Another bloody safari - Mara and Ol Pejeta October 2015

[loafer247]

Just an observation on cheetah not scavenging - Two days ago a hyena was in the process of killing a Topi somewhere near Rhino Ridge in the Masai Mara - incredibly, he was chased off by Malaika and her three cubs and they consumed the carcass. None of the guides had ever seen this before.

[johnkok]

Just an observation on cheetah not scavenging - Two days ago a hyena was in the process of killing a Topi somewhere near Rhino Ridge in the Masai Mara - incredibly, he was chased off by Malaika and her three cubs and they consumed the carcass. None of the guides had ever seen this before.

 

Wow - wildlife never cease to surprise.

 

But if your observation is accurate, ie "in the process of killing a Topi ", the topi was still alive? And the cheetah took over the hunt (as it were) from the hyena and made the kill themselves?

[SafariChick]

@@pault love the dirty lion cubs and aardwolf, but the leopard cub is my favorite!

[CaroleE]

Eagle vs stork sequence is fantastic! So sad to read about the cheetah searching for his brother. I know it's nature, we are not supposed to give other animals human feelings but that poor cheetah:-( Lion cubs adorable.

I hope they find out what is making the cheetah ill and can treat them if it is needed and possible.

I will also add my compliments regarding the photography. Great stuff!

[Atravelynn]

The cubs cleaned up well, but that spot staked out on the tree limb was a very uncomfortable choice.

 

Nice going with the snakes.

[pault]

@@Atravelynn. The leopard cub was about 3 months I think. The itinerary was boring, without anywhere new or the chance for that feeling when you are apprehensive and having serious doubts about whether this was a good idea. And theoretically we would only see the same things again. But of course it didn't turn out like that.

 

Edit: And this is now a big problem for me as my wife is convinced this is the way to do safari (she got lots of support from managers, guides, staff and other guests at Serian and Kicheche too unsurprisingly). if you were to read my trip reports from 2005 onwards as a series you'd see this as a recurring theme - a sort of non-linear evolution - and perhaos a battle between adventure and a so-called quality experience. I wouldn't recommend you actually read them like that though - you would almost certainly never want to read a word I wrote ever again.

Edited October 25, 2015 by pault

[pault]

That Tawny Marabou confrontation alone is worth the price of admission (in my books). Your words brought it to life, and your picture added to it. Good thing your reflexes (& your wits) were in shape :-)

 

We also had James help Elena look for two male cheetahs (did not succeed but tried valiantly, and for quite a while). One of them had been rather ill (apparently he was all swollen), and had been dosed but they wanted to try and give him a second dose. I cannot recall how it turned out but I fear it did not turn out well. There is some disease out there in the Mara which is killing cheetah, and they are not yet sure what it is. (They have ruled out poison and tainted meat as cheetah do not scavenge.) As if wildlife (& cheetah in particular) do not have enough problems/pressures.

That was the Oloololo Boys and the sick cheetah must have died that day or the next. The other cheetah had started swelling by that time too, but probably less noticably - you can see from my photos that it is only really apparent from certain angles - unless you are a cheetah expert I guess.

[KaingU Lodge]

I am really impressed by the quality of your pictures

 

Me too . A cracking report and superb images Paul.

[twaffle]

if you were to read my trip reports from 2005 onwards as a series you'd see this as a recurring theme - a sort of non-linear evolution - and perhaos a battle between adventure and a so-called quality experience. I wouldn't recommend you actually read them like that though - you would almost certainly never want to read a word I wrote ever again.

Not a chance, much too good to miss.

[Atravelynn]

@@Atravelynn. The leopard cub was about 3 months I think. The itinerary was boring, without anywhere new or the chance for that feeling when you are apprehensive and having serious doubts about whether this was a good idea. And theoretically we would only see the same things again. But of course it didn't turn out like that.

 

Edit: And this is now a big problem for me as my wife is convinced this is the way to do safari (she got lots of support from managers, guides, staff and other guests at Serian and Kicheche too unsurprisingly). if you were to read my trip reports from 2005 onwards as a series you'd see this as a recurring theme - a sort of non-linear evolution - and perhaos a battle between adventure and a so-called quality experience. I wouldn't recommend you actually read them like that though - you would almost certainly never want to read a word I wrote ever again.

The Pault Anthology!

[pault]

The third day followed the same routine - so dull. We did go into the reserve in the morning but mainly to find cheetahs and leopards, and since Nolari/Nora and her two young cubs were pretty close to Olare Motorogi and it never seemed to take Nelson long to find leopards (did he read my 2011 report in which I complained, tongue-in-cheek, about how much time was wasted on safari looking for damn leopards?) we were back at camp for lunch. This was our preference as we had two days in the reserve to follow and weren't concerned about seeing crossings (unless someone could guarantee topis and tommies).

