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Lioness Moms Fight Back

Posted in African Safari, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , on August 13, 2011| 3 Comments »

 

“Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind.” Alex Karras

 

The young male lion struts his stuff -- Photo by Kim Perrin

African Safari: Female Power

The Lion fight occurred when we were still in Tanzania with Bilal. We were watching three female lions with several cubs when we noticed a young male, his mane still not developed, watching them.

Slowly he began making his way toward the females and their cubs. His actions didn’t go unnoticed. One of the lionesses took all the cubs off away out of harm’s danger while the other two stood guard.. Male lions are quite protective of their own young, but will kill the young of any other males so their moms will be ready to breed again so he can sire his own cubs.

One mama takes the cubs away -- Photo by Kim Perrin

It was likely this is what the young male had in mind this day – and since the cubs’ father was no where in sight he evidently saw this as an ideal opportunity.

Bilal, as we watched the action, said that the lack of the cubs’ father when another male was in his territory was probably because something had happened to him.

Suddenly, as the young male shortened the distance between him and the two lionesses, the females attacked. In a matter of seconds, the young male was limping away, and soon he lay down to lick his wounds.

Kim and I cheered, but Bilal said the male would eventually get his way. We chose to believe that the females

The male licks his wounds. -- Photo by Pat Bean

would hold out at least long enough to raise their cubs.

“They gave him a pretty good licking,” we said.

Of course Bilal might have been right, but we had faith in mom power. We thought the lionesses were tougher than Bilal gave them credit for – just like Kim and I.

As Mahatma Gandhi said” “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”

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Tall Tales About Lion Watching

Posted in African Safari, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on August 12, 2011| 3 Comments »

This wide awake youngster reminded me of my oldest son, who would never take a nap. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

 “Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience.” – Francis Bacon

The lionesses, about half a dozen of them, with several cubs were camouflaged well beneath some bushes. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

African Safari: The Sneaky Lionesses 

I lost track of how many lions we saw in Africa. It was a lot. But several of the sightings will live on in my memory forever

Kim and I saw mating lions, fighting lions, sleeping lions, sneaky lions, yawning lions, stalking lions, full-belly lions, mama lions, baby lions and one young male who made a detour from the path he was walking with his mom and sibling to scratch his back on the tire of our Land Rover.

The sneaky lions were actually the most scary. We had been watching several female lions, tucked away beneath some thick bushes snoozing. They had several cubs among them, all also sleeping except for one frisky little bugger.

As we watched, the youngster played around by itself for a while, then decided it was hungry and began crawling all over the sleeping lionesses looking for a titty. .

One of the two mama lions who crept up to keep a close eye on us. It was spooky when we suddenly spotted her. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Three of the mamas flicked it away with their paws when it tried to nurse, but a fourth – I’m not sure if it was the cub’s actual mama or not as the nursing seemed to be a communal activity – finally allowed it to suckle.

Joseph, who was our guide for this lion viewing, decided to drive around the back of the bushes, on the far side of a short trench, for a better view. As we sat there watching the lion pride snoozing in the bush, we suddenly realized that two of the concerned mamas had crept up from the ditch and were watching us.

Our Land Rover suddenly felt a little less safe. Joseph must have felt so, too, for he turned the ignition to drive us away. But the engine sputtered instead of starting.

Carefully, keeping the vehicle between himself and the lions, he got out and opened the hood, then fiddled with something for a moment or two before getting back in the driver’s seat.

The vehicle started and Joseph, whom we could almost hear sigh in relief, drove off to a spot with a clear view of the surrounding landscape and got out and fiddled with the engine some more.

“Just an excess of dust,” he commented as we got back in the Land Rover and drove on for some more wildlife viewing.

Next Tall Tale: The lion fight

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Masai Mara: Birds and Cats

Posted in African Safari, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on August 11, 2011| 2 Comments »

“Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.” Helen Keller

Bateleur -- goafrica.com photo

African Safari:

Our afternoon safari with Joseph started off with some new life birds for me, including two eagles, a bateleur and a greater spotted eagle. Joseph said the first was known for its snake killing talent, and the latter was a rare find.

“I don’t get to see to many of them,” he said.

Since the spotted eagle was in its winter plumage and its spots not clearly visible, I probably would have missed the identification without Joseph’s help.

