An emotional morning with the Elephants

I have to admit I am struggling to know how to start this post today. To put it bluntly this morning (15th March) I probably had one of the most emotional sightings I have ever had and one that I am unlikely to ever see again.

After spending some time with the cutest little hyena pups first thing we bumped into the four 'breakaway' females from the Marsh pride, just up above Paradise plains. They were looking to hunt and would likely be seeking out Warthog in the long grass. This sighting was 'enroute' to the Musiara Marsh, where we had heard there was a dead elephant. This was going to mean that we could potentially have a visit from a number of different predators, and perhaps even the Marsh pride so we decided to track this way.

As we approached we saw the carcass, it's tusks intact so this fortunately meant it had not been poached, but its cause of death was still unknown, perhaps it was sick or indeed just old age. It lay in the open, but in long grass, not too far from Governors Camp.

Two of the young males from the Marsh pride (those sired by Romeo/Clawed) were sitting near the carcass but not yet feeding, simply guarding from other potentially interested critters. One appeared around 3 years old and the other older, at around 4 I would estimate. Not too far there was a large clan of Hyena who wanted to advance but were deterred by the presence of the males - this was surprising in itself as there were at least 20 Hyena, who with the ratio in their favour could have potentially pushed the boys away.

This is where it started to get interesting and you are probably expecting me to now write about how there was a huge fight between the lions and Hyena, but no that's not where this post is headed and nor did that happen!

Instead approaching from the right we noticed three elephants, all different ages. They appeared to be advancing toward the carcass. Sure enough they did and what followed was an incredibly emotional scene and one I will never forget.

The lions ran off as the elephants approached closer, the younger male heading into the woods and the older one remaining in the area but just moving further from the carcass. With Hyenas still keen to advance to the carcass the elephants started to slowly and silently approach the dead elephant. They arrived at the scene and began to smell and gently touch and caress the carcass with their trunks. Gently prodding as they circled the fallen elephant.  If I said that the elephants looked sad you will all possibly laugh at such a comment and the fact I here I have 'inappropriately' associated a human emotion with an animal. However, on in all seriousness this really appeared to be the case here. They say that elephants possess a very high level of emotional intelligence and many research papers have been written about cases where elephants appear to mourn the loss of a relative, just as humans do. This appeared to be was exactly what I was witnessing right in-front of me. My thoughts at this point turned to my husband, I so desperately wished he could witness this behaviour with me, instead of being stuck back in the UK, stressed and having to work!

One particular elephant paid a greater level of attention to the carcass than the others, refusing to leave it while the others circled, walking back and forth.  I really had a 'lump in my throat' at this point and we were all in complete shock at the behaviour we were witnessing. It was incredibly moving and an emotionally charged moment. I really cannot find the words that will express what we were seeing, or how we were all feeling as we watched this all unfold in front of us.

Soon more elephants began to arrive on the scene, probably another 6-8 or so, with the one elephant still refusing to move away. As the others arrived they stopped a distance of around 5-10 metres from the lifeless body and just stood as they watched the single elephant stand motionless next to the fallen pachyderm, occasionally feeling with its trunk. It was becoming apparent that this elephant was really affected by the death of this animal. The way in which it was behaving was quite possibly as it had just lost very close family member or perhaps it was it's mother who lay there. Elephants have an incredibly tight knit relationship within the herd and these bonds last a lifetime. When a family member is lost it affects the herd and specific individuals in many ways. It was at this point we almost began to feel that we were intruders in a private family moment, but starting the vehicle would have caused more disturbance then by sitting their quietly and at a distance. Fortunately there were only a small number of cars at the sighting and their was a silence that was respectful of what was happening.

Slowly the other elephants who had also congregated moved closer, some again touched the body with their trunks and some just stood in silence, watching. One elephant approached the young elephant that was standing vigil and gently entwined their trunks together, a process of exchanging information between elephants, but was this also perhaps a way of offering some form of reassurance and comfort. It certainly seemed that way. It was as if all of these elephants were coming to pay their respects. One large adult moved in and even touched the dead elephants trunk with her large feet, as if to see if there was any life left.