 

 

We started off the day with some attempts to make use of valleys and sunrises. This is what we were trying to do first day, but a herd is a very difficult subject, as it's almost certain someone won't have their head up or will have their legs well below the horizon. No real time to look for lions though, as we wanted to try to find cheetahs in good light.

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of the day (afternoon too) can be told mostly in pictures, with few words. This isn't an attempt to shirk the writing, and I am not going to say it was boring for us (may be for you though - Yawn! Cheetah cubs again?). I'll even do two parts with no pictures at all - just to prove I am not shirking.

 

 

We found Nora (as Nelson called her) well before 7. We left her at 8.15 and felt like we didn't need to ever see any big cats ever again.... a feeling which lasted until breakfast.

I wondered how many cute cheetah cub pictures the average Safaritalk reader could take, and decided that a half dozen would be a safe number, since they are doing different things.

Checking all is clear.

 

Joining in

 

 

 

 

 

A short rest before resuming

 

Incoming

 

 

 

On the way to breakfast we stopped off to see if the leopard that had two older cubs was with her cubs. We didn't have to search this time as two vehicles were stopped opposite an island of trees. And there she was, but fairly well hidden and without her cubs. We waited until our stomachs started making noises, and as she hadn't moved, drove 100 meters away and set up breakfast.

 

 

As word had got out about the leopard sighting available, a few vehicles came by and must have wondered what we were doing having breakfast where a leopard was supposed to be. Not too many vehicles though - maximum of 5 at one time I think. Even stranger for viewers of breakfast eating humans, my wife was showing off her new Fuji camera to Nelson, who was a lot more excited about it than about my gear. Medium format it's not, but the Fuji Instax was a hit, especially since my wife had loaded it with Hello Kitty film!

 

 

But he time we finished breakfast all the vehicles had left, and newcomers were driving around looking for her but not having any luck. Nelson decided that we should have a look in another area and off we went. We found cattle - At nearly 10 in the reserve. Leopard viewing over.

 

 

Well, it should have been over, but Nelson used the cattle as another sign of ht bush. Where cattle were or might be, leopards would not be, so it actually seemed to make things easier for him and 5 minutes later we saw her at the bottom of a gorge, lying in a tiny bit of shade on the bank of a stream (plenty of water here thanks to the flow of the Talek; hence both leopard and cattle). No sign of the cubs, and no sign of activity, so after 15 minutes we headed back towards Olare Motorogi.

 

 

Two more sightings from the morning....

 

 

The first was a case of Nelson stopping for a Lilac-breasted Roller - something I had shown no interest in so far. I turned up my nose, but Nelson subtly suggested I had another look and sure enough the bird had some kind of beetle and was alternately smashing it against the ground and throwing it high into the air; no doubt to try to break the hard shell. Even the roller sightings were good. The gods were smiling. The beetle wasn't.

 

 

And mongooses... always a favorite, although this group were wary of us.

 

[madaboutcheetah]

Super segment @@pault

[pault]

In the afternoon, Nelson twisted our arm until we agreed to go back to look for the leopard cub. We didn't find the leopard cub, but there was a good reason for that.

 

When we arrived at the point where we had last seen the leopard (okay, they call her Fig) there were impalas, zebras and wildebeest grazing near the lugga. Impalas were browsing actually in the lugga. Probably a sign that there is no leopard here said Nelson. Either that or a sign that some impalas are really stupid, I suggested. We crossed the lugga for a look just in case I was right, and as we crossed there were Impala alarm calls and we saw a hyena running towards us, quite far away. It wasn't running as fast a Nelson drove though. Who would have thought I would have been right. Stupid impalas indeed.

 

We found the leopard well before the hyena did,as it was just finishing off the strangulation. Not much of a view though!

 

 

Hyena looking for the leopard.

 

 

 

 

With three hyenas now closing in, she had very little time to get the (full grown female) impala into a tree. We actually might have bought her a bit of time by moving around to try (in vain) to get a clear view of her, which seemed to put the hyenas off a bit - although there is no way you could say they would have found her quicker without us.

 

In any case, they were hot on her heels and she was dragging an animal bigger than she was. We zoomed around the other side of the lugga to see the outcome, sure that we would find three hyenas fighting over the Impala below a treed leopard.

 

But the leopard had actually managed to get the impala up into a tree; just not very securely. In fact the only thing holding the impala in the tree was the leopard's jaws. The hyenas arrived shortly after us, delayed by a search for scraps at the location of the kill, no doubt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It looked like a very bad situation for the leopard. The tree was not very mature and there were few branches on which it could manouver to get the impala into a secure place.