The bateleur, however, was a much easy bird to identify, and I had been looking for one ever since I had hit Africa. It was great to finally see one of these magnificent birds. It reminded me of our own caracara just a bit.

Joseph then decided it was time to go look for some cats. First on the agenda were some lions, including one whose yawn looked ferocious. It provided us with a good view of its deadly fangs – and made me glad I wasn’t a warthog or a gazelle.

Just a yawn, but he's not your average pussycat. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

Next on Joseph’s mission were a mom and three young cheetahs. It started to rain and the territory, where he suspected they were hanging out, was extremely rough but Joseph wouldn’t give up.

And to Kim and my delight, we finally came across the cheetahs just as the sun was beginning to set. Kim got a fantastic photo of the mom and one of the young ones, who mostly kept low in the rocks.

The rain followed us back to camp, and Kim and I got a bit wet since the sides of the Land Rover were open for better game viewing. I didn’t mind at all. And neither did Kim. It had been a marvelous day – and a little rain wouldn’t melt us. .

A cheetah mom and one of her three young charges at sunset in the Masai Mara. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

Bird Log of New Lifers: Grey-headed bush shrike, woodland kingfisher, red-throated tit, yellow-throated longclaw, greater blue-eared starling, wooly-necked stork, rosy-breasted longclaw, bateleur, spur-winged goose, black-winged plover, rufus-bellied heron, sand martin, wire-tailed swallow, white-faced whistling ducks, white-browed robin, northern black flycatcher, Ross’ turaco, double-toothed barbet, spectacled weaver, African blue flycatcher, greater spotted eagle.

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Big David and the Double-Toothed Barbet

Posted in African Safari, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , on August 10, 2011| 5 Comments »

Double-toothed barbet, yet another of Africa's flamboyant birds. -- Wikipedia photo

“Don’t be over self-confident with your first impressions of people.” – Chinese proverb

African Safari: Bird-Watching Guard

Before Dave Richards had left us after lunch, he introduced us to David, the tall, muscular guard who had been the one to walk Kim and I from the lodge compound down to the river for our game drives.

“He’s a birder,” Dave said, causing me to finally notice the pair of binoculars around his neck. “If you see that barbet again,” he told Dave, “tell Pat here.”

David, who had been quiet and stoic during our walks, smiled and promised to come get me if he saw it. Later, as Kim and I were watching a large elephant on the outer edge of our marsh, he did just that.

It was a double-toothed barbet that had built a nest near one of the tents. It was shy, but finally I got half a decent look at it. Enough to see why it was so named. Its bill has two jagged points.

Elephant watching was always fun. Note the giraffe in the background behind this one. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

David was more talkative with us after that, stopping along the way to point out a bird for me, and discussing other wildlife habits with Kim She particularly wanted to know how often hippos visited our tent area.

I didn’t hear the answer because I had come across a little blue and white bird perched beside the trail, and I was madly flipping through Dave’s book to identify it. It kind of looked like a mountain blue bird. I finally saw that it was an African blue flycatcher.

Meanwhile, as some days we made three trips back and forth across the river (before breakfast, after breakfast, and after lunch game drives with Joseph), we slowly got to know David a little better.

African blue flycatcher

For having such a tough-looking exterior, I found him to be a gentle soul. It gave me pause to wonder why my first impression of him had misidentified his nature so much that I had totally missed seeing the binoculars hanging around his neck.

It seems I needed to try harder not to let outer appearances play mind games with reality. Africa was teaching me a lot.

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Hippo Invasion, Dave the Birder and Lunch

Posted in African Safari, Birds, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 9, 2011| 4 Comments »

 “You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you’re finished, you’ll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird .. So let’s look at the bird and see what it’s doing – that’s what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.” Richard P. Feynman

Hippos in the Mara River -- Photo by Pat Bean

African Safari: Busy Morning

Our morning game drive with Joseph started off with a lion chase, always exciting. While I’m not exactly blood thirsty, I was rooting for the lion. The gazelle won, however, and lived to run another day. I wasn’t all that disappointed actually.

We saw our first mongoose, and over 50 hippos in the Mara River, just up a bit from where we made daily crossings to and from our tent lodge. Just how close they were to our camp we would learn later that night when several hippos left the swamp and were wandering through the tent area.

