Wapi Duma?

As I am patiently sitting here waiting in hope for the wildebeest to again cross at 'Cul de sac' I thought a good time to catch up with today's antics.

It may have become apparent by now that Andy and I have a special place in our hearts for Notch, a cat we have followed now for 5 years. So we make no apology for YET another blog that involves Notch!

First thing this morning we could hear the unmistakable roar from Monsieur Notch and what sounded like several females at the bottom of the hill close to our campsite. It would have been rude to have ignored his call to say where he was, so at first light we ambled down and found him far across the plains, just us alone with our favourite cat! Along with the 9 cubs, 4 females they all gradually made there way closer to the road (Mgoro pride). The light was terrible for photography (as it has been since we got here!) but it was still nice to sit and watch them. The cubs, rather obligingly walked in an orderly line past the vehicle which gave me the opportunity I have been waiting for......to finally ID the sex of the all 9 cubs. So, as each one sauntered past I had the perfect opportunity and I can now confirm that the 9 cubs consist of 5 females and 4 boys.

Also present was another 'Notch son', and we were pleased to see it was the one we have not yet found on this trip. A.K.A 'Grimace', so called as he has an old injury to his lip which appears he is always 'grimacing'! Grimace has always been a little of an outcast and even looking back Notch has never allowed Grimace to get that close to the rest of the 'family' or share the same space under a tree. Today proved no exception to that rule and Notch only tolerated him as long as he kept a great distance. Careful Notch, one day you may need him!.

After some time and a failed hunt 2 of the females has spotted a small wildebeest herd in an area of tall grass, it did not take long until they had locked onto them, and soon enough one of the lionesses bursts in to attack her quarry. The herd scattered leaving one wildebeest standing steadfast, but where was the lioness though? A pair of black ear tips soon revealed she was there and being confronted head on by the Adult wildebeest. A few moments of tension ensued until Notch realised his sheer brute force was needed. Like the cavalry arriving Notch barged in, and in the next moment the wildebeest was on the ground and had succumbed to the force of the big cats.

It would be great to say we captured all on this on camera, but giving the cats had stalked the herd in long grass it was alas no go on getting any good shots, but it was nevertheless a great sighting and interesting to see Notch in action at a kill. The next few moments saw Notch dispatching the wildebeest with a strong throat hold, but not quite finishing the job, whilst the little cubs looked on in awe and hopefully taking notes for later in life!

Although he was evidently quite full we had expected him to feed a little first but unusually he passed the opportunity to feed and moved away to allow the cubs to feed (and allowed them to finish dispatching the wildebeest as Notch had not quite completed it!). Given its unusual for the male to allow the cubs to feed before him we concluded he must be so full that he need not eat. (either that or he is a genuine family man and was looking out for the kids!!) 

So, after our little distraction of lions this morning we then set upon what was to be the original plan of action for the day, looking for Cheetah. One thing we have noticed on this trip is a lack of cheetahs in this particular area, compared to normal. Yes, there is a large concentration of lions in one area, to the point that even the hyenas have moved their den. Even so, where are they?, we have chatted to some local guides who have also commented on the surprisingly low numbers at present. Andy and I love the area down by the Tanzanian border so we decided to have a recce down there as that's often where Cheetahs can be found. We were really keen to at least try and locate Sita and her (probably) now independent daughters. However, after several hours of driving we soon noticed that there was a real lack of small game, and prey for the cheetah, perhaps this one one of the reasons for their absence?. So no cheetahs today, but given its such a huge area that's of course not to say that are not there. We have heard there are several cheetah on the Narok side, but in no greater numbers than normal. In the next few days we shall try a few different areas and hope to be able to blog on some feline variety other than Panthero leo!

Whilst down at the border we also scanned far and wide to see what the wildebeest herds were doing in the distance into Tanzania. All was quiet all around so apart from those herds in the current area on bothe sides of the Mara. However, there looks to be no more big herds progressing at the moment, However, it can take only days for this to change, although given the early start of the migration we do wander how many big herds of 'wildies' can be left to come up from Tanzania? Perhaps now the migration will be centred on those existing herds in the Mara who will likely cross back and forth and go around in circles chasing the fresh shots.

Lastly before I leave this blog we saw another quite an interesting (and rather funny) sight today, not something we have seen before. A hippo, that stood on the river bank with the rest of a small pod was noticeably different from the others. It appeared that one of his large 'tusks' (incisors) was growing outside of his mouth an was obviously deformed in some way.  Quite comical (but not for the hippo) actually given it looked like a hippo had mated with a warthog! 

Oh...and by the way, the 'wildies' decided not to cross and instead will wait until tomorrow, thats the way it sometimes goes!

For now its 'la la salama' until the next installment.....