya concluding with another stay in the Emakoko.

I'm racking up enough trip report obligations to last me well into the next decade!

Receiving such encouraging comments from you means a lot me. Many thanks!

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

@@Tom Kellie

What a wonderful sighting of Wild Dogs (sorry - I am only up to that section so far!). I didn't know this was a park where one might see dogs! Your photos of them are excellent - really enjoyable. I also really like your close-ups of the buffalo and the male impala. (It is very easy to ignore impala and they are such beautiful animals).

 

~ @TonyQ:

 

I'm so pleased that you liked the images of the wild dogs.

They were an unexpected sighting. Their range of behaviors was fascinating to observe at close range.

Yes, impala are fairly ubiquitous, thus easy to dismiss, yet that's unjust as they have a beauty all their own.

Considering your own excellent safari images, your kind comments are high praise indeed!

Many Thanks!

Tom K.

[armchair bushman]

~ @@armchair bushman:

 

Thank you so much for your enlightening explanation.

I'd read about this in a field guide, but your citation above is most helpful.

This is just the sort of explanation which my ecology students will most appreciate.

Once again another visit to Kenya has concluded, and once again it was a joy.

As it happened my safari was completely unaffected by rain, aside from a short downpour while I was eating dinner on the terrace of the Vogue Cafe at the National Museum of Kenya on 1 May.

With Appreciation for Your Expertise,

Tom K.

 

Glad I can be of help.

You're lucky your safari was unaffected by rain. You must have just dodged between the clouds as they moved. The whole country has been getting pretty good rain over the past month or so.

Did you get to the Nature Kenya office/bookshop?

[graceland]

 

 

 

Aquila rapax and Canis mesomelas Contend for a Eudorcas thomsonii Carcass

Your own version of Relentless Enemies.

 

There must be a term for reading someone's most recent trip report at the same time they are on their next trip. I don't think double dipping is quite right. Simultaneous safari-ing? Multitasking? Cup runneth over-ing? If anybody could coin a term, I feel it would be you Tom! No pressure though.

 

 

~ @Atravelynn:

 

You're so right — the unending struggle which between such evenly matched foes ends in a stalemate.

Maybe ‘a safari within a safari’?

The Mara and Emakoko mini-break was thrilling, delightful and lively.

The next safari will be in late July, to various destinations within Kenya concluding with another stay in the Emakoko.

I'm racking up enough trip report obligations to last me well into the next decade!

Receiving such encouraging comments from you means a lot me. Many thanks!

Tom K.

 

Tom you are back already! I felt you had just left..oh I see, MINI-safari...

I hope you do not think these few postings from the Mara constitute a full TR

 

On to Meru and Samburu; then back to Mara reports BEFORE your next Mara wanderings, come July!

 

You will be up all night. Assign your students some photo processing.

[Tom Kellie]

 

~ @@armchair bushman:

 

Thank you so much for your enlightening explanation.

I'd read about this in a field guide, but your citation above is most helpful.

This is just the sort of explanation which my ecology students will most appreciate.

Once again another visit to Kenya has concluded, and once again it was a joy.

As it happened my safari was completely unaffected by rain, aside from a short downpour while I was eating dinner on the terrace of the Vogue Cafe at the National Museum of Kenya on 1 May.

With Appreciation for Your Expertise,

Tom K.

 

Glad I can be of help.

You're lucky your safari was unaffected by rain. You must have just dodged between the clouds as they moved. The whole country has been getting pretty good rain over the past month or so.

Did you get to the Nature Kenya office/bookshop?

 

 

~ @@armchair bushman:

 

As it happened, I was at the National Museum of Kenya on 1 May, which was a public holiday. I was told that the Nature Kenya office was closed that day.

I'll return to Kenya for another safari in late July, so will once again visit the National Museum of Kenya, thus will seek out the Nature Kenya office.

The rains immediately preceded me and followed me in Maai Mahiu, Suswa and Narok as well as in Nairobi. I brought an umbrella which remained unused.

As ever, safaris with Anthony are blessed with favorable circumstances...ditto for the stay at the Emakoko where the only rain was at around 11 pm on 4 May, when dinner was over.

You're so blessed to work and live in such a fine area of the globe.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

Tom you are back already! I felt you had just left..oh I see, MINI-safari...

 

I hope you do not think these few postings from the Mara constitute a full TR

 

On to Meru and Samburu; then back to Mara reports BEFORE your next Mara wanderings, come July!

 

You will be up all night. Assign your students some photo processing.

 

 

~ @graceland:

 

Ha Ha Ha! You definitely understand my life — all night work to catch up and keep up with student research.

The next 2.5 days will be in the classroom, after which a couple of days of assignment grading. Following that, back to Meru.

The Mara and Emakoko/Nairobi National Park experience was remarkable and will be told.

I keep daily safari diaries to shore up my memory, with such details as names, places, times and events specified.

Toughest were the details of the superb lunch, dinner and breakfast served by the Emakoko.

You make me laugh, as assigning post-processing to students is a fiendishly shrewd idea — they all fancy themselves to be such gifted technology specialists!

I'll attach a photo of interest.

Tom K.

Elephants Browsing Very Near a Leopard

Photographed on 3 May, 2015 at 9:11 am in Masai Mara National Reserve by an EOS 1D Mark IV camera and an EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II super telephoto lens.

ISO 5000, 1/8000 sec., 400mm focal length, handheld Manual exposure.

About 30 meters from these elephants a leopard was resting after having eaten a baby waterbuck whose remains were hung on a sausage tree branch.

[Kitsafari]

You are back already? i thought you had just left? this mini safari was really mini, but i'm looking forward to your photos.