At this point the Hyenas were just getting too impatient and sized the opportunity to try and move in as the elephants came back and forth to the carcass. The one particular elephant was just not wanting to leave no matter what. However, each time the Hyena advanced they were scared off by the elephants who charged at them, trumpeting as they did. The noise of the Hyenas 'giiggling' and whooping, together with the echo of the elephants trumpets resonated with power around the marsh and that was a sound I will also never forget

In this time the older of the two male lions kept trying to move in, but was moved off again and again by the elephants, although they seemed more interested in the Hyena and this was making tempers flare and causing a great deal of stress for the elephants.

Finally the Hyenas had the opportunity to move in started to open up the carcass. Their sharp and powerful teeth, that can crush a cast iron kettle made light work of breaking through the tough skin. However, their attempts to feed were constantly interrupted by the elephants who wanted the Hyena off the carcass.

This was one of those occasions when you wish you had a good video camera with you as the stills just don't capture the scene as filming would have done. One lucky man at the sighting was 'armed' with a good quality video camera, he was one lucky fella to be capturing all of this amazing behaviour!

All around the Marsh elephants appeared, some moving in to inspect closer and some staying close to the edge of the wood. Were these elephants gathering to mourn a family member? It really seemed and if this was so. 

After around an hour the elephants eventually moved off, with the one Elephant that had remained at the carcass nearly all of the time being the very last to leave. It ambled off slowly and seemed to exhibit a great deal of reluctance that it needed to now rejoin the rest of the herd again.

Its fair to say that after this left we all felt incredibly moved. Paul, in all of his years of guiding had NEVER seen such behaviour before.

Tomorrow morning we will return to the scene as by this time we think that some of the Marsh pride will appear later this evening and will watch as the story unfolds of life and death on the African plains.

Curious Hyena cubs investigate our vehicle!

 The four 'ex marsh' breakaway females

The first three elephants come to investigate

One of the young marsh males and the elephant who would not leave the carcass

Chasing away the young Marsh male 

More elephants come to investigate and 'pay their respects'

The protective young elephant tries to chase off Hyena

The herd stand by as the young Elephant still waits by the carcass

Completing the family circle with the 'Ridge male'

As with every other morning we set off at 6am this morning and the first port of call was to check out of Notch & the 'ex Olkiombo' ladies were still around the same area as last night. 


Every morning so far whilst getting ready to go out I had heard their early morning roars from my tent but this morning was an exception and given the Buffalo had clearly reached its 'sell by date' it was quite likely they would now have moved off. As we arrived at the location we surveyed high and low and as anticipated the girls and Notch were nowhere to be seen. However, we again found the sick lioness, having not moved at all again but this time alone. Seeing something like this pulls at the heart strings and no matter how much you tell yourself that this is nature it still hurts to see an animal suffering like this. Many Hyena had now moved into the vicinity now that the other lions and cubs had moved off and given the lionesses condition it seemed the inevitable may soon occur. Of course lions are resilient but without the strength to move and Hyena nearby her future does not look bright. We decided to head off, leaving the lioness in peace.


We looked for some time in the area for the pride, but with no luck so headed off toward 'Double crossing' in search of another Leopard who had been seen in the last few days with cubs. Although this female was said to be quite shy so it was a little bit of a long shot but worth a go and with Paul Kirui at the helm we could not increase our chances anymore!


However, before we even got to this area we stopped several times to scan the plains far and wide for any activity of the feline form (or anything else interesting for that matter as its not all about the cats!). As we did Paul spotted a Leopard, at first both Angela and I struggled to locate what Paul had seen, thinking we were looking nearby only then to see that paul had spotted the Leopard in the far far distance. Paul had clearly woken up with bionic eyes this morning! 


