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.