Q: Who Gnu that Kenya is so delightful?

[AmyT]

More cute baby ellie photos, because I just can't get enough.

[Tulips]

Are the 3 Ellie's in post 21 yours?

[AmyT]

1 hour ago, Tulips said:

Are the 3 Ellie's in post 21 yours?

 

If I can figure out which ones they are, they will be!  They were just tiny and cute.  Money well spent.

[Tulips]

33 minutes ago, AmyT said:

 

If I can figure out which ones they are, they will be!  They were just tiny and cute.  Money well spent.

Agree!

[Marks]

Really nice photos and videos. The parade is too cute! Very good of you to be a sponsor.

[AmyT]

On Wednesday we headed to the Amboseli National Park airstrip, after which we enjoyed a game drive through Amboseli National Park.  Mt. Kilimanjaro was gracious enough to be mostly cloud-free for a little while.

 

 

 

 

 

Elephants are the stars in Amboseli, but we found other animals interesting as well...

 

 

 

Edited June 30, 2017 by AmyT

[wilddog]

Enjoying this so far @AmyT I found the first time I saw elephants in the wild to be an amazing experience.  I still love sitting and watching them. Nice shot of the dust bath and the view of Kili. 

Edited June 30, 2017 by wilddog

[AmyT]

Thanks, @wilddog.  My images are starting out soft but I hope that they improve over time!!  My daughter insisted that I didn't need the laptop but if I hadn't had it, I wouldn't have made adjustments.

 

 

[AmyT]

 

Is she still fussing with that camera?

 

 

 

 

Edited June 30, 2017 by AmyT

[AmyT]

20 hours ago, Tulips said:

Are the 3 Ellie's in post 21 yours?

 

I think one of them is Musiara, just 6 months old. http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/orphan_profile.asp?N=372

[Tulips]

@AmyT these stories are just so sad.  I had a hard time picking one to foster.  I had to get a friend to pick one.

[Tulips]

Your photos are lovely, particularly the first two elephant ones in post 31

[AmyT]

We met the most interesting man in the world at Porini Amboseli camp (no, he was not drinking Dos Equis) while on safari. I am trying to get my Instagram account switched to the correct email account to be able to reconnect. In the meantime, he told me to look up a photo he took while underneath an elephant named OneTon (just a day or two prior to meeting him.) P.S. I'm not a stalker.

 

Photo courtesy of @pwesa on Instagram, aka the most interesting man in the world on safari.

Edited June 30, 2017 by AmyT

[dlo]

Welcome back! looks like you've had a great first safari and you were so lucky to get that Kili shot! I never even got so much as a glimpse.

[Game Warden]

1 hour ago, AmyT said:

aka the most interesting man in the world on safari.

 

on safari...talk soon? I hope you invited him here @AmyT...

 

Matt

[AmyT]

3 hours ago, Game Warden said:

 

on safari...talk soon? I hope you invited him here @AmyT...

 

Matt

 

I did!  He was born in Kenya and returns there often. 

[AmyT]

8 hours ago, dlo said:

Welcome back! looks like you've had a great first safari and you were so lucky to get that Kili shot! I never even got so much as a glimpse.

 

Thank you! When I saw Kili, I knew that time was a'wasting and I needed to grab it pronto. The first photo is from the air strip!!  We were lucky to have good weather.

[AmyT]

One of the first remarkable animals that we saw at Porini Amboseli camp was a chameleon.  How Willson managed to see it in the dark was beyond me. (eye shine, obviously, but it was deep in a bush!) Compare it to one from Porini Lion camp during the day.  I'm clearly not winning any awards with my iPhone, but I found it interesting to see the difference.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 1, 2017 by AmyT

[AmyT]

For the "mane" event Wednesday night (here, Katy would be gesturing crazily, being punny again) we came across a giraffe kill from a couple of days prior. No cats were around, so we moved to an open location for sundowners, then returned after it got dark. There were three or four adult lions and two cubs, all snacking on the giraffe.  I was struggling in the very low light and only got blurry images. The next morning, however, I was able to capture a few. The flies were quite thick on the carcass so I'll spare you most of the images.

 

That night, however, I was able to manage some shots using the red spotlight. Again, not great, but I'm learning as I go.  

 

The following night, we searched for Martin, the pride male, in vain.  I was quite sure that he would find me in the darkness, pluck me out of the land cruiser, and have me for supper.  Of course I would quickly become accustomed to seeing lions  day and night without fearing for my life. 

Edited July 1, 2017 by AmyT

[penolva]

On 6/29/2017 at 0:58 AM, AmyT said:

More ellie video, from the "parade".

 

 

 

 

We were particularly smitten by a new arrival, just 4 days before. He was in his stockade but was willing to make friends when we stopped by.

 

 

[penolva]

@AmyT I saw my Murit and heard them call out his name. My other three are at Ithumba and Umani Springs. Its fantastic watching your videos as I will get to see all four in 6 weeks time. Was the video where the guy kept leaning into your view from the adopters evening visit? Unfortunately as there is just two of us we can't afford the private visit unless we meet up with some others while we are there. Pen

[AmyT]

@penolva Yes, the ellie parade videos were from the 5 p.m. visit. There is plenty of time later to interact with the babies in their stockades and to talk to the keepers.... we were just spoiled from our earlier visit. You will love it!

[AmyT]

After breakfast, we were about to go on a nature walk when word came that a family of elephants was nearby and would we like to go see them?  Answer: Yes!

 

Three mamas were standing guard over three babies who were napping, while the rest of the family was munching away.  I thought the mama in the foreground was big until I saw the matriarch come up next to her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This grouchy bull elephant was in musth and let us know that we were not to bother his ladies.

 

The white patch on his bum caused some consternation in camp. Was he injured?

 

It was reported to Big Life Foundation the same day, and the next day we saw KWS on the way to investigate.

Edited July 2, 2017 by AmyT

[AmyT]

These two jokers were trying to neck, but were not very effective at it.

 

The smaller giraffe was the victor and mounted the larger giraffe in a show of dominance.

Edited July 2, 2017 by AmyT

[AmyT]

We visited the local village supported by the Selenkay Conservancy and Porini Amboseli Camp.  Here, my long lens was a liability so photos are from my phone.  We were greeted by the villagers with a traditional song. (They actually sang it twice for us because I liked it so much!) The staff from Porini Amboseli come directly from this village.

IMG_5831.MOV