The life of famous cheetahs (Porini Mara and Porini Lion camps)

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@bettel

 

“At least scrolling function is available to everybody”.

That's very humorous! I laughed out loud when I read it. Certainly true.

Lion cubs are such a joy, as your delightful images show,

Their moods and playfulness shines through in photo after photo.

Those images of Imani's family drinking are lovely. I've never observed a cheetah drinking.

What a herd of zebras drinking together! Were they drinking from a stream? From a small waterhole?

The water appears to be fairly clear, without the muddy sediment which often clouds water bodies.

Your September, 2016 visit will be an interesting contrast.

I admire your passion for cheetahs and for wildlife. Like @@amybatt and @@Lala, you've given me ample cause to think and reconsider many of my poorly-informed views.

One surprise was reading that both you and @@amybatt followed the lead of @@SafariChick and @@Kitsafari in purchasing Lipault bags.

There's a trend for Safaritalk ladies visiting Kenya to go Lipault!

To plan and carry out a focussed safari such as yours in Porini Mara and Porini Lion requires both foresight and tenacity.

The consistent quality of your sightings, the superb photography, and the upbeat spirit of your commentary reflect the wisdom of your safari style.

Like @@offshorebirder, you did your homework before flying to Kenya, hence were able to enjoy an exceptionally productive time during your game drives.

As you directly succeeded me at Porini Lion, I had high hopes that your experience would be as fulfilling as mine.

From reading through your engrossing trip report, it was all of that and more!

Thank you for taking the time to carefully prepare and upload such wonderful images and commentary.

With Appreciation,

Tom K.

[bettel]

@@bettel, I'm still here and want to see more!!!!! Nothing I love more than lion cubs! So happy for you!

I am in the same club but to be honest I have never seen leopard or cheetah cubs that young I might change my preferences

 

 

@@bettel A lovely sighting of the lions and beautiful photos - thank-you. I was disturbed your account of the behaviour of the guides to the cheetahs trying to hunt - I have seen similar but to a lesser degree in the Sabi Sands and it irritated me greatly.

Thank you! Yes, human behavior in the reserve was disturbing sometimes, thanks God, we could always escape back to the conservancy.

 

 

 

I can totally feel your problem: "Which one to post and which one to skip??". Just post as many as you can! We love them all!

It is one of the main challenges of post-production: how not to post 500 pictures

 

 

Beautiful photos of the lion cubs - wide eyed and innocent..

Thank you! I could watch cubs 24/7

 

 

@@Tom Kellie, thank you VERY much for your post. I think the only homework I did is I accepted my travel agent suggestion to try Porini camps as she guaranteed that I would be happy with their guides. Everything else it was Meshack's effort. I was impressed that as soon as he realized that I was interested in cheetahs he was monitoring all cheetah updates and he knew where nearest cheetahs were everyday (Nolari, Imani, Malaika, Musiara and even Miyale)

 

 

Day 10 (continuation)

 

After lion cubs we went to cheetahs. Musiara was right near Talek river so we also could see 15 cars near Nolari on the other side.

 

Musiara did one very good hunting attempt, very close one, but still unsuccessful and started to think about crossing. She was pretty nervous about going into the river. She was constantly monitoring everything around. She even did not like one crossing point so she moved to another:

 

 

 

When she decided to go she showed a master class to her cubs:

 

 

Well, cubs did not listen that well, all of them got wet, some up to belly, some up to ears

 

 

 

Then cheetahs climbed the bank and we were left behind. What to do? What to do?

 

 

Meshack warned me that there would be lots of minibuses on that side, but at the end we decided to try as there were three cheetahs in the area (Musiara, Nolari, Malaika) so there were some chances that people would go to different places.

 

When I saw the crossing that Meshack chose I lost my speech. No way we would be able to do it. It was straight down like 45-50 degrees then you had to drive through rocks along the river 10 meters, cross the river and go up again 45-50 degrees. And it was sandy and there were no prints of tires at all, virgin. But I know that when you drive and somebody gives you advices you want to through the person out of the car …and there were crocs in Talek river . I just prepared myself that next couple hours we would spend counting crocs and hippos . You can imagine my surprise when we actually made it to another side.

