Sea Otters and more driftwood - September 10th 2011

Our next bear watching adventure was not until 4:30pm so we had most of the day on September 10th to do our own thing and explore more of the Pacific Rim National Park 

Jet lag seems to be continuing as Andy and I keep waking up at 5am wide awake, either that or our bodies are still tuned to our African adventures whereby getting up at 5am is the norm. The morning of the 10th was no exception so making the most of our sleep deprived state we decided to get up early again, thus making the most of the day.

Sitting outside our lovely apartment as the sun rose that morning was just divine, so peaceful and tranquil. How could anyone ever get bored of this scenery! As I sipped my tea (oh how I wish I had brought PG tips!) something caught my eye in the water below the pier. At first I thought it was small seal, and then I realised that it was a Sea Otter. Tea abandoned I ran in to our room to do two things, grab Andy and a camera. 

The otters had moved a little by the time camera and husband were in tow but not to far that we found them again within moments. They were so unbelievably cute, popping their heads up and down in the water, cruising for fish and other food along the shore in Tofino. It was still barely light so not too conducive for photography but Andy managed to get a few shots in as we willed the light to increase!

The cheeky little otters than jumped on one of the Zodiacs, the ones we had been on the day prior. They scuttled around mischievously and at one point starting scratching the canvas on the zodiac like a cat scratches a sofa!  They really were comical and we were very happy to have seen Sea Otters. 

Leaving the otters to their naughtiness we headed back to our apartment and decided to go for a walk in Bear country and in particular along a trail about 20 minutes outside of Tofino that was famed for huge and ancient Western Red Cedars. Although short, the trail was stunning and of course we found time to hug a few trees, as you do! 

After this trail we headed off to a coastal trail at Wickaninnish beach. Again, this was stunning and right in the centre of the area in which Wolves have been increasingly seen recently. We knew we would not be lucky two days running but it was still exciting knowing they had been, or maybe were still around. Of course we were still in Bear country (Bears are found in most parts of Vancouver Island) so we always walked with caution and made sure we made enough noise to alert any bears of our presence. We wanted to see a bear along these trails but the last thing we wanted to do was to surprise one and get too close.

Walking along the trail we came across VERY fresh bear scat, mmm, interesting! As we approached each corner of the trail we wondered if we would bump into Yogi Bear! Then we came across what looked like Wolf scat, and on closer inspection its shape and size and contents (hair!) meant that we were probably correct, although we are by no means experts on North American wildlife scat. Ok, so we had to be a little careful here although it was not as fresh as the bear scat. Park wardens had placed some remote cameras along this trail, we wandered if Mr or Mrs Bear or or a Grey Wolf had been ‘papped’ that morning.

Meandering alone through small coves it was lovely, huge piles of driftwood again pilled up high where the sea had tossed it onto the beach. We then came across what looked like wolf tracks in the sand, it did not look like a typical domestic dog track and its ‘gait’ signaled that whatever Canid species it was had to be large and very long legged with significant claws and too large for a Coyote (even taking into account the fact it was on sand). We were not 100% but given all the other indications (and the fact that wildlife cameras had been placed in the same location) it seemed a logical conclusion!

We reached the end of the trail and then decided to head back as by now we were hungry, all that walking and tracking had meant we had developed quite an appetite.

Our time for our next bear viewing trip soon approached and off we ventured again on the zodiac. Although on this trip no Wolves (we knew that luck two days running was almost impossible!) we again had some really great bear sightings, including a mother and two cubs, possibly the same cubs from the day previous. All feeding along the shoreline. Bear sightings so far now totally 13 bears in two days!

Another great end to our last day in Tofino before we head off on September 11th for the 5.5 hour drive to Telegraph Cove where we will stay for three nights focusing again on Bears and Whales.

Sea Otters

 Tree Hugging!

Amazing Rain Forests

Driftwood at Wickaninnish beach

Very fresh Bear Scat!

Wolf Tracks?

Did someone say Wolf? - September 9th 2011

After a little time to explore the local town of Tofino it was time to mobilize for our first Black Bear viewing trip. At this time of the year the bears in the area of Clayoquot Sound are generally found along various inlets and they make use of low tides to feed on clams in order to obtain essential protein ready for the winter ahead. This meant that would would again be back on the zodiac boat to try and find the bears by scouting along the shoreline. Apart from a brief sighting on a trip to Sequoia National Park (USA) ten years ago this would be our first time in seeing bears, so we were well and truly excited about the prospect of seeing a Black Bear in the wild. 