 

But she wouldn't just give it up and after about 15 minutes to everyone's surprise (we had been joined by 3 or 4 other vehicles in the meantime, as Nelson had radioed James, the other Kicheche guide out, as soon as we saw the kill, and another vehicle had come that way looking for the leopard, seen us and then saw what we we saw) she managed to get it over a branch and seemingly a bit more secure. At least she could unclench her jaws a little.

 

Not easy to see here , but somehow the impala ihas something under its belly now.

 

 

 

But it wasn't secure yet, and in trying to get the carcass to a better place, it again fell through the branches and was rescued only by the jaws of Fig. This time though, the position she was in was even worse, and her hold was really tenuous. Moreover, the branches would be an obstacle to her dragging the carcass back up into the tree - and in any case she didn't seem to have anywhere to back up to within that tree that would allow her to use anything other than her neck and jaws to pull. Basically, the situation was hopeless. Only one hyena remained below, but she was about to be a very full hyena for sure,

 

Still, the end game went on forever. She couldn't move but she wouldn't let go of the mature Impala hanging from her jaws.

 

 

 

We'd had a brief and welcome interruption when a Pygmy Kingfisher decided to hunt below the tree; and another when Ping from Mara Plains Hi there!

 

 

 

Eventually, after over an hour altogether, and over 30 minutes uninterrupted holding of impala in jaws, Fig let the Impala go. A mighty and very impressive effort, but for nothing it seemed.

 

 

The hyena dragged away the impala and, within sight of poor Fig, feasted. Very, very efficient eater this hyena. Skin open in 20 seconds. Stomach removed in another minute and the impala half goine within 15 minutes.

 

 

Good impala this. You should try some Ms. Leopard. What's your name? Fig?

 

 

 

Shall I leave her some?

 

 

 

The hyena couldn't finsih the impala, but rather than leaving it for the leopard, carried off the remnants with her. Fig descended from the tree.

 

 

She found a couple of scraps that the hyena had left, but to my surprise actually appeared to head off after the hyena. Maybe she knew something about hyena habits that I didn't.

 

 

She disappeared from view and then we all went our separate ways, although Ping and Nelson were only looking for Fig on different sides of the lugga (in case there was more to come, or Fig got her cub to take her to safety). But no sign of leopard or hyena and so we decided to go for a dundowner together. Very nice way to end the day,

 

We talked and laughed a lot! So much so that afterwards Nelson asked if we had really never met them before. We assured him this was the case, although we kind of knew each other through this forum. Safaritalk.

 

We'd have to leave next day, which was a real shame. We felt we were just getting started, and it was clear that Olare Motorogi was where the action was at that time.

 

 

 

 

Okay, just one more.....

 

Now, I am weally, weally mad......

 

[Game Warden]

@@pault Did you see my pangolin PM?

 

Matt

[armchair bushman]

Still really enjoying this. Obviously the whole leopard-impala-hyena interaction is all very exciting, but I'm most struck by the Tawny Eagle and the Marabou Stork having it out. I would have absolutely LOVED to have watched that! Great photo sequence (as are all the rest, of course).

 

Keep it up.

[pault]

 

 

The final morning in Olare Motorogi started 10 minutes later than usual as we had to finish packing and get our bags to the vehicle. We also had to say goodbye to some people; particularly Aki, who had been very good. Hugs for her. We were taking breakfast with us and just doing a normal game drive, but after breakfast drifting down towards the Ol Kiombo airstrip, where we had a rendezvous with our Serian guide.

 

First up was some more variations with lions against the rising sun – although we were a little bit late this day because of our delayed start.

 

 

 

 

And we decided to stay with the lions for a while this morning, to see what they were doing. Unfortunately, the answer seemed to be that they were looking for a place to nap for the day. So we left them to their busy lives and moved on to see what we might find next.

 

 

 

On the way to there, Nelson heard some alarm calls and so we went to investigate what it was. He was already pretty certain it was a leopard, but it wasn’t easy to find him as he was another leopard who loved the shade of a lugga. However, within 10 minutes Nelson had him.

 

Just a glimpse, through long grass and bushes, in variable light.

 

 

 

 

Fortunately he wasn’t going to be as indolent as the leopard of the previous morning, and he decided to get up and go for a walk. At first he only walked in the lugga, making it extremely difficult to follow him. We thought he was going to be a shy one, but actually that was just a false first impression, as he decided to have a walk in the sunlight. This was on the other side of the lugga and so we had to take a detour to get across to follow him further. After losing him for a minute or two due to the long grass, we relocated him and waited for him to come to us, which he did – not because he was interested in us, but because we had positioned ourselves roughly between him and where he wanted to go, which was a nice stand of bushes with fairly quick access to lugga, tree and who knows what else that leopards want.