Kim snapped a photo of Dave Richards and me at the end of our bird-watching lunch. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

We were required to stay in the main lodge area, where we saw one of the guards caring a large rifle. It would be only the second gun, and the last one we saw while in Africa. Our lodge hosts said the animals were allowed to come and go and we were simply warned to stay out of their way.

Lunch, after our morning game drive, was a real treat this day. And not because of the excellent food. On checking in I had learned that the lodge had an expert ornithologist on staff and that he was sometimes available for a guided bird tour.

Sadly he was all booked up during our stay, but he had agreed to have lunch with us this day.

My copy of Dave Richard's book.

He was Dave Richards, author of “A photographic Guide to Birds of East Africa.,” which of course I had bought at the lodge’s small gift shop and studied the night before. As promised, he joined us for lunch.

Dave was a small, gray-haired older man who quickly put us at ease. He had great charisma. At one time he had been a safari guide who specialized in birds. He said he tired of that because too many people just wanted to tick off birds.

As a number ticker on this trip, I later told Kim that long-time birders always seem to distain bird listers, but that’s always after they have their achieved their own lengthy lists. Besides, I said, there’s a difference between tickers who are only interested in seeing new birds, and true birders who also enjoy looking at the same birds over and over, even sparrows. I count myself among the latter.

In fact, at this point in our safari, I was as excited to recognize a bird I had seen earlier as I was to find a new one – well almost.

Ross' turaco -- Wikipedia photo

Meanwhile, our pleasant lunch was frequently interrupted as Dave would spot a special bird in the trees or swamp around us, and he and I would go off to look. Kim, who continued her lunch, snapped a few pictures of the two of us with our binoculars pointed up one tree or another.

Our luncheon bird sightings included white-faced whistling ducks, white-browed robin (which sat on a tree right next to our table), spectacled weaver, an da Ross’s turaco.

I had seen one of Richards’ photos of this latter bird in the gift shop earlier. They are truly a magnificent sight. Ours here at the lodge was way up in a tree and without Dave’s help I’m sure I would never have spotted it.

All in all it was one of the best lunches I’ve ever not eaten.

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Watching the Prey Watch the Predator

Posted in African Safari, Travel, tagged , , , , , , on August 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »

 “A lion’s work hours are only when he’s hungry; once he’s satisfied, the predator and prey live peacefully together.” – Chuck Jones

Kim sitting at the table where we ate breakfasts and lunches while at Little Governor's. The roofed area in the background was where we ate our dinners, for which we dressed. -- Photo by Pat Bean

African Safari: Little Governor’s Lodge

We arrived at Little Governor’s Lodge in time for lunch. It was served outside beneath the trees in view of the marsh, where we could watch birds and other animals as we ate. This day we saw giraffe and water buffalo on the far side of the marsh and sacred ibis not far from our table.

Kim and I were enchanted with our new camp, and it would become our favorite of all the lodges during our Africa visit. So much so that I would love to go back and spend a whole month there one of these days.

A lion intently watching a wildebeeste which he later chased but failed to catch. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

After lunch, we were escorted to the river and then back across to meet up with Joseph, who would be our driver/guide for the Masai Mara. Normally there would be four of us safari goers in his Land Rover but today Kim and I had him to ourselves.

He was quieter than either Bilal or Emanuel, but when he did open up we discovered he had a wealth of knowledge to share about the landscape and wildlife we were seeing. And then I discovered that not only was he a birder, but one who kept a life list as I did. 

Sacred ibis — Photo by Johan Wesseks

  

We were always amazed at his successful efforts in finding lions and cheetahs for us to watch. He said he got his clues from the prey animals.

“Especially look where the topi and the zebra are looking. They act as lookouts for other animals as well,” he said. We did and soon we saw a lion make an unsuccessful attempt to chase down a wildebeest.

“Lions,” Emanuel said, “are successful only about 40 percent of the time. Leopards, on the other hand, have an 80 percent kill rate.”