The weather was glorious, very hot with clear skies, which at this time of year is unusual for this area. So far the autumn gear we had brought had stayed unworn and lets hope its stays that way!

Sharing the zodiac with 10 other passengers we headed off at 4:30pm toward Mears Island, the scenery breathtaking and the dramatic green carpeted mountains reflecting in the water, which in contrast to the morning was much calmer. 

An impressive Bald Eagle fed on a recent kill on an open mud flat. Gulls and crows soared above, their cries echoing through the various channels that we passed through. Around 20 minutes later, still in awe of how amazing this scenery was we arrived to the back of Mears Island. Slowly we cruised around 100 metres off the shore, looking for the tell tale black shape that would signal we had found our bears! 

Well, we did not have to wait long! There it was, a deep black shape moving along the edge of the shoreline in the distance, our first proper sighting of a Black Bear. As we moved in much closer it appeared to be a young adult, small in size and the guide finding this one hard to tell if it was male or female. Generally it is not always that easy to sex the bears. Males tending to be larger with flatter faces, females smaller with more pointed snouts. 

Totally un-phased by our presence and the cameras clicking from all over the boat he/she went about its business of sourcing food. Effortlessly moving large boulders to discover if there was a bounty of clams underneath. Focused on one thing only it sniffed its way around the shore, its coat shone in the sun and its wet nose glistened. As expected both Andy and I struggled to hold the cameras steady, of course we blamed it on the movement of the boat. However, in truth it was more likely the fact that we were so excited about seeing our first bear! 

We stayed with the little bear for around 15 minutes or so before the guide wanted to head off and look for other bears. Just as we moved off we sighted a mother and one cub, along the next small cove. These bears were much more nervous, perhaps the sound of starting the Zodiac engine had spooked them as we saw just enough to see it was adult and young before they ran back into the thick woodland and by the rustle of the tress above must have hot footed it up a tree. 

As we moved slowly looking for other bears the guide started talking to another nearby boat over the radio. It was then we heard the word ‘Wolf’. He stopped the Zodiac and explained to us all that a guest on a nearby boat had thought they may have just seen a Wolf run in the forest so if all guests we are happy bear viewing was paused and off to see if we could see what the guest had observed. We were not going to argue with this idea! So at this point I (Sarah) became ‘Mrs sceptical’, we knew Wolves were around the area, but the ‘area’ was huge, wolves very transient and incredibly illusive, could it really have been a wolf? We moved back toward the area of the other boat that our guide had communicated with, following the shoreline closely in the area that the possible sighting had occurred. Nothing, just crows, thick forest and the faint sound of the previous bear still rolling rocks over. 

However, ‘nothing’ did not last long as then, to everyones amazement out came a lone wolf! Ok, so this was a Wolf, a real Wolf, a Wolf in the wild!!! Everyone gasped, this was unbelievable and neither Andy or I thought we would honestly see a wolf, even though of course in the back of our minds we had always hoped we would.

It was tall and leggy with a nice rounded stomach, looking the picture of health. The guide then explained that other wolves had been seen earlier that day by a passing boat, having hunted a Black bear nearby to where we were. We looked back to where the other bear had been (both the young bear and mother and cub) and they had vanished. Not surprising given that Wolves were a threat to bears. Their acute sense of smell must have warned them of its presence. the wolf moved with speed along the rocks, sometimes disappearing back into the woods and then back onto the shore again briefly. It was really hard to get shots as we continued to move with the Wolf. It was certainly on a mission. Having followed it for around 10 minutes we then knew we would soon lose it as the shoreline ended which would force it in tall grassy area leading to the forest. 

Managing to get one or two shots it was time to absorb this amazing creature as it moved with amazing agility over the difficult rocky and slippery terrain of the shoreline, jumping up and over fallen trees.

Just at the point where we knew we would lose it in the long grass suddenly another shape became visible, a black shape and then all of a sudden two smaller grey shapes, the size of a medium size dog moving in the long grass. Just as you were trying to digest what this was in the grass the guide excitedly advises that it was MORE Wolves and not only more Wolves but at least two pups and a black Wolf. We saw them for just a few seconds as the lone Wolf we had followed joined them. As the Wolf joined them it picked something up off the ground, it was practically impossible to see what was going on given the grass and distance but just long enough to see that it had a bears paw in its mouth! So these must have been the same wolves that had reportedly hunted a Bear. We wish we could tell you that we got some shots of this happening, the pups and the black Wolf. Sadly not, the grass was too high, the boat was rocking and then they all disappeared behind a large mound and out of sight for good. We managed just a few seconds on video. Fortunately we knew we had got a couple of images of the Lone Gray Wolf (although how sharp they would be was dubious!) We knew these would not be great images but we did our best given we were on a small moving boat.