 

love the colobus photos - the close-ups were great and the mama-baby just precious.

[Tom Kellie]

You are back already? i thought you had just left? this mini safari was really mini, but i'm looking forward to your photos.

 

love the colobus photos - the close-ups were great and the mama-baby just precious.

 

~ @Kitsafari:

 

Thank you so much!

 

The nature of the university calendar is such that only a mini-safari was feasible. Yet what a safari!

Not only was it another Big 5 safari — the fourth consecutive — but the wealth of bird life, reptiles, insects and wildflowers was unprecedented.

Spotting and photographing the newborn baby rhinoceros in Nairobi National Park was the highlight, although the python at the Emakoko was a major safari milestone.

A much longer, full-blown safari will commence on 17 July, concluding with a 2-night stay at the Emakoko, whose hospitality was tip-top.

I'm delighted that you liked the colobus images, which were great fun to make.

Meru images will resume within a few days.

Tom K.

[Marks]

That ele pic is surely a tease of what's to come...

[Tom Kellie]

That ele pic is surely a tease of what's to come...

 

~ @Marks:

 

Bingo!

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

Sagittarius serpentarius and Lophaetus occipitalis

While on safari one remains vigilant as extraordinary moments occur with

regularity, albeit entirely unpredictable. The juxtaposition of dissimilar

species gives pause, underscoring the contingent quality of nature. The

Sagittarius serpentarius, Secretary Bird, shown in these images was walking

along the track in misty conditions. Overhead a solitary Lophaetus occipitalis,

Long-crested Eagle, surveyed the scene as we looked on in wonder.

Secretary Bird in a Misty Morning

Lophaetus occipitalis and Sagittarius serpentarius

A Raptor Like No Other

Sagittarius serpentarius Walking Toward Tall Grass

[Tom Kellie]

Coprophilic Fungi

~ Natural selection being inherently resource conservative, the byproducts of metabolism serve as nutrient sources. Buffalo and elephant dung carries with it the spores of coprophilic fungi, which were ingested during the consumption of plant leaves. The spores give rise to mushrooms such as these, which accelerate the breaking down of the metabolites present in the dung. A small Diptera sp. is on a mushroom cap, representing the temporary community which forms around available nutrient sources.

[Tom Kellie]

Lophaetus occipitalis

Parked on the track, our eyes and camera lenses were focussed on Lophaetus occipitalis,

Long-crested Eagle, perched near us. Without warning it took to the air, flying a short

distance to another roost, perhaps more comfortable when more distant from the safari

van. As ever, mostly silence among the three of us, as such superlative grace,

beauty and power exceeds the descriptive power of language.

Lophaetus occipitalis and Another Bird

Lophaetus occipitalis in Flight

Approaching a Fresh Roost

Lophaetus occipitalis Preparing to Land

The Mighty Wingspan of Lophaetus occipitalis

Settled onto a Different Perch

Lofty Perch

[Tom Kellie]

Hirundo rustica

Swallows are a no questions asked reason for a photo stop. Both Anthony

and I enjoy making images of their diminutive features, and dark blue

plumage. These Hirundo rustica, Barn Swallow, remained on their

perches after we parked near them, ostensibly because they

were cold in the chilly, drizzly morning atmosphere. Their

cheeps were audible,with one shown with its bill open.

A lovely way to begin the morning game drive.

Three Swallows on a Branch

Hirundo rustica Pair

Drizzle-ruffled Plumage

In Repose in Drizzle

Open-billed Hirundo rustica

[Tom Kellie]

Mirafra hypermetra

Near the resting Hirundo rustica was a single Mirafra hypermetra, Red-winged

Lark. As its swallow neighbors, Mirafra hypermetra had fluffed up its plumage

in order to dry the morning drizzle's damp effect, and to remain warm in chilly

temperatures. Not disposed to serenade us, the lark was nonetheless curious,

turning its head several times in our direction. Hark, hark, the Lark!

Mirafra hypermetra on a Branch

Mirafra hypermetra

[Tom Kellie]

Wabi-sabi

In Japanese aesthetics the concept of Wabi-sabi, 侘寂, わび・さび, suggests acquiescence

to the impermanence of existence. It recognizes both transience and imperfection as being

fundamental aspects of the cosmos and of life. When I saw this Kobus ellipsiprymnus, Waterbuck,

Wabi-sabi came to mind. Enduring life with half a horn when others have a matched set is

an imperfection which nonetheless has a unique beauty all its own. Anthony kindly stopped

so that I might photograph this waterbuck whose broken horn inspires me to accept my

own motley flaws as being no more than transitory tokens of the impermanent Universe.

Wabi-sabi

[Tom Kellie]

Meru's Abundant Birds and Plants

What drew me back to Meru National Park three months after my initial visit

was the mix of botanical species and birds. The larger mammals are present

in sufficient numbers for a Meru safari to be a fulfilling experience. Yet it's the

less conspicuous organisms and the botanical variety which lend Meru a

character all its own. Throughout the morning game drive I photographed subjects

with unique beauty, grateful to once again be surrounded by such bounteous life.

Immature Passer eminibey

Ipomoea kituiensis Cluster

Eurocephalus rueppelli Above a Thicket

On Watch

Long Fronds

Arrangement in Red and Green

Ipomoea kituiensis Spike

Ants with Purple Malva sp.

Ants Working on a Purple Hibiscus Plant

[Marks]

The images of the secretary bird on the road really tell a story. The way the road curves out of sight behind some scrub, the way everything in the distance fades into an indeterminate haze...makes you wonder where the bird is headed. Superb!

 

Also enjoyed your waterbuck-inspired reflections.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Marks