 

 

We found Musiara quickly:

 

 

It was very fascinating to watch her. At some point she came across a big mixed herd (tommies, impalas, topis). She sat there and she was thinking, thinking, thinking … and then she stood up and left. We could see that there was not too much game around other than this herd so we were surprised. But she knew what she was doing. She walked for some time and got to another plain and there was a jackpot there: a single male Thompson gazelle in the middle of high grass field. It took her only a few minutes to get it and almost no chase:

 

 

 

 

Cubs were eating while she was resting:

 

 

 

 

 

We spent some time with her and then we decided to try to find Imani again. We stopped for a split second near Nolari as I had seen her in September and it was cool to see how her cub had grown:

 

 

After two hours of search we realized that Imani decided not to cooperate so we switched to lions but we saw a superb starling:

 

 

And male kori bustard that was showing himself:

 

 

 

We also saw some very young wildebeests (a few hours old) so it made me to scan all herds around in case if there was a chance to see calving but wildebeests were just grazing and enjoying their life :

 

 

To be continued

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@bettel

 

If I didn't personally know Meshack, I'd suppose that your safari had the services of a wizard, so fine were your sightings.

Having spent a full week with Meshack immediately prior to your arrival, I recognize and admire his outstanding skills.

This most recent installment is yet another wonder!

Your cheetah sightings are remarkable, given the variety of settings and different types of behavior depicted.

We're fortunate that your photography skills are such that we might share in your adventure.

Through having read your trip report and carefully looked over the images, I've expanded my limited understanding of cheetah behavior.

This trip report is a service to all who love the greater Masai Mara area, its wildlife and its glorious cheetahs.

With Appreciation,

Tom K.

[madaboutcheetah]

@@bettel - loved that last segment. From memory, Musiara is also called "Rani" correct?

[bettel]

Through having read your trip report and carefully looked over the images, I've expanded my limited understanding of cheetah behavior.

This trip report is a service to all who love the greater Masai Mara area, its wildlife and its glorious cheetahs.

@@Tom Kellie, you are too kind , but I appreciate every your post!

 

It is funny, after spending that much time with cheetahs I can't stop and now I am reading everything I can about them. It is addictive

 

 

@@bettel - loved that last segment. From memory, Musiara is also called "Rani" correct?

Thank you! Yes, you are right. She has two names same as Nora/Nolari.

[bettel]

Day 10 (still continuation )

 

We were on a mission to find lion cubs (Iseketah pride this time) when we got a message that Ololpapit and Olbarnoti (Iseketah males) were found. We joined the sighting for only couple minutes (as both boys were sleeping deep in the bush) and continued with the goal. It did not take long as maybe 50 meters away the rest of the pride was. Well, they were sleeping in high (HIGH!) grass. I was desperately trying to focus on lions but that was mission impossible

 

 

Cubs were busy fighting for milk:

 

 

 

Well, not all of them:

 

 

Some were trying to convert a lion into a bobtail

 

 

 

 

Adult lionesses were having “I love you – I hate you” game. At least one of them was very grumpy, but nobody paid attention and everybody was still rubbing themselves against her:

 

 

Well, I would not have my open neck near that grumpy lion…(lol I would not have any part of my body near any lion )

 

 

 

But lions probably knew their pridemate very well. A cub arrived and also did not pay attention to her face expression:

 

 

Everybody just settled:

 

 

Well it was still not a full set, now it is better:

 

 

Some grass photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

And back to the mission of shortening a tail, now with a buddy’s help. I hold you pull!

 

 

 

to be continued

[xelas]

@@bettel

 

I love you grass photos !

[Alexander33]

Cutest lion cubs ever!

[bettel]

I love you grass photos !

You are way too generous and/or polite

 

Cutest lion cubs ever!

They are! at least I could not resist .

 

@@madaboutcheetah, not to spam another topic: no, I did not see Malaika on this trip. She was on another side of Talek river which we preferred to avoid. But it was funny to see that as soon as Musiara crossed there, Malaika crossed to our side (but we did not see her). As if they had shifts.

[bettel]

Day 10 (that was a long day )

 

Before I move to the main story of the evening I will torture you little bit more with cubs

 

 

A little hunter was practicing his skills:

 

 

Proud of himself:

 

 

Perfect picture of the grass with lion cubs as a background

 

 

Some were wrestling:

 

 

 

 

 

 

*disclaimer: photos below were done after the sunset and are not good, but they are here to illustrate the story *

 

Soon all other tourists left for sundowners but we stayed with cubs. As if lions were waiting for everybody to leave, they started to yawn, to stretch and to get up. And then they all moved towards a stream (narrow river?) nearby. The stream bank was uneven: one spot had a good access to water but it was the widest part of the stream, another spot was very narrow and easy to be crossed but it was necessary to jump 1-1.5 meters down from a bank. Adult lions were not too happy with the cross, like this lioness that was hissing at water

 

 

but they jumped it easily:

 

 

Some lions (especially cubs) were jumping down from a bank, drinking and then just stepping over the narrow part:

 

 

Well, young cubs were totally stuck. Actually couple bravest of the them jumped from the bank and crossed but the rest were running between two crossing points and crying loudly. The rest of the pride was not paying any attention, I was biting my nails:

 

 

 

Cubs were crying, lions were resting, I was chewing my fingers … and then a huge stressed hippo came. “Stressed” is not my assumption; this hippo had just fought with another hippo for the small pool upstream. He seemed to be lost and was browsing around back and forth being very unsettled:

 

 

Cubs got silent and gathered together, watching the hippo, the rest of the pride was ignoring the scene (I started to bite my palms ):

 

 

I was not sure what would happen if the hippo noticed cubs. Would he be mad? Would he try to attack? I mean cubs were so tiny! The hippo was browsing and cubs preferred to disperse so it was impossible to see them in the grass, but remembering the story of a cheetah that lost her litter because an elephant stepped on them, I was praying for nothing bad to happen. The fact that Meshack and John were also watching everything VERY attentively did not allow me to fully relax too:

 

 

 

The rest of the pride got interested only one time when hippo almost walked into them:

 

 

 

But they did not remember about cubs. After the hippo left, lions calmed down and lied again. Well, one of lionesses started to call. But cubs did not answer as a hippo was still browsing very close to them. Soon one of cubs gathered his braveness, went to the jumping spot (the widest part of the stream) and jumped, he got fully under the water, but them climbed out and joined the pride. But that time I was already biting my elbows (although they say it is impossible ). Suddenly all cubs decided to run away and they ran in the direction totally opposite to the pride. It was getting dark. Normally, we would have already been back to camp, but I could not leave the scene without knowing what would happen next. The lioness was calling actively, the hippo was still browsing the same spot, cubs were somewhere. There was no change in disposition for another 10 minutes, and then unexpectedly little bit older cub (5-6 month old) appeared from another side. It looked as if s/he came to check where his siblings were. One after one he gathered all smaller cubs near himself and they all got under the bush hiding from a hippo.

 

After another 10 minutes the lioness that was calling, got up and finally decided to check where cubs were, so she crossed back (the hippo left immediately) and that was a happy ending . We were able to go back to camp.

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@bettel

 

What a scene!

Thank you for sharing it here.

Tom K.

[Alexander33]

Hippo vs. lion cubs. Now there's a duo I've never really thought about. I'll unashamedly expose my ignorance by confessing I have no idea what the dynamic there would be. I guess with tiny cubs, there's always a vulnerability...

[Safaridude]

@@bettel

 

You had exceptional sightings. Even the Mara isn't like that all the time. Lucky you. How did you not run out of flash cards?

 

The cheetahs in the trees… outstanding.

[TonyQ]

I hope your nails have recovered

An amzing sequence.

[bettel]

What a scene! Thank you for sharing it here.

Thank you for reading , it was a very memorable experience.

 

Same as @Alexander33 I would not even think about anything like this but nature can definitely surprise us. And I am not sure if a hippo can actually harm cubs or not. But when I see on an open space (with diameter 15-20 meters) a few lion cubs and a hippo browsing at the same time and hippo being stressed and running around I am thinking that at minimum he could step unintentionally on a cub because he is fast. But I am not sure if it is the case and if he can also do something intentionally (like buffaloes).

 

 

You had exceptional sightings. Even the Mara isn't like that all the time. Lucky you. How did you not run out of flash cards?

Thank you, I know that this safari was not quite a usual one, we had no lack of memorable moments. I had to make a conscious effort to clean cards on a daily basis making sure that I am deleting obvious no-goers otherwise I would have come back with 10,000 of photos .

 

 

 

I hope your nails have recovered

An amzing sequence.

They did so I am now all ready for the next trip and it is still a long wait

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@bettel

 

What's so pleasing about your trip report is the way you share a series of images, thereby presenting the playing out of an event.

Animal behavior being what it is, may be captured in a single telling image. In other cases a well-chosen series brings out the thrust and parry of animal interaction with each other and with the environment.

As we two both had long stays at the same camp with the same guide in the same month I'm naturally drawn to your trip report.

What I've been learning from each of your vignettes of animal life is the value of sustained observation.

Your camera settings are excellent, highlighting the subjects in challenging lighting.

As with @@amybatt, your passion for wildlife in Kenya comes through in each installment you post. Very inspiring!

As I sit here at my computer desk, I find myself wishing that you and @@amybatt may return to Africa for your next safaris as soon as possible!