Wow, what a sighting!!!! not just bears but Wolves, seriously Wolves in the wild. AWESOME!. Feeling almost exhausted after this ten minutes of sheer excitement we had expected the guide to say we were heading back, but no...our bear mission was to continue! 

Shortly after, we came across another bear, this time a much larger bear and by its shape and size looked to be a large adult female. She was very obliging, moving across the shore again, like the other bears feeding with intent and picking up rocks as if they were made of balsa! This was all far too much excitement but at least at this point we managed to get a couple of nice shots. Heading off again, thinking at this point we were surely heading back to the dock we then came across a mum and two cubs. This was by now sheer craziness!! We were not able to get that close to these guys, firstly as mum and cubs can often be a little more nervous and secondly as the shoreline prevented us from approaching. 

Andy I by this point were ‘beared out’! we had hoped to see at least one bear, and never even entertained the idea that on our first Bear viewing excursion that we would see 7 bears, let alone a wolf!!

The 2.5 hour trip had exceeded all of our expectations, we had been very lucky and felt incredibly privileged (although to be fair we came to Canada with the expectation that any sighting is a bonus and as with all wildlife nothing is guaranteed!).

Now it really was time to head back......what a day! Time to check the images we had captured. Although knowing that we should prepare ourselves for some frustration that some would not be in focus due to all the boat movement, but in truth hoping we had got at least one good shot of the Wolf and of course the bears.

Black Bear

Momma Bear and Two Cubs

Gray Wolf

Our first 36 Hours in Canada. Happy faces all around!

The day for us to leave the UK and depart for our Canadian adventure finally came on September 7th and so here is our first blog of what we hope will be an action packed 2.5 weeks of wildlife and wilderness adventures. If the start of is anything to go by I don’t think we will be disappointed and so far Canada is exceeding our expectations in many ways!

This is not our first trip to Canada, having been here approximately 4 years ago whilst snowboarding in Banff but it is our first time to British Columbia and to we looked forward to seeing some of the Canadian wilderness without being shrouded by a a blanket of snow.

The morning after we landed in Vancouver we were straight on the early ferry to Vancouver island, where we are spending around 8 days focusing on Whales and Bears across 3  different areas of the island, starting with three days in Tofino, a small town located on the west of the island and nestled amongst stunning tree covered mountain peaks.

Of course we had ‘googled’ before we left about the areas we were visiting but nothing, and I mean nothing could have prepared us for the spectacular scenery that unfolded as soon as we arrived in the island and so far has continued way beyond what we ever imagined. Traveling along the highway from the ferry immense forests dominated everywhere we turned, impressive mountain peaks covered with a dense blanket of green, and some still with a small covering of ice and snow that clearly never melted. Everything in Canada was big! The mountains, the trees and not to mention huge great gas guzzling trucks!. As we traveled further west the roads became windy, the scenery became more and more spectacular as we passed crystal clear lakes and thick forest with huge Douglas Fir trees. Huge great granite boulders that jutted out from the mountains and lay strewn along the many many creeks we passed over. It was clear that the 3.5 hour journey to Tofino was going to take considerably longer as we could not help by stop of the roadside and take in the awe that was the Canadian wilderness, including places such as Cathedral Grove Provincial Park.

Eventually we arrived in Tofino, tired but excited about our next few days ahead. Our self catered studio accommodation was just perfect, located right at the waters edge with more amazing views that you just could never get tired of. Already, less than 24 hours in BC we were in love with this place!

We had some time in the afternoon to investigate the area more and spent some time along the Pacific Rim National park. We headed straight for the beach, knowing it was a known surf spot we also wanted to check out if there were any clean ‘barrels’ to be had!

To see the temperate rain forest come right to the edge of the ocean was just fascinating and it felt like a scene from prehistoric times with huge ferns and trees that seemed to be never ending in height. There was something truly mystical about this area. The surf was ‘up’ but rather messy so we were in no desperate rush to go and hire boards and jump on a wave. Driftwood covered the coastline as far as the eye could see on every beach we stopped at. It felt like every piece of wood had a story to tell. All different shapes, sizes and textures moulded by the power of the Pacific Ocean. I (Sarah) especially seem to have become obsessed with driftwood, come to Tofino and you will see what I mean!! 