You could see this Leopard was 'thick set' and most definitely a male. We were however on the wrong side of the Olare Orok River so we had to go a long way in order to find a crossing point, knowing that if the Leopard retreated into the bushes we would likely lose him. However, it was worth a try. We moved some distance away but still managed to keep him in our sight, losing him occasionally and then finding him before losing him again and this is how it went for the next 15-20 minutes or so. We managed to get down to Double crossing and onto the 'right side'. As we did we again found this big male, and were close enough now for Paul to advise that it was the 'Ridge Male'. Who also happens to be the father of Olives cubs that we had seen a couple of days ago. His neck was thick and with large head and his size much larger than a female Leopard such as Olive, all of these being characteristics that makes the males easy to differentiate males from the females (aside from the 'obvious of course!)


We tracked him for a short time, we did not know how shy he would be, but it turned out to be quite the contrary as he tolerated our presence without any concerns, but even so we always kept a respect distance. We managed to get a couple of shots before he then entered an area in which it looked like we would lose him for good. We really could not complain though, as on and off we had spent around 15 minutes with him and what was even better is that the entire time we had been on our own! Another prime example of how the "Mara plan' (as Paul calls it) can change at any time! We were all delighted that we had now completed the 'family circle' so far this week with Olive and the cubs and now had seen the cubs father, and what a handsome Leopard he is! 


Leaving the Ridge male we continued on and it was not too long until we came across 4/5 dark and slightly blood stained Hyena trotting along one of the tracks. As we headed over the brow of a small hill we then saw the tell tell sign of 2 male lions, two rather inconspicuous dark manes protruding from the grass. As we neared I instantly recognised the first male, it was again Grimace and he was coveting the fresh remains of a Buffalo kill together with another of the Notch sons who had his back to us at this point.  Nearby, just 5 metres or so from the kill was a female, again one that looked rather thin. Paul advised this was one of the 'breakaway Olkiombo girls, one that we had not seen so far on this trip. 


As soon as we arrived one of the males moved away and headed to a small lugga, clearly after gorging on such a large feast he was in need of water. This left Grimace at the kill but he in typical male lion behaviour he was refusing to allow the female to feed, even though she so desperately needed to eat. Every 10 minutes or so she slowly tried to edge closer to the kill, hoping that Grimace would allow her to feed, but every time that Grimace caught sight of this he growled and adopted a defensive posture, making it clear he was sharing this with no-one. 


Several Hyena waited nearby, wanting to chance their luck on getting a piece of the action but all the time that Grimace was there and without significant numbers they would be foolish to get too close so they kept a distance. Cheeky little Jackals trotted mischievously around the lions, hoping to also get some scraps to.


Given the 'bloody' Hyenas we had just seen and the way in which some of the Buffalo remains had been scattered we concluded this this was probably not killed by the lions, but more likely by the Hyenas. The males had likely stolen the mean for themselves, as so often happens.


Eventually Grimace moved off, also to get a drink and to the same tree where the other male lay (Looked to be Caesar or Ron). Although there was barely anything left of the Buffalo we hoped she could at least get some nourishment. By this point the 'clean up crew' started arriving by air, first with hooded vultures and then followed by some Tawny eagles who waited nearby on the tree above the males, also hoping that when the lioness had finished they could also procure some meat! 


However, this was not for long as soon after Grimace had left the kill the other male returned. This was bad news as we knew that as soon as he would approach he was likely to push the lioness off, and sure enough he did, she has fed for only 5 minutes or so on the tiny pieces of meat left. With a large roar there was a aggressive encounter in which despite her thin state she still managed to swipe he male with some force, but still having to retreat from the carcass in the end.


The male was taking no chances and wanted to keep the kill for himself and his brother/cousin so despite the distance (around 1/3 km) he then proceeded to drag the carcass away from the lioness and back to the tree. We really felt for her at this point, she had failed to gain any food. She followed the male at a distance, but they refused to allow her near the carcass or even into the shade.