Along with the four-legged wildlife we saw this day, I also added three new life birds, a grey-headed bush shrike, red-throated tit and a yellow-throated longclaw

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Mountains

Posted in Travel, Uncategorized, Weekly Photo Challenge, tagged , , , , on August 7, 2011| 2 Comments »

Above Photo: The Grand Tetons from Togwotee Pass — Photo by Pat Bean

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.” — John Muir

Antelope Island in Great Salt Lake. Only the top of this mountain, Frary Peak at 6,596 feet, was visible 20,000 years ago when the land was covered by the prehistoric Lake Bonneville. It's a 7-mile steep, round-trip hike to get to the top of the peak, where big horn sheep frolic. -- Photo by Pat Bean

 
“Before computers, telephone lines and television connect us, we all share the same air, the same oceans, the same mountains and rivers. We are all equally responsible for protecting them.”  Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

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Tiny Airports, Tents Again and Wart Hogs

Posted in African Safari, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 6, 2011| 3 Comments »

Above Photo: Masai Mara sunset, Wikipedia

How hard to realize that every camp of men or beast has this glorious starry firmament for a roof! In such places … it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make – leaves and moss like the marmots and birds, or tents or piled stone – we all dwell in a house of one room – the world with the firmament for its roof.” – John Muir

Me playing John Wayne in "Hatari" at the Ambolseli Air Strip. Also pictures is Jackson, a member of the Maasai tribe who was nearing the end of his five-year apprenticeship to be a guide. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

African Safari: Little Governor’s Lodge

After breakfast, Emanuel drove us the Amboseli Airport, a dirt landing strip with only a sign announcing its purpose, where we were to catch an 8:30 a.m. flight back to Nairobi’s small Wilson Airport.

In reminiscence of John Wayne in “Hatari,” I sat on the fender seat of the Land Rover and drank my coffee while we waited for the small plane to arrive. It was late.

The flight was a replay of the informal flight we had taken to Tanzania on our first full day in Africa, and was repeated again on the connecting flight we took from Nairobi on to the Masai Mara National Reserve, which is the northern end of Serengeti National Park.

Kim on board for the boat ride across the Mara River to get to Little Governor's Lodge. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Our small plane landed on a dirt strip within sight of zebra and giraffes. The smallest airport I had landed in up to this point had been a dirt strip in Smiley, Idaho, but then there had been a small town across the road.

A wart hog visits our tent at Little Governor's. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Here, at the Amboseli airport, there was nothing but wilderness and wildlife. I loved it.

From the airport it was a just a short distance to Little Governor’s Lodge, another tent camp and one where we would sleep for the next four nights. 

To get to the lodge complex, which was on an island surrounded by the Mara River and a swamp, we,took a boat powered by two staff members and a rope, to get across the river. Once across, we were met by a big-stick armed guard who escorted us the quarter-mile to camp.

Other stick-armed guards took us from the main, open air lodge buildings, to our tent, which in any sense of the word was much more than that. It included a large, tiled open shower and a front porch on which we could sit and watch animals across the swamp.

At closer range were wart hogs that roamed the tent complex. Our favorite of these was a mom with a tiny young one. The pair came right up to our porch. What fun, especially after we were told they were harmless.

Wart hogs were funny animals. We often saw them running full speed through the grass with their tails stuck straight up in the air. Then suddenly they would stop, as if they forgot where they were going.

Such behavior assured that they were often the entrée on a lion’s menu.

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Looks Like a Dog, But Acts Like a Cat

Posted in Travel, Wildflowers, tagged , , , , , , , on August 5, 2011| 8 Comments »

 

Sunflowers are just beginning to bloom at Lake Walcott -- Photo by Pat Bean

“Properly trained, a man can be dog’s best friend.” Corey Ford

Travels With Maggie

Thought I’d interrupt my past African Safari today to visit the present, which finds me at Lake Walcott State Park in southern Idaho.

I wanted to tell you that the Canada goose kids have all grown up now, sunflowers are finally blooming, and that I had a marvelous day on the lake with a couple of starving artists (so they said, but their fancy boat said otherwise), who were staying at the park between art shows, and finally to complain about my faithful companion.

Nuff said about everything but Maggie, a black cocker spaniel who thinks I’m her servant. I rescued her from a life of abuse when she was a year old and we’ve now been together for 12 years. She went from being afraid of her shadow to becoming Queen of my world.