Added to this amazing scenery was the fact that we were now well and truly in Bear territory, but not only bears as we soon found out. Signs dominated the parking areas warning that Wolf and Cougar sightings were on the increase. Ok, so now we were well and truly in predator heaven!!!

Our first adventure was to hopefully see Gray Whales, that could have consisted of either migrating whales or some of the resident population. We boarded a 12 passenger Zodiac with comfy seats for what was to be a trilling ride (as we were sat at the front of the zodiac, the bumpiest and most exhilarating place to sit!!) We travelled up the Clayoquot sound for a considerable distance, concentrating hard all around for the tell tale spout of water from a blowhole that would pinpoint the location of the our target mammal for the morning. Over 1.5 hours and still no luck, the swell was picking up and ride becoming bumpier with each minute that passed. Our guide was clearly getting a little anxious, keen to find some whales. As we started to accept that today was not going to be our day for spotting a whale we had ‘word’ that a Humpback Whale and her calf had been sighted. Our guide ‘hot footed’ to the area where they had been seen, still with no guarantee that we would see them. Then in the distance we saw several boats, they must still be in sight. By now the swell was gathering momentum, making it hard to see what was over the next crested peak. We arrived to where the Whales were and there she was, mother and calf. It was impossible for photography and almost impossible to see them over the undulating sea, but wow what a sight as she slowly glided under the surface, occasionally revealing her location with a spout of water from her blow hole, and every now and then revealing her immense size with a glimpse of her back as her calf followed closely. We stayed only 15 minutes or so with the Whale before we had to head back, pleased at least that we had seen a whale, even if it had not been the species we had expected to see. Any sighting of any animal in the wild especially a whale in such a huge area is a privilege. On the way back we also saw two large bald eagles nestled high upon a tall Douglas Fir, simply stunning!

We arrived back to the dock at 1pm feeling like we had done ten rounds with Mike Tyson after being hurled around in the front of the Zodiac! As we arrived back to our apartment we then found out that whilst out on the ocean at 12:41pm Vancouver Island (VI) had suffered an earthquake, just a little further north from our location. Reaching 6.4 magnitude it was by no means a small quake but fortunately not enough to cause any structural damage, the quake was felt all across Tofino, the whole of VI and also on the mainland. As we had been out in the ocean we were shielded from feeling the effects and there was no Tsumani warning in effect  as the epicenter of the quake was technically very shallow, just 25km down (Along the Pacific Rim we are in the ‘Tsunami Zone’ evident by the many signs showing evacuation routes). 

So that was the end of our first morning in Tofino......time to ‘regroup’ ready for our first bear watching adventure later that afternoon. 

Little did we know it was not just bears we were going to see! Check back later for our next update later today/tomorrow of what we saw!

The view from the Ferry leaving Mainland BC and toward Vancouver Island

En Route to Tofino

En Route to Tofino - Cathedral Grove Provincial Park

En Route to Tofino

One of the beautiful lakes en route to Tofino

Tofino - Tsunami Zone!

View from our studio apartment

Our studio apartment - bottom level, 2nd from the left

Signs along the Pacific Rim National Park in Tofino....Awesome!

Amazing Coastline - Pacific Rim National Park , Nr Tofino

Drfitwood

Canada: The next trip ahead!

Normally in August/September Andy and I embark on our usual trip to see the `wildebeest migration in Kenya. This year things have changed! As much as it 'pains' us to say it this year the 'wildies' will have to carry on without the Skinners! Thats right, this September we are off to Canada! 

Masai Mara, I promise we WILL be back soon, just not for a little while. Let the crowds ease first. We have another migration in mind for now........

So, we have talked of going to photograph bears for about 4 years now and every year we could not help but go to the Mara "Oh just one more migration"!  This year it just seemed the right time, enough talk lets just get on with it. Now its booked we cant wait! (Although admittedly now the house refurbs will be a little more delayed now, oh well, it will have to wait! )

The trip will involve 3 locations around British Columbia in Western Canada, to hopefully view Grizzly and Black Bears feeding along the rivers as well as seeing Canada's other endemic wildlife, including Orca and Humpback Whales and Bald Eagles.

In short our self drive itinerary looks like this: Start from Vancouver, by car/ferry to Vancouver Island, visiting Tofino, Port McNeil, and Campbell River over the course of 8 days. Focusing on Bears, Whales and Eagles. Travelling back on to the mainland we head on the long drive to Bella Coola for another 5 days, where we hope to see bears fishing in the Atnarko River in Tweedsmuir National Park during the annual salmon migration before heading back to Vancouver and home. 

You see a migration had to come into our trips somewhere. A September without migration, nope, I don't think so!

