Tanzania, Africa - 10

Hi, We left camp just as the sun was coming up.

This herd of zebra was grazing just out side of our camp.

A little later we came upon this female.  She had just left a kill and as returning to her cubs.

Having found her cubs she wandered back in the direction of the kill.

Next up was ahuge pride of lions just lazing in the shade.  The above photos shows 16 animals while the one below shows seven.  All in all we counted more than 30.

Eventually the lions moved off and so did we, going to a spot where Mkenda thought we could intersect them.  There was a small herd of zebra at the spot.

When the first of the lions arrived these three females immediately went into hunting mode, but it was not to be.  The zebras sensed their presence and took off.

Slowly and in small groups the pride came into view (above and below).

About 10 minutes later this bus from Arusha came barreling through the area at about 50 MPH.  I am not sure where it was headed.

A pond was the home to a group of hippos, one of the largest I have ever seen.

 

This mom and calf were part of the group.

They seem to show affection.

There were some very lush areas in the middle of this very dry park.  Here are a couple of Impala drinking at a river.

If you click on this photo and look closely there is a baby hanging on to this mother's belly.

These are called Fischer's Love Birds.

Elephants were everywhere.

We only saw one Croc during our stay.

This colorful lizard is called a Mwanza Agama.  It was perched on a rock next to a Kopie.

On the Kopie was a pride of lions (above and below).

Further on a Cheetah cub was resting with its mother under a tree.

This Southern Reedbuck was resting but alert.

One of the photos Jim Kleeman and I wanted to take was of animals lined up and on the march.  We encountered these zebras late in the day.

Our final animal encounter was this female lion asleep in a tree.  It is very unusual to see lions in trees.

Thanks for looking.

Tanzania, Africa - 9

Hi, We were now in the central part of the Serengeti National Park, where we would spend the next two days.

On our way to breakfast we spotted a giraffe wandering across an open area a few blocks away from our tent.

The first animals spotted this morning were a herd of wildebeest with calves (above and below).  This was calving season so there a lot of them.

Moving on we encountered some girrafes,

a Secretary Bird (which is a predator but I think looks more like a big chicken) and

a mongoose.

We came upon a family of Hyenas basking in the sun.

One was enjoying a roll in the dust.

The land form in the background is called a Kopie.

The herds here were larger than in the southern Serengeti.

Wildebeest and zebras often were found together as wildebeest hear better and Zebras see better.

Next up was a group of girrafes.

It was unusual to find elephants and giraffes together.

A male lion rests near the top of a Kopie in the shade of a boulder.  Predators like these Kopies as they provide excellent vantage points to observe prey.

A small river a couple of miles from our tented camp was surrounded by a large herd of zebra (two above and five below).

Zebras stay close to each other as the interaction of the stripes confuses predators.

These Grey Crowned Cranes appeared to be courting.

We never saw a leopard on the ground during this trip.  However, we did get one clear view in a tree.  The leopard has carried a kill into the tree which can be seen at the far right in the photo.

Thanks for looking.