A Day In Serengeti National Park

This day we awoke before sunrise to get onto the endless plain early. We packed breakfast along with us and loaded into the 4×4. Of course, none of this would have been possible if pre-dawn coffee hadn’t been delivered to our tent.

The first things were saw as the sun rose were giraffe eating from the acacia near camp. But, we’d seen giraffe. We were in search of cats so we carried on. We drove in exhausted, early morning silence as Ammy listened for radio chatter. Finally he spied a couple vehicles and we found what we had been seeking…a large male lion.

Nothing can prepare you for the size of these beasts. They look innocent enough as they are just waking up, but we decided we were happy for our enclosed vehicle. We hung with this guy for a short while until he decided it was nap time again. There’s not much fun in staring at a sleeping lion.

We drove without much luck for a bit so we decided to stop for our breakfast. The beautiful thing about the Serengeti is that it is wide open. When the grasses are short, it’s easy to see a good distance. So, after Ammy made sure the coast was clear of predators, we took our breakfast outside the Land Cruiser and once again felt the immensity of the plains and our relatively small place on them.

After closing up breakfast and moving on, we came upon our cheetah friends from the day before, the momma and her four growing cubs. Even when these guys were doing nothing, I still enjoyed watching them. Maybe because there were four of them. Maybe because I was impressed with their mother. Maybe because they are just too cute. Maybe because I kept waiting to watch one sprint off, the fastest land mammal on the planet. Or maybe simply because I love things with dots.

Later Ammy was able to find us a pair of male lions guarding their kill. Ammy explained that both males and females hunt. They guard their kill in the same way. A pride will bring down an animal and then take turns feeding and guarding their prize. Some members of the pack will go off in search of shade or water and others will stay to protect what is theirs. Lions are rarely challenged for their meals. We watched as hyenas, jackals, and vultures stood at a safe distance, patiently waiting for the lions to decide they were finished. This was a fresh kill. Scavengers would have to wait a while.

The lions were relentless in their desire for the shade afforded in the areas around tourist vehicles. They were completely unfazed by engines and the movement. When we would have to move on, Ammy would start the car and we would slowly edge away from the lions and they would be exposed to the sun once more. I imagined them mentally cursing us for denying them their shade.

 

A healthy respect for the wildlife in Tanzania is important. It’s easy after days on safari to get a false sense of security being around these creatures because they seem to care not a whit about your presence. You pull up near them and they cast a glance in your direction and go on about their business unperturbed. Still…they are wild creatures and, although they seem unimpressed and uninterested, you are the interloper. Only once on safari did we witness an animal become aggravated by human presence. And that instance was enough to remind us to watch our behavior.

A couple from England, who were also staying at Namiri Plains camp and with whom we’d had dinner the night before, were viewing a pair of male lions when we pulled up to observe them as well. The lions by then had settled in the shade of their open-air safari vehicle. And for a period of time they lie there, peaceful and still. The woman was taking pictures with her iPhone and, feeling a bit emboldened by the lions laissez-faire attitude, leaned out of the vehicle a bit more to get a closer photo of the lion less than a few feet below her. Without warning, the young male lion abruptly leapt to his feet and let out an impressive, sonorous roar in her face. It happened so quickly none of us were able to get a photo of the incident. The woman later recounted her story and said the lion was close enough to her face that she felt and smelled his breath. Yikes.

Ammy explained that almost all animals you encounter on safari will give you a warning. That lion was letting her know her intrusion was not welcome. He easily could have taken a swipe at her and caused much greater harm, but there was no need. She had gotten his message and probably had the heart rate to prove it. The only animals, Ammy cautioned, that are unpredictable and will not give you a warning are the cape buffalo.  They may look like mellow cows with large horns, but they have a short fuse and will attack when they’ve reached their limit. This reminded me of the bison in Yellowstone and how nearly every year some naive tourist is gored when they get too close. Wild animals are wild, people.

As we left the lions behind to head on to our next wildlife adventure, my son asked if I could help with this epic photo. How could I say no to his meta moment?

While big cats are the highlight of the Serengeti, there are birds to enjoy as well. We saw a flock of lovebirds resting on a dead acacia tree among its thorns. We also saw several kori bustard birds. These are the largest flying bird native to Africa, weighing up to 40 pounds. They are something else.

The rest of the day was filled with female lions. Five of them lounged around their recent kill while scavengers lurked nearby. They effectively surround their food, making it impossible for the scavengers to invade without risking peril. You simply don’t mess with the lions. Here is a video these five lionesses with their kill on the windy Serengeti, vultures watching from the background.

As we headed back to camp late that afternoon, rains were on the distant horizon. Bit by bit we watched this rainbow form from the two sides and eventually meet to create this wonder. My sister-in-law captured this panorama photo of incredibly Mother Nature.       I know, right?