Unlike the Skinners normal accommodation style 'ala' roof tent we are staying in small local B&Bs, and self catering wilderness cabins. We may even take the night remote camera, bears around the cabin, now that would be something! 

See the 'black dots' on the maps below for our planned destinations for Sept 2011

The excitement always continues after dark!

One thing about camping is you are immersed in the bush 24/7, this means sharing your space with its regular inhabitants and accepting that you often get curious visitors into camp, its all part of the fun for sure! To capture what's going on while we sleep (and in the case of this Bull Elephant while we were trying to cook up dinner!!) we always put up one or two remote cameras and get really excited every morning about what may have passed by. Attached below is the best of our June 2011 trip, creatures both large and small!

"lesser Spotted Sarah'

Spotted Hyena

Elephant

 Elephant

 Scrub Hare

 Genet

The last few days of our African Adventure....

It was now time for us to head back over the the South side of the Mara, to the Mara Triangle. We were still keen to get a view on what was happening with the Mgoro females as after all we had only so far found 2 of the 4 females (originally 5 but we fear that the 5th possibly perished defending the cubs when the new 4km males appeared a few months back)  

Before we left we spent a little more time with Shingo and cubs. During which one of the cubs decided to rather cheekily and intentionally approach our vehicle, stretching up on the bonnet and then moving around the back of the vehicle to chew on our back tyre! As more cars arrived we decided to leave the cheetahs. After all they had hunting school to continue and the less vehicles the better. We had another brief amble along the Olare Orok River and again came across Nkayioni. Once again we were alone as many of the game viewing vehicles had headed to Shingo and Co. We soon found him again, enjoying the morning sun in the long grass. He remained relaxed and sleepy for around 15-20 minutes, occasionally glancing around and shifting his position. By now the sun was increasing in intensity and it was not long until he retreated back into the vegetation and this signaled our time to head over the Talek and Mara river and back to the Mara Triangle.

Once back in the Triangle we again caught up with some of the 4km males and much to our delight we found KB (Killer Bogey) with her daughter, Junior Bogey (ok, so no bonus marks there for original names!). So now we had accounted for 3 of the Mugoro females now. We still wanted to hopefully leave having found the 4th. 

On the last afternoon Andy was left to his own devices as I went out on evening ‘obs’ with our friends. the Hyena researchers. Three adorable cute Hyena cubs popped their heads out of one of the study dens and I was lucky to see them suckle, revealing vital information to Dave and his student researchers that confirmed this particular mother had 2 cubs and not just one. As darkness fell it was quite a sight to see so much activity around the den. Whilst we concentrate a lot of our efforts on the lions. understanding the pride structures/compiling ID charts etc it was really interesting to view so much behavior, quite a contrast to spending time with lions! I have to admit that ‘Hyenas rock’ and I will happily debate this subject with anyone who disagrees!

It was the last morning and our last opportunity to find the 4th Mugoro female. As we started to ‘wrap up’ and think about heading back to Nairobi we were distracted by some movement coming from the long grass near the ‘4km sign’ toward Serena. One lioness pops out, then 2, then 3 and then 4. How is that for last minute luck! We confirmed it was KB, Junior Bogey and the other two remaining Mugoro lionesses. They ambled along the road for a few hundred metres before taking a right turn and into a low lying area below the airstrip which they seem to love. This put the final piece of the puzzle back together and we had now taken the ‘register’ for our females. Happy days! Now we could travel back to Nairobi having caught up with many familiar faces from the Mara and having spent a great time with our good friends across the Mara (of the two legged variety!)

Curious Shingo Cub

Tasty Tyre

Killer Bogey (KB) and her daughter 'Junior Bogey. Must have been a good night!

Spots before our eyes!

The evening before we were due to leave back to the North side of the Mara we were keen to try and find Shingo and her 6 cubs again.  Fortunately it did not take too long to find them but unfortunately they were still in an area that was really not the best place for them to be. They were just a few kilometres from Talek town and hemmed in between some of the Olkiombo lions and the area where cattle have been coming into the reserve to graze at night. They had moved a little further into the reserve which was good but we still hoped soon they would move away from where they were as it was really not ideal cheetah territory. Overnight many more Zebras had appeared (Loita Herds) so the plains above Fig Tree Lodge was now dotted with many more plains game and probably one reason that the some of the Olkiombo lions had suddenly reappeared and crossed back from the North side of the river.