Just moments after the males had left the initial area where the Buffalo had been killed the Hyenas moved back in, whopping and giggling with excitement and all of them frantic to see if they could scavenge any bits of meat that may have been left. Although in many ways they were rightfully trying to reclaim what had been theirs to start with! One lucky Hyena appeared to find part of a rib and ran excitedly across the plains, followed by a number of Hyena, desperate to try and steal it back! 


The initial chaos then simmered down as by now there was no trace left of the Buffalo, aside from a blood stained area and the remains of it's stomach content. It was at this point we headed off. Despite having watched what many would consider a 'gruesome' scene we were still hungry and need breakfast!! 

New beginnings and Notch finally poses for the camera!

The morning of the 13th was again dedicated to Olive and her cubs. We were very lucky as unlike the previous morning we found Olive still with the cubs and again located at the exact same spot as the last few days.


We watched with delight as they rustled around in the bushes and playfully bounded around Olive. Jumping up and down the rocks which was clearly great fun! Olive remains so unbelievably patient while the new cubs explore their new and exciting world, but they never ventured far from mum.


Today we managed to identify the sex of the cubs and pleased to report she has had one of each, a male and a female. This now means we can now name these cute little bundles of fluff! I shall leave the announcement of the names that Paul, Angela and I agreed on for Paul to cascade as we feel this should be his honour to pronounce to the world!,  but I am sure everyone will like them.....


Olive soon left and disappeared behind the rocks and that was when we lost here, with this the cubs retreated back underneath the rocks.


We made our way back to the Ridge pride, those whom we had seen the day prior. Taking the 'register' all 3 adult females, 4 male subs, 3 female subs and 2 young cubs were present and correct. They still looked rather hungry as they rested in 3 or 4 groups across a small area close to a wooded area. Whilst we still had some nice light we trundled off to see if we could again catch up with Notch and the breakaway Olkiombo girls.


Along with the females he was still at the same location as the evening prior (no other males present) and all lay comatose under the bushes, they were hauled up in this area for the day that was for sure! Getting a clear shot of the big guy still eluded me! The sick lioness was still hanging on to life, but by now had not moved for at least 48 hours. She just had no strength to move. So very sad but at 12 years old she has reached a good age, but now her age was against here in helping her to recover.


We spent a little time with the pride and before heading North to an area where the 4 breakaway females of the Marsh pride had been seen and along the way seeing the most amazing sight of 17 giraffe as they made their way in formation toward the Olare Orok river, quite a sight!


The plains were dotted with small and isolated pockets of game, with the exception of a huge herd of Buffalo. Hidden in the long grass we came across what looked to be a heavily pregnant Thomson Gazelle. However, within a short space of time we all realised that she was not just pregnant but was actually about to give birth!! This was something I had never seen before, she was alone with just a small herd a few hundred feet away. It reminds you how vulnerable they are, they have no midwife and no pain killers, in nature just left to get on with it.


She was in an area of long grass, around 100-150 feet away from the road, the sun was beating down but for the Gazelle this is the best time to give birth, a time when most of the predators had sought some shade from the 'kali' sun and also fortunately at a time when very few vehicles were around. As she lay on the floor she was clearly in discomfort but did not make a sound as we started to see the head of the fawn appear. At this point she then stood up and moved, trying to dislodge her baby. With that she then disappeared behind a mound. We took that as our cue that she needed some privacy. We would return later to see how she was doing.


We came across the 4 females who broke away from the Marsh pride some time ago. They rested under a small acacia tree, panting from the heat and covered with flies. Occasionally they stood, only to flop back down again. They looked in good condition so clearly had been suffering no issues in sourcing food and not skinny and thin as so many lions are at present. One lioness had quite a strange red wart on her left side of her mouth, again something I had not seen before.


I marked GPS coordinates and tried to get a few ID shots (very difficult when a lion is laying down!) and then decided to leave to start heading back to camp. It was scorching hot and we also wanted to check up on our little Gazelle who by now we hoped had become a mum!