Thank you so much for the patient work of selecting images and preparing commentary. It's truly a joy to read.

Tom K.

[mapumbo]

I enjoy the telling of your stories with the building tension and the funny lines added in.

Of course, I especially am enjoying your great sightings and photos.

[amybatt]

@@bettel, when are you going back? I'm still fighting the urge to book....

[Tom Kellie]

@@bettel, when are you going back? I'm still fighting the urge to book....

 

~ @@amybatt

 

Post #122 in http://safaritalk.net/topic/15852-the-life-of-famous-cheetahs-porini-mara-and-porini-lion-camps/page-7

I admire @@bettel for having booked both February and September 2016 at Porini Lion.

Seeing the same area in widely different seasons is great fun!

Tom K.

Edited March 12, 2016 by Tom Kellie

[bettel]

As I sit here at my computer desk, I find myself wishing that you and @@amybatt may return to Africa for your next safaris as soon as possible!

 

Thank you so much for the patient work of selecting images and preparing commentary. It's truly a joy to read.

Thank you very much, Tom, for reading, for commenting, for finding so kind words. It amazes me how you find very individual and very personal encouraging messages for all of us!!! I read them all with the great pleasure.

 

 

I enjoy the telling of your stories with the building tension and the funny lines added in.

Of course, I especially am enjoying your great sightings and photos.

Thank you for such a nice comment!

 

@@bettel, when are you going back? I'm still fighting the urge to book....

I am back for 8 nights in Porini Lion from September 7th to September 15th. It is sad that I will not have Meshack again (he was booked by a photo group earlier). But my travel agent (Julie) and Jake calmed me (I was literally panicking when I found it out as I hate changing guides) promising that another guide would be as good as Meshack . I am keeping my fingers crossed.

[Terry]

Wow! Absolutely fantastic photos - of cheetahs, lions, zebras. of everything! Love them all.

[xelas]

@@bettel

 

Those photos specially the last ones came out almost perfect having in mind you have had only your nose left to push the release button !

What a sighting, what a suspense, great job, thank you!

[amybatt]

@@bettel, wonderful! You'll be fine with anyone from Porini Lion. Jackson (Ole Ronko Jack) is still the guide to beat in my book. Another friend of mine swears by Big John there. Can't wait for your next report!

[Marks]

Awesome Fig photos on page 6 - who knew that a cheetah thread would produce such fine leopard images?

Of course, the cheetahs do not disappoint. Love them jumping around in the water in particular.

[bettel]

Wow! Absolutely fantastic photos - of cheetahs, lions, zebras. of everything! Love them all.

Thank you very much for reading

 

 

@@bettel, wonderful! You'll be fine with anyone from Porini Lion. Jackson (Ole Ronko Jack) is still the guide to beat in my book. Another friend of mine swears by Big John there. Can't wait for your next report!

Thank you for reassuring me ! I can't wait for the trip. I am already counting days.

 

Lol, Asilia has such great specials for the next couple months (including the first half of June) that I am now thinking how and where to cut my budget to fit another trip .

 

 

Those photos specially the last ones came out almost perfect having in mind you have had only your nose left to push the release button !

That is such a great excuse. I will now use it

 

 

Awesome Fig photos on page 6 - who knew that a cheetah thread would produce such fine leopard images?

Of course, the cheetahs do not disappoint. Love them jumping around in the water in particular.

Thank you! I am glad I did not make you sick with all these cheetah photos

 

 

Day11.

 

That was the last day, the flight was scheduled for 4 p.m. (I love this late departure options!). I don't know how it works, but no matter how many great sightings I had and no matter how many hours I spent outside everyday, it is still not enough

 

We tried to find Imani, but we gave up after two hours of search. We decided to go to Malaika or to Nolari (they were in the same area). We came across some foxes on our way:

 

 

 

 

Angry bird, I meant, angry fox

 

 

Some elephants:

 

 

Nolari was found quickly and she was in the mood to hunt, but very soon way too many people joined the sighting and they started to surround her. We parked far away and told Cheetah for ever about Nolari. They arrived quickly and everybody at least went back to the road. These are NOT all cars, 50% maybe:

 

 

There were a few topis in the herd so Nolari had to be very very patient, she was crawling/waiting for almost two hours. And she was paid for her patience: topi left. But the hunt was not successful:

 

 

Closer to lunch time she started to hunt again, but there was a topi again and she had to gave up:

 

 

 

Here is her only cub survived:

 

 

Soon we had to go to the airstrip. See you soon, Mara! I am already missing you!

 

 

The end