It was again cloudy and relatively cool so they were fairly active and ‘played’ around a lugga,  inaccessible to cars, (with Cheetahs we cant help feeling this is usually a good thing as not all drivers/guides have ‘ethics’ when it comes to approaching animals!) While watching them we saw them trying to catch a scrub hare, but with no luck, all the same it was good hunting practice for the cubs. 

It was not long until all of a sudden we saw the cubs dart across the plains on a mission that was a little more serious, with Shingo in tow at the end of the long line of cheetah.  She was clearly trying to get them to take more control and learn vital hunting skills that will be crucial for their survival. By now there were a few more vehicles present and everyone was agasp as they moved with lightening speed after a tiny Impala fawn that had suddenly appeared with its mother from over the brow of the hill. 

They carried on, slowing a little, then up and over the hill, weaving across the uneven ground that was heavily populated with Croton thickets. Zebras darted away as the Cheetahs were on a mission. We all soon lost sight of the cheetahs so we moved to then find them still chasing on the other side of the hill, having by now moved a serious distance. They must have now chased for at least 1.5km from where they had started. Incredible for an animal that can run fast but not for prolonged distances. Although not running at full speed due to the terrain and distance you could see the cheetahs and indeed the fawn were starting to tire as they weaved around the bushes still, neither the cubs or fawn relenting.

Then they all stopped abruptly as they successfully cornered the fawn, it now found itself in the middle of 7 Cheetahs. The cubs clearly lacked the experience or confidence to finish what they had started. As the fawn stood in the group of cheetahs some of the cubs ‘playfully’ nibbled at the the Fawns neck as it stood there. They had their quarry, now what to do? Shingo still refused to intervene. It was a surreal moment and had the light not been fading fast and the cloud increasing it would have been one of those awesome photographic moments! Although we still managed to take a few shots. Given the fawn was so far away from its mother we now hoped that the Cheetahs would now dispatch the fawn quickly, after all it would now not survive, even if it got away from the young spotty gang. It would also be good to see the cheetahs get much needed nourishment after so much energy had been expounded. 

The fawn took advantage of the Cheetahs in-decsion and inexperience and darted off again, until again it was cornered near another bush. However, the chase and occaisonal bleats of the fawn had alerted two Spotted Hyenas who without hesitation moved in to the scene to see what was ‘up for grabs’. At this point the Cheetahs, including Shingo then rushed away, suddenly the fawn was no longer the priority as the Hyena approached. The fawn, by this point was hiding in a tiny thicket. No one so far had managed to catch the fawn. 

For a few moments the cubs, with bristled fur and defensive posture stood facing the Hyena. Shingo carefully but confidently moved them away, but still only 20 metres or so from the Fawn, they had unfinished business. With that the Hyena seemingly went out of sight of the Cheetah and the vehicles.

When it seemed that the Hyena had relentented Shingo and cubs gingerly went back toward the bush they had left the fawn .By now everyone just wanted it to end, the Cheetahs needed food, the fawn was not going to survive, so best for all that it ended sooner rather than later. Within moments of them approaching the bush the Hyena suddenly appeared again. Except this time in a flash it grabbed the fawn and ran off away from the Cheetah, darting past our vehicle in the process. So the suffering ended for the fawn but the cheetahs faced an night without food. Clearly there is more work to be done for the Cheetahs to home their hunting skills.

By this point is was not far from getting dark so the Cheetahs moved away from the area with some purpose, they could hear the bells of the cattle arriving so they needed to find somewhere safe to ‘bed’ for the night. Another failed hunt for the Cheetah, but in the process another valuable hunting lesson.

We left the Cheetah and went to see the Hyena that had captured the fawn, within what seemed seconds the Fawn was ‘gone’. It was fascinating to watch how quickly it had devoured the fawn. It was indeed a real shame that having worked so hard Shingo and Co were left hungry again. However, the fawn had not 'perished in vain' and had at least given the Hyena a good feed, even if he did not have to work too hard on this occasion. It’s often seen that the Hyena are the ‘bad guys’  (We blame the ‘Lion King’!) but it really is unfair title to bestow on them, even if during this sighting it seemed so unfortunate that the Cheetah lost their meal to a Hyena. 

So sadly tonight was not the night for a successful hunt for Shingo and Co, but it was a truly amazing sighting and one that neither of us will forget! Fingers crossed that tomorrow brings a better day for them all  and that they get some decent nourishment and manage to move to a more suitable area. 