As we arrived at the same spot we could see her, albeit behind long grass. There beside her was a tiny, wet Gazelle fawn. Having only been born just less than one hour before the delicate little fawn was now on its feet. It's legs wobbled as the mother licked it clean. Nature had many incredible 'Anti predator mechanisms and being able to stand so fast after birth is one of them. It was a lovely moment and of course we were glad she had made it through and delivered her fawn. The other Gazelle looked on nearby with intrigue.


With that we headed back to the lodge and time recharge our batteries!!


That afternoon we returned back to Notch, I was still really keen to get some decent photos of Notch and also hopefully to try and see the 2 tiny cubs again. The female with the two cubs had moved and we came across her first exactly 1km from the main group. She had cleverly positioned herself and the cubs on small 'island' in the middle of a lugga and where she remained quite hidden with the cubs in the long grass. Moving on to the main group Notch had not moved an inch and the females had moved about 15 feet to some other bushes. So we sat and patiently waited for the temperature to drop, knowing that this would be when Notch and possibly the females would hopefully become a little more mobile.


At least an hour after waiting sure enough and right on cue Notch started yawning, a clear sign that he would move, and that he did. Right out into the open and passing VERY close to our vehicle where he sat and surveyed his land with the confidence and arrogance of male lion that has called the Mara his home for nearly 13 years. There he happily obliged me with some nice shots. It was nice light so that was great and gave me a good opportunity to get some nice 'portrait shots'.


Not long before we had to leave he moved and again moved toward the Buffalo carcass, stopping to scent mark along the way. Surely there could not be an meat on that Buffalo any more but he was going to certainly try. Here we left him, pulling at the rotting skin of the Buffalo, it is no wander he had lost a few more teeth as by now this Buffalo hide must have been liked trying to tear through the toughest leather!


Another action packed day with some great sightings. Does anyone want to ask me again why I travel so much to the Mara!!! The same place but always something different to be seen.......

Notch finally poses

 New life in the Mara

Some of the Ridge pride

The four 'breakaway females from the Marsh pride

 A 'journey' of Giraffe

 Scent marking before dining again on the Buffalo

The sun falls as Notch chows down behind me on a rancid Buffalo!

Olive, Notch 2 and Notch, the 'mane' man!

It's not often you get the chance to see such tiny young leopard cubs so we decided on the morning of the 12th to give it another go to see Olive and her cubs. Turning the corner just 1/2 km or so before the current den site we suddenly found Olive, just ambling along the track and coming toward us. This was a moment of mixed emotions, on one hand delighted that we had found Olive, whilst on the other hand we knew that this had put a stop to any chance of seeing the cubs as the minute she leaves the den the cubs crawl under the rocks and wont appear until Olive returns. It was dark but we were still able to follow Olive for a short time as she headed east and along the Talek. Paul, Angela and I were all trying to will the sun to come up as quick as possible to get some shots! 

We followed her for around 10 minutes before she then tracked into the bush, Paul had a sneaking suspicion that she was going to potentially cross the Talek, at a point in the river that bends in an oxbow formation so we positioned ourselves and hoped she would oblige with our 'plan'! . We sat and sat for quite some time but Olive just did not appear anywhere, nor were there any signs from the river that a leopard may be approaching (no warning calls etc from the Egyptian Geese who were mooching around down in the river bed. We decided to track back in case she had doubled back but no sign at all and  where we had 'lost' her was in thick croton was no chance for us to investigate further. So Olive had decided that she did'nt want to be seen anymore and well, quite frankly that's a Leopards prerogative!!! 

Word had then come through the 'Bush Telegraph' that the females from the 'breakaway Olkiombo pride' had returned to the area where they had the Buffalo kill and that a male had joined them, so this formed the next part of the 'Mara plan'. 

Approaching I felt excited and anxious, firstly we were keen to see if the cubs were still alive after Grimace had been with the pride but secondly I was desperate to see who the male was! I will admit that deep down I hoped it would be Notch, as I was longing to see him!!! 

