Before I indulge in an update of the tawny feline variety its noteworthy to give a bit of an update on the game as whole. The Mara changes all the time and the movement of game is always of interest, especially during the seasonal changes. Coming in to the Mara there were large amounts of wildebeest around the Aitong/Mara North area, certainly more so than in December and there seem to be a plethora of giraffe poking their heads out of the bushes, both coming into the Mara and also in the Mara Triangle where we are currently located. A few small herds of elephant were seen in the riverine areas as we banked around the Mara in the 'Traingle' and of course many of the 'usual' ungulate species commonly found in this area.
Arriving through the Oloololo gate at one of the hottest parts of the day we were somewhat surprised to see within 15 minutes a Black Rhino mother and calf out in the open and totally relaxed. Some times we often wander how much the behaviour of the animals changes from high to low tourist seasons and it certainly seems as if the animals are often more 'obliging' and less secretive and tolerant when the number of vehicles is lower. So, that was a great start to our trip and a bonus that we did not expect after the long bone shaking drive in to the Mara. Of course our Land Rover is built for these type of roads and Andy rebuilt it with heavy duty parts in just about every place possible, but I still seriously wandered several times if the poor thing was just going to disintegrate as it was pounded for 2 solid hours on what is becoming a ridiculously bad 'road' (I use the term road loosely!) I am sure we must have both arrived in the Mara concussed!
So onto tales of Simba, those who read the blog from our December trip know that we had the first 'Notch free' trip in many years so of course on this trip we REALLY wanted to see him. So, Notch and Co plus the Mgoro (Sp. Mugoro?) females were one of our priorities for the trip and of course the spotted and 'rosetted' variety, all part of our extended feline family!
Having trundled down to an beachy area of the Mara yesterday we were keen to see if there was any sign of the Notch boys, we had spoken to the rangers in the Triangle and they confirmed that he and boys have not (knowingly) been back now to the Triangle for months and we have been reading reports of their activities across in the Narok side of the reserve. So with all intense purposes we knew that it had been long enough to conclude they had 'given up' on the Mgoro cubs and females (Killer Bogie et al). It did not stop us wandering if we would find them within 'eye sight' on the other side of the Mara, close to where they often used to cross the river and also a favourite haunt where they seem to have now grown a speciality in hunting hippos.
Its fair to say that gut instinct is always nearly right and this was no exception (coupled with the growing knowledge we have gained of the area). As we came down to this part of the Mara we could see across the river several dark shapes at the bottom a Gardenia bush and most definitely a bundle of male lions. Given it was 150-200 metres away it was hard to tell and conclude if this was indeed the boys we were looking for or how many were there in the 'mass of fluff' that we could see! So we waited in anticipation for the dark shapes to move, and soon enough they did! There was no mistaking that as they rearranged themselves under the tree it was Notch, Grimace, Notch Junior and one of the other males who is also looking remarkably like Notch (Notch Junior V2!)
Not bad for the first day in the Mara and great to be 'reunited', even though it was some distance away and just pointless trying to get any images. The week is still young so I am sure and hoping we will get to see them closer and have made a plan to cross to the other side soon enough to catch up with them and bring more news of Notch the other 'stars' of the Mara. We decided to again return later to this amazingly beautiful stretch of the Mara River in the hope that the heat would drive the need for them to visit the river and quench their thirst as the sun fell and the temperature cooled. After three hours of waiting we decided to retreat as the sun disappeared leaving the boys in the long grass and having barely moved a muscle the entire time. Apart from shifting while we were away to some long cool grass, making it impossible to see them, except for a flick of a tail. That's male lions for you!
It was great to see the bond between the boys is still strong and they tolerated each other in close proximity. However, poor Grimace was still denied a decent spot in the shade (something the poor guy has suffered from since the day we started following them around 4 years ago) The top spot and the best shade was of course reserved for the grand old man himself, Mzee Notch!
We do have more news on the Mgoro pride but as its time to mobilise for our afternoon drive that's it for now and hope to bring you more news later! Below is an image of the Rhino and calf as we entered the Mara
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