Serengeti Pt. 2

Tuesday, August 20th:

The morning began with another early start, as we left the lodge in search of the leopard we had seen the previous evening. We spotted it laying out in the open in a field, finishing part of its meal from yesterday as spotted hyenas lurked in the distance. After a few minutes of tranquility, the leopard got up and slinked towards the hyenas, leading to a fascinating stand-off before the hyenas ran off. 

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After searching out the leopard’s cubs and spotting one playing on the rocks, we headed towards a different part of the Serengeti, flatter plains known as the Lamai Wedge, where we enjoyed a picnic breakfast.

The plains were full of wildebeests, and we also spotted a lioness resting in the sun, allowing us to fully inspect the amazing quantity of flies that seem to permanently reside on lion’s faces.

Along the way, we briefly crossed into Kenya, the border being a very loosely defined line on the road. Next, we encountered a breeding herd of 5 female elephants. The matriarch must have felt we had gotten too close and approached our vehicle, leading to an equally nerve-wracking and awe-inspiring moment as she postered at our vehicle and flapped her ears before retreating away. 

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In the evening, we headed out briefly to see the sunset, but retreated back into camp after less than an hour as the rains began. The animals, clearly disturbed by the rain, ensured it was a very noisy evening and we could here the roars of lions and the “gnu” sounds of Wildebeests throughout the night, and Ben & Jenna even had a Buffalo visitor on their porch.

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Wednesday, August 21st:

For our last full day in the Serengeti, we took off on a walk through a more remote part of the park. For protection (and by park regulation), we were accompanied by Sawli, a Masai scout armed with a hunting rifle, and Clemons, a national park ranger armed with an automatic rifle, as we trekked out into the bush. While the animals seem to have acclimated to vehicles, they seemed to be terrified of humans walking and ran away whenever we got within ~100 meters. Despite the lack of close-up animal sightings, it was a much more intimate experience to be truly alone in the savannah. Our walk featured some close-up inspections of my dad’s favorite termite mounds as well as a visceral examination of the “circle of life” of the animal kingdom. The ground was littered with animal dung and remains, exhibiting the true nature of life in the Serengeti, where virtually nothing makes it to old age before meeting its demise.

After our walk and picnic breakfast, we resumed our jeep exploration in search of Rhinos. While unsuccessful in our search, we did encounter a couple bull elephants (which made for fascinating pictures…) as well as a lion cub attempting to climb a tree.

Our drive also showcased how our animal-spotting skills still had a long way to go, evidenced by a misidentification of three zebras as elephants and numerous rocks mistaken for rhinos. Despite our misadventures, Nic and Emmanuel ensured we  remained on track, making for a successful final trip into the Savannah.

Next up:

After a more relaxed late-afternoon/evening, we are packing up to head to a remote island off of Lake Tanganyika to see the chimps. We will be out of connection for the next 5 days, and I will share an update when we return to civilization. Thanks for following along!