As we approached the stench of the now decomposing Buffalo had reached a point that it was almost unbearable, it did not help that he had been killed in a deep lugga with stagnant water!! As we approached we instantly saw the females, under the same bush as seen previously and then caught the sight of two tiny bodies that wriggled in the undergrowth. Phew!, the cubs were fine and had not fallen fate to Grimace, that was a relief for sure. It was by now around 9am so the chances to seeing the lionesses or the cubs coming out into the rising heat were practically non existant. 

So that was the cubs accounted for.....now where and who was the male. Paul manoeuvred slowly around the bush where the females hidden deep inside and the male was not to be seen, and then all of sudden we saw a flat shape right alongside the vehicle hidden deep in the grass. As soon as we passed I instantly recognised the tell tale dark belly and then saw the dark mane. It was indeed Mzee Notch. At this point I was so happy, although he had been so hidden that we almost ran over him!!! Well, ok that was an exaggeration, but he was close! 

He did not even move a inch, or lift his head at all as we passed by. We moved away and to a respectful distance. I was really happy that again I had seen the old Mzee. Paul and Angela were very tolerant as I was rather 'amped' and obliged in my request that although nothing was really happening here I just wanted him to lift his head, just enough to at least get a nice head shot. I also wanted to just spend some time in his company (ok, yes its 'corney' I know but I have had a relationship with this dude since 2005!!) The light was harsh and the grass long here, but who cared at that point, it was the man himself. I knew that Andy would be both happy and sad to hear we had found Notch. Happy as he knew it would make my day, but also sad as I knew he also would want to see how the old fella was doing.

For a lion of around 13 years and one with an active history across the Mara he looked good, but I had to admit he was now looking like an old lion, although he still looked healthy and well fed so I was not concerned in any way. There is plenty of life left in the old man yet I am sure (and I hope!!). He had a little more mange in some areas from what I could make out, but nothing that was too much concern at all, nothing that you would not expect to see in an old guy. he is always well fed which keeps him healthy and that would aid in preventing it spreading. Everyone had a bad skin day at some point!  and it looked to be quite superficial. He had sustained a broken lower canine some time ago but has now also lost three of his lower incisors. Soon he is going to need dentures!

He lifted his head once or twice whilst in a lying position, just enough to glance around and see what was going on, but not enough for the clear head shot that i really wanted. There was only so long I could expect poor Angela to sit and watch a sleeping lion and I admit I was also desperate for a cup of tea! so I said 'Kwaheri' and hoped to see him again later. Maybe later I would get the chance of some decent photos and at least see how he was moving etc and get a proper look at him.

As we moved toward a shady tree I suddenly asked Paul to stop in his tracks, I had just caught site of something dark in the long grass, probably around 1km away and just wanted to check as it looked like another male lion. As I scrambled for the binoculars my thoughts were confirmed. It was Notch 2 (who I am almost 100% is Notch's son, rather than  his nephew as I think Grimace maybe). He was obviously headed to the lions we had just left. The cup of tea could wait!!

We doubled back and Notch 2 walked toward us and past the car, it was like looking at Notch 5 years ago, just a spitting image and with the same distinct stunning black mane. I was desperate to see how the dynamics and relationship was between Notch and Notch 2 so we headed straight to where Notch was as we knew he would approach. 

As Notch 2 approached 'dad' confidently he suddenly woke dad with a start and then stood up (annoyingly with his back to us...arggghhh!!!). With that there was a large growl and Notch launched a 'left hook' at Notch 2. Notch 2 instantly lowered himself and this showed a clear sign of submissive behaviour and also respect for Notch.  This I was glad to see! Within a second or two Notch then moved and positioned himself between Notch 2 and the females/cubs (most of this happening in the bushes). He still took his role and father and protectorate seriously and Notch 2 respected this. 

Notch 2 moved away, passing close to our car and was one of the moments that you realise just how big these males are, we could have touched him!! 

Everything then settled down and Notch returned to his horizontal state and again refusing to oblige me in my hope for a photo. Who was I too argue with Notch!!! 