Nkayioni, we meet again

The morning after spending the afternoon with Notch (28th June) we decided to dedicate some time to ‘Operation Leopard’ and to hopefully catch up with some more familiar ‘faces’. We decided that we would take the opportunity and look for Olive and her most recent cub and/or perhaps even Paja or Nkayioni, both around 2 years old and Olives previous set of offspring. Whilst we did not want to just concentrate our Leopard ‘efforts’ on this trip to just finding Olive et al (after all there of course MANY other Leopards in the Mara and not just the known ‘personalities’!) we decided that as most of them had been seen recently it was a good place to start and we wanted to catch up with her and her offspring at some point during our time on the North side of the river. 

We make it sound as if finding Leopards is easy, it's most definitely not!, you often have to ‘do the time’ before you have any success. We knew that if we concentrated our efforts in prime/typical Leopard habitat, ‘thought’ like a Leopard and stuck to the area that they were all last seen we would increase our chances! It’s true also that sometimes you can also just ‘get lucky’, but we were happy to ‘put in the time’ and hope for success, if not we had tried our best. Even if we did not find Leopard there is always something of interest to see in the Mara even if its not the spotty kind, you never know what you may come across in paradise!

We had seen and heard recent reports from both Paul Kirui and Jackson that Nkayioni was often seen still ‘loitering’ around Olive. He is clearly not quite ready to fully break the bond with mum even though Olive now has more pressing concerns raising her one surviving cub [who we think must now be circa 6 months old and the only surviving cub from her original litter of two]. Indeed his relationship with Olive seems rather reminiscent of how Chui was filmed/documented as a true ‘mummy’s boy’ and stayed with Big Cat Diary ‘Star’ Bella for sometime before finally venturing out into his own new territory, possibly over in the Mara Triangle.

Paja on the other hand has embraced independence a little more and from what we understand is now in an area still close by to Olive, and we believe (although we could be wrong) has not been seen with Olive for some time. Although a little while yet she will hopefully, in the not to distant future be starting a family of her own. 

So, back to “Operation Leopard’. We had been given information that Olive and Co (that had included Nkayioni) had last been seen a day or so ago around the Olare Orok river and more specifically an area known as ‘Smelly Crossing’. For those who don’t know this area it is so called as when the river is low and lacks any decent flow or recent rainfall it kicks up quite a stink that is a real attack on the nasal senses and with a strong aroma of Ammonia/festering Hippo dung is certainly not a pleasant one!. We had heard that Paja on the other hand had been seen much further upstream and quite some time ago so traveling upstream from this area seemed a good place to start. It was around 7am that we got to the Smelly crossing area. We moved in an upstream direction and as slowly and as close as the tracks would allow us to the dense riverine foliage. Whilst also casting an eye over back over the plains in case one of the Leopards were returning from a hunting ‘sortie’. Giraffes, Impala, Jackal and Warthog but no Leopard. The forest was quiet apart from the sound of many bird species, the animals grazed and browsed peacefully and there was not an alarm call to be heard. That was until we turned a bend, around 1.5-2km from ‘Smelly Crossing’.

There sat a Leopard, as we drew in closer we could see it was a young boy, around 2 years of age and one that we soon recognised after a few moments. Mission accomplished we had found Nkayioni. We stopped at a distance that would hopefully not spook him or alter his behavior. It’s true that this handsome young chap is now somewhat habituated to vehicles compared to leopard found in other areas. Even still treating him with the respect he deserved we virtually moved in slow motion within the vehicle as we endeavored to mobilise the cameras as quietly (but as fast) as possible before he could retreat back into the thick vegetation. 

However, he was undisturbed by our presence, just us and Nkayioni!  Did it get any better than this? As he cast his eye across the plains, with the sun rising behind the hazy cloud he was now showing signs he wanted to hunt. It was not long until his gaze soon became locked onto two warthogs. The grass was so long you could only see just their ears. He wanted breakfast and Warthog was now on the menu. He soon rose from his placid state and limbered up with a long stretch before he moved slowly with stealth and patience toward his quarry on the plains. As he did he calmly walked within just a few feet from our vehicle, barely even giving us a passing glimpse. He was focused with absolute precision on the Warthogs.  Moments like this don’t always come along very often, sharing time with him, without other cars and seeing a Leopard so relaxed are just pure bliss. This is the time to put the camera down and enjoy being so close to such a beautiful and magnificent animal as he as sauntered calmly past the front of our car.  He soon disappeared into the long grass and until just a few feet away the Warthog had remained totally unaware that they were next on the menu.

However, today was their lucky day, just in time they caught sight of Nkayioni and bolted down a nearby hole. You could almost read the frustration on face. Nkayioni looked around, looking somewhat ‘bemused’, but other than the warthog the plains were bare. So a few moments later he retreated back toward us and to where we had first found him, the grass being so long that at times all you could see was his tailing flicking in frustration! 