 

Up close he was a beauty. Seemed to be quite young , but already a very big, strong boy.

 

 

 

 

 

And from light to shade,.......

 

 

We stayed with him a while, even though he wasn’t very active. However, we did actually see the Oloololo boy from where we were – or rather Nelson did and pointed him out. We were going to call the Mara Cheetah Project but very shortly after one of their vehicles appeared, already locked on.

 

At one point, when we first got the leopard out in the open, Nelson had taken my other camera and lens to get me a greater selection of shots, and fired of 50 or so frames. However, towards the end I suddenly thought “How would he know I have it set for back focus?” Its set at f/7.1 so it won’t be immediately obviously in the viewfinder and there is no sound from the SSM motor. Duh!! So stupid of me. I just got so used to back button focus now that I forget completely others don’t even know what it is. Result, a red-face me apologizing to a red-faced Nelson apologizing to me and 49 out of focus shots.

Still one was in surpsingly reasonable focus. What bad luck he was walking through the shade at that moment. Still, now Nelson knows what back button focus and maybe I won’t forget to tell people in the future, so win-win.... I guess.

 

 

 

Eventually we moved on, and lions came by, including one with a nasty looking eye injury.

 

 

 

 

We followed the wildebeest for a while and then headed high for breakfast, while they headed in the direction of the Olare Orok and Talek rivers. There had been almost no crossings for well over a week now, but it was looking like many of the wildebeest who had travelled into Olare Motorogi over the past week were now heading south.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And after breakfast we joined them migrating south to the river, as we were to spend the next two nights on the banks of the Mara at Serian Nkorombo.

 

 

 

 

 

But hey, wait a minute, we hadn’t had our “first time we’ve seen that” sighting of the day yet with Nelson. No problem. About 5 minutes out from the airstrip…..

 

 

 

They were sub-adults, and having a hard time getting to the meat. However, they were very ingenious about trying different angles and styles and I am sure they would have succeeded before long. However, we couldn’t wait as we had to get to the airstrip (to transfer by vehicle).

Edited October 26, 2015 by pault

[armchair bushman]

That last shot of the young lion with the Monitor Lizard in its mouth....

[Zim Girl]

Loved the cheetah cub pictures - I am sure we could have managed a few more!!

 

Love the lion holding the monitor lizard

[TonyQ]

It is very difficult to have too many pictures of cheetah cubs - especially when they are so good. Beautiful pictures of the leopards - and the landscapewith wildebeest

[pault]

Well I wasn't going to mention the sneaking into OMC in disguise thing, but now that you did.........

 

No I won' do it,

 

Thanks for popping in to say hi... and yes, it'll be really strange to see your photos from the same sighting when I think about it, Told you you didn't miss much photographically before you arrived, or with the hyena. I wasn't just being polite.

 

Don''t miss the crossing Other than that, I reckon you saw everything else and it won't be rude if you are ocmpletely bored..

[bettel]

Wow! So many great sightings: leopard, aardwolf, cheetah cubs, lions with a monitor lizard. I am looking forward for more. BTW there is no such thing as too many cheetah (or leopard, or lion) cubs photos lol

[CaroleE]

@@pault

 

And more great sightings. Impala/leopard/hyena sequence great stuff. Shows the strength if she was able to hold onto the impala by her jaws for so long.

I am with everyone else here: you can never have any too many cheetah cub photos. ''Incoming'' is fantastic!

Lion + monitor lizard has to rank high in the list of sightings!

 

Great first few days in the Mara. Very curious what you will find during your time at Serian.

 

After @@bettel's great trip report and now this I am beginning to think a return to the Mara is needed next year!

[Marks]

I think six (seven now) is rather a low threshold for cute cheetah cub photos! But they are good ones indeed.

Beautiful leopard shots, too, whether in light or shade.

Also like that first wildebeest photo. It really gives a sense of the distance they've traveled and may have to travel yet.

[pault]

Yes, definitely. Actually a mini "Mara Plains Strikes Back" or "Ping's Retort" report wouldn't be wholly unwelcome you know?

 

Thanks @@Marks and @CaroleE and @@bettel and @@Zim Girl and @@TonyQ and @@armchair bushman

[ZaminOz]

Wow @@pault that's two trip reports in one day that I have read featuring a marabou stalk getting into a fight with another bird species! @@TintinMumbai also posted a sequence in his Luangwa trip report of a marabou taking on a saddle billed stalk!

Both remind me of some photos I saw recently on the Bushcamp Company Facebook page (taken by a guest of theirs) of a male puku and a male waterbuck having a serious set too - with clashing horns and dust flying - near their Chindeni bush camp!