Whilst it was a little frustrating not to get any movement in the open from Notch it's a fact that when lions are struggling to hunt due to a lack of prey they will do their utmost to conserve their energy as who knows when there next meal is coming. Why expend the much needed energy when it is not needed? a clear survival tactic that many animals use to retain their condition.  So anyone that says lions are 'lazy' has me to argue with first!! It's called survival and there are no McDonalds in the African Bush! 


In the afternoon we caught up with the Ridge pride (aka 'Disney's River pride/Rekero Pride/maternity pride) which consisted of 4 young sub males (circa 2 years), 3 Adult females, 3 Female subs and 2 young cubs (4-5 months). They were spaced out along several croton thickets and looked like they needed a good feed (although by no means emaciated as I have sadly seen a couple of lions on this trip) 


We did not hang with them too long as we were keen to see what Notch and Co were up to with the 'Olkiombo breakaway females'. We returned to the site and found that the pride had not moved from the mornings location. Notch still lay partially hidden, but just before the light fell decided to go and chow down on the remains of the Buffalo. It must have been a sickening taste and the smell coming from the dead Buffalo was horrid and every time Notch tried to move the carcass to access any remaining meat it exaggerated the smell even more! We watched him feed on the tough skin and the tiny morsels of meat that were left for just around 10 minutes, it was late and we had to be careful not to be get back to late.......

Notch and Notch 2 = one happy Sarah! 

Notch chilling out under the Croton bushes

Notch (right) shows his son who is still boss

 Submissive behaviour from his son

Rotting Buffalo for dinner

Duma Delight!

On the afternoon of the 11th we decided to head over to an area North East of Mara Intrepids where a cheetah mother and two older cubs had been spotted. It was a bit of a long shot given that they had been seen many hours earlier...but it was worth a shot!

All of eyes were peeled as we scanned high and low. The grass was short in this area and populated with many Thomson Gazelle so perfect cheetah country, very much in contrast to much of the Mara at present which is characterised by tall red oat grass and certainly not idea Cheetah hunting ground.

It was rather sad to see that this area was also home at this point to more grazing cattle than I care to mention. Herdsman moved the cows through the area and as we arrived looked to be headed back toward their manyattas in the bordering conservancies. Sadly, its very much reality in the periphery of the park boundaries at present and whilst this is a lengthy and also somewhat controversial debate, at present it just has to be accepted as reality, with hopefully a solution sooner rather than later to relieve such pressures on the area, However, at the same time reaching an amicable solution for the local people.

That withstanding, we continued to scour for the Cheetah when after around 45 minutes of searching we came across the mother and two cubs. The cubs being around 12 months old, but by no means ready for independence.

It appeared they wanted to hunt, but sadly much of the game was on guard and disturbed by the grazing cows as they moved through the area and back to their home ground. The Cheetah also watched the herds and accompanying herdsman with caution. It was clear that despite initial attempts to actively hunt they would have to abort these plans now.

After getting a couple of 'record shots' we decided to leave these guys to their own devices and could only hope that the Cheetah party would have an opportunity the next day to hunt. They looked hungry but certainly not desperate for food.

During this time word had spread to a few that two other male cheetahs had been found, not too far from Rhino Ridge and the pair had been identified as 'Honeys boys'. Once this was a coalition of 3 strong and fearsome males but now sadly after one had been killed by lions in October 2011 so now only two remained.

It was not long until we found them, they were highly mobile and we had quite a job to keep up with their fast pace. We moved far ahead of them as there behaviour was going to be quite predictable, as anticipated they continued to pace across the plains, stopping only to scent mark and scour the plains using termite mounds in order to gain a better vantage point to survey any potential prey. They were in hunting mode for sure.

The grass was high in this area but this did not deter the advances of the boys across the plains. The light was nice, not too harsh and with a very soft orange glow, although a slight haze meant we were not lucky enough to get that deep orange 'golden hour' that you often get shortly before the sun sets. The tips of the grass  glittered in the light, the plains were silenced and marked only be the noise of the grass under their feet. We shared the sighting with only 3 vehicles at the sighting so it was a lovely moment to spend with this guys.

