Chapter 2: Samburu & Chizarira

[John M.]

41 minutes ago, ElenaH said:

Fascinating. 

I love your vintage pictures and stories!

Thanks Elena.  I prefer this style for historical reports because who wants out of date travel info from 15 to 25 years ago?  Besides, I'm not much good at standard TRs 😄.  I enjoy having my memory jolted every so often, provoking me to dig back into my files.

[John M.]

   A leopard with belly full and sleepy. Another shot of Half-tail in the Mara in 1997.

 

   Half-tail had just surrendered a big impala kill to a hyena, having eaten her fill. She came to the side of our vehicle and lay down.  I mentioned in another thread that our closed vehicle made it difficult to get a good angle.  It's a record shot, no more, but fairly pleasing even so.  I've only just scanned it from the negative. 

[madaboutcheetah]

John, I think i remember her from the initial big cat diary series ....... 

[John M.]

1 hour ago, madaboutcheetah said:

John, I think i remember her from the initial big cat diary series ....... 

Yes, Hari, Half-tail featured in that series. I have two books about 'Big Cat Diary'; the one first published in 1996 has a photo of Half-tail on the back cover. The photo was taken by Jonathan Scott, who was a star of the series and one of the book's authors. Jonathan and Angela Scott recently joined ST. The second book, by the Scotts, also featuring Half-tail, was first published in 2003.

[John M.]

   A fairly common sight in the Mara even back in the 90s, I believe. While the mother cheetah checked for prey or danger, her cubs waited in long grass nearby.

 

   A day or two later, we saw her and the cubs with a kill. She didn't appreciate the audience of vultures.

 

Edited February 5 by John M.