So, Warthog was not on the breakfast menu today for after Nkayioni. Stopping for one last glance around the plains he then continued into the thick wooded area, stopping for a quick wash under a shady bush where we could just about make out his beautiful coat which seemed to merge seamlessly with the environment.  We knew that we were now going to lose him and soon enough we did. 

He had paraded in front of us, he had given us a good show, all without other vehicles. This was now Nkayioni’s time and time for us to leave him be. Maybe he was off to find a shady tree for the day. All of that excitement meant we were hungry by now to and off to find a nice spot to cook some breakfast ‘ALA’ Skinner style’ (Sausages and egg sandwich by the river!) 

Smelly Crossing

Another afternoon with Notch

On the afternoon of the 27th we had heard that Notch had been sighted again, this time across the other side of the Talek from where we had left him the day before and quite a few kilometres away. We had very little information to go by so to a certain extent it was going to be like looking for the proverbial ‘needle in a hay stack!’. That’s all part of the fun so off we trundled. As we looked under what felt like every croton bush and ever Gardenia bush we saw grey ‘Cumulus Nimbus clouds again forming, another storm was on its way. So the grey clouds were again bad news for photography, the evening sun was not going to show its face (and the clouds were not even dark enough to give that dramatic ‘mood’ but instead a bit of a dull look!) Our only concern was that it may rain too much for us to cross back over the river and toward our camp for the night. Luckily this was not the case as the heaviest rain just missed us and came later in the evening.

A good hour or so had passed as we then came over the brow of a hill and saw two vehicles parked by a bush, given the area it had to be a lion! Ambling up to see what was of interest we saw the tell tale dark mane of none other than Notch again. Although this time he was a lot closer than the previous sighting we have blogged about a few days ago. 

At this point we cared little about the cloud, after all it was our ‘good friend’ Mzee Notch. Any chance to see him on this trip was gratefully received and was one of the reasons we had travelled to the North side. It gave us the chance to get a much better look at him this time. It became even more apparent that he was really showing his age, he looked ‘tired’, not surprising to be fair considering he had travelled some distance since the previous afternoon. 


On the positive, although he was now looking like more like an ‘old lion’ he moved with ease and not as stiff as we have seen him look on previous trips. He was confidently surveying the area with the majesty you expect from Notch and as far as he (and we) were concerned he was still king of the Mara and by no means ready to give up the thrown. Just 30 feet or so away we then saw a lioness with cubs, although we could barely see them in the long grass. Given the area and their age we suspected and deduced that they must have been the same cubs that we had seen him with on our last trip in February. There was no sign of Grimace or the other boys, they had quite possibly gone on a foray even further away and we had a feeling (which the next day proved to be right) that 'Grimmy' was still over the south side of the Talek with another female.

Soon after the cars left so we now had him again to ourselves. We sat with him for the entire afternoon, just enjoying his company from a little distance away. Deep down we knew that this may be the last time we would see him on this trip as we were leaving back to the South side of the Mara in a couple of days to spend more time looking for Cheetah and other game. After all the Mara is about more than just Mzee Notch.

However, given we are not back to the Mara for at least 3-5  months ‘reality bites’ that it could possibly be our last time seeing him for good. Truth is it looks like he has more than a few months left ahead of him but there is never the guarantee that we will always find him every time we come to the Mara. We both like to think that the 'inevitable' is long time away yet. Yes, he looks old and has deteriorated in the last few months but he is by no means on his ‘last legs’ at all, just looking old quite fast now. After all, look at Claude from the Marsh pride, who despite looking like he was falling apart in late 2010 is still going on and on! Even so, despite our optimism when it was time to leave for camp we said our ‘goodbyes’ just in case. I have to admit this time it was a more teary goodbye than normal Andy stood by with the tissues for me! [Sarah]. Really we should not be sad, he has already reached a grand old age for a wild male lion and has gone on to rule many prides. Tears soon turned to laughter as we could only laugh at what Notch must think (“Get a grip” came to mind!) His strong genes will still live on in the Mara for some time yet.

So we, (mostly Sarah!) admit that we have broken the ‘golden rule’ of getting ‘attached’ to a wild animal (something we always try and avoid!) but make no apologies for having a true love for wildlife, both big and small. Sometimes its hard not to get attached when you have followed their trials and tribulations for so long and he is after all the biggest four legged celebrity in the Mara! Lets hope we see you on the next trip big man.