 

And butterflies accompany Maggie and me on our walks. -- Photo by Pat Bean

For example: This past Wednesday, I went into town to do laundry, something that has to be done every two weeks if I want to wear clean underwear. Since I’m a volunteer at the park, I’m allowed to use a small park truck for the trip. And since I don’t get into town often, I treated myself to a Swiss cheese burger with grilled onions and a chocolate mile shake.

I drank the shake and ate half the burger on the drive back to the park, saving the other half of the big sandwich for dinner. Back at my RV I transported the leftover sandwich and a few other things into my RV, then went back out to bring in my clean laundry.

By the time I got back, Maggie had climbed up on my table, took the sandwich out of a paper sack, and then out of its cardboard container and was licking her chops. Not a crumb of the sanding was left.

I yelled, but she didn’t even blink. In fact the look that she gave me said: “Do you have any more.”

 

And Maggie is not the least bit repentant for eating my sandwich. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I gave her dirty looks for the rest of the day. She, simply, hopped up on to my bed, and gave me unrepentant stares. I mean take a look at that face. Does it look apologetic to you?

I think she’s more cat than dog.

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Swamps, fish eagle catch, dirty faces and a caracal

Posted in African Safari, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 5, 2011| 2 Comments »

“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It’s just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.” – Paulo Coelho

The dining area and lobby at Porini Tent Camp -- Photo by Pat Bean

African Safari: A Full Day

Continuing our full day in Amboseli National Park, we ate a box lunch that had been packed for us in view of a high overlook of the Enkongu Narok Swamp, one of the larger ones in the park fed by Mount Kilimanjaro’s snow melt.

Normally we should have been able to see the mountain, which Hemingway’s book, “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” put in literary history. But this day, as it was all the other days we were in viewing distance, it was hidden by clouds.

Water buffalo resting in the tall grass with cattle egrets for company. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

The landscape and wildlife in its shadow, however, was gloriously visible after we had climbed to the top of the overlook. Elephants, hippos, water buffalo, all in significant numbers, all took advantage of the wetland landscape.

Then on our way back to Porini, we watched as a fish eagle, which looks an awful lot like our bald eagle, swooped down and caught a fish. Even the non-birders among us were awed.

Photo by Kim Perrin

Back at camp, we just barely had time for a hot shower before we took off to visit a local Maasai village. This was a less of a showplace than the one we visited in Tanzania, and I suspected it was more of the real thing. Both Kim and I were horrified at all the flies on the young children.

I was the kind of mother who went around with a wash cloth swiping at my kids’ faces, a tradition that continues to this day with my grandkids — to their consternation. I longed this day to have just such a wash cloth in my hand.

Women of the Maasai Village near the Porini Camp. I loved the bright colors they wore. -- Photo by Pat Bean

It might not have been the proper respect to show a different culture, but that’s how I felt. Both Kim and I kept our feelings to ourselves, however, as the children lined up to allow us to pat them on the head as their way of showing respect to their elders.

We were both quite thankful someone in our group had hand sanitizer to share after we had left the village.

It was a quiet group that sat and watched the sun go down later that evening, but the wildlife drive back to camp cheered us all up. Among our sightings was a caracal, which was a rare fine. Our spotter was Jackson, who sat on a seat strapped to the fender of our Land Rover with a spotlight in hand.

Sundowner sunset -- Photo by Pat Bean

Back at camp, however, things seemed not to be quite normal. Grim faces peered at us almost everywhere we looked. We were told that an expected supply truck had broken down on the rough drive to camp and had not yet arrived.

Our Maasai guard, on escorting us back to our tent, asked Kim if she had a flashlight. She thought he wanted it to help guide us to the tent, which he did, but then he disappeared into the night with it, never seen by us again.

Things didn’t really cheer up around the camp until the next morning when the truck finally arrived – and then there seemed to be smiles once again all around. And our breakfast,which had already been served, suddenly became more abundant with fresh fruit.

Our Porini stay was interesting, and we loved our sundowners and wildlife drives with Emanuel and Jackson, but we both agreed it was our least favorite of all the lodges – and not just because it wasn’t luxurious.

We would stay in another tent camp before we left Africa, and that one would be our favorite of all the places we stayed, including our one exotic night spent in a tree-house.

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