Prey was scarce here, albeit apart from the occasional vigilant Topi that gave away the boys movements to other game nearby.  They approached an area where more appropriate prey (Impala/Gazelle) scattered the plains but a Hyena nearby meant that hunting tonight in this area would not be a viable or sensible option for the boys. They would potentially expend all of that energy, only to lose it to a hyena at the mere 'bleat' of their prey being dispatched. They would have to move on and either hunt in the night or wait until daybreak (Whilst Cheetah are diurnal and in most cases hunt in the day it is not uncommon for these boys to hunt at night and had been recorded several times, especially on nights marked by a good moon)

It was interesting to watch the behaviour of the two, clearly one was more dominant and he had now learned to be the leader after the original dominant had lost it life some months early. We also noticed that the less dominant of the boys had an interesting left upper lip that seemed to look like he was Grimacing. Seems to be a trend in the Mara these days! Perhaps the result of an injury during hunting. It had long healed but was quite obvious and not something we had every noticed on this boy before.

The light dropped and it was time to head off, it was one of those lovely sightings, silent and peaceful and in the company of two beautiful cats. I did not want it to end, but it had to so off we headed and left the boys as they continued on.

So, already I had been in the Mara just 24 hours and had some lovely sightings, but already it felt like I was back home......

One of the 'Honey boys' with old injury to the upper left lip

The two remaining Honeys boys

Some familiar faces!

On the morning of the 11th we set out at 6am on a mission to again try and see Olive and her cubs. As we arrived at the current den site is was clear that our early start had paid off. Within just five minutes of arriving Olive revealed herself, but lying deep inside a bush and against a low lying rocky area, the same area we had visited the afternoon prior. The only frustration was that it was still very dark, the sun had barely begun to rise so getting shots was almost impossible. Anyone who is into photography will understand the frustration of only achieving 1/10 sec at 500mm and that was at ISO 6400!! Scanning the rocks it was not long until two tiny little cubs appeared. Staying close to Olive they dashed back and forth, clambering over Olive who remained incredibly tolerant with the fidgety little cubs. It was very hard to get a really clear view as many overhanging bushes shielded them from a clear site and obviously why Olive chose this as the area to keep her cubs safe. The smallest of gaps under the rock allowed just enough room for them to squeeze in their minute bodies, and providing good protection from predators.

The cubs just around 6 weeks old were about the length of Olives back paw, they seemed so small and delicate. As the light slowly rose it revealed they had the most amazing blue eyes and a fluffy dark mottled coat that kept them well camouflaged against the dark Granite rock. Even as the light improved it was very hard to get anything in focus of these little cheeky cubs (sex unknown at this point!) but at times like this even with the frustration of not being able to get a decent shot I had to remind myself that I was looking at leopard cubs and just so young at that, just fab!!! Such a sight is certainly not a daily occurrence!

At best I managed to achieve 1/100th sec shutter speed so I  struggled to achieve anything half decent, especially as my camera wanted to focus on everything but the cubs. However, I managed to get enough of a shot to post here on the blog, even though these ones will sadly be sharp enough for the website. sometimes thats just the way it goes (although  yes, very frustrating!!) So, thats my way of apologising for the slightly out of focus images below!! (sorry Andy, I tried my best!)  but hopefully they are enough to see that they are just the sweetest little things and so tiny!!

We had around 15 minutes with them as they played around, disappearing and then reappearing. Olive then started to get a little unsettled and with a large yawn we knew she was going to soon be on the move. When she yawned we also noticed she had a lower right canine missing.

Right on cue she moved off, behind and into the croton, with that we knew our time with the cubs was up as when the mother moves away they know to go back and hide all the while that they don't have the protection of Olive.

We tracked Olive for a short time, enough to get a reasonable shot or two of her walking. She was clearly on a mission to  hunt. It was not long though until she also disappeared and into an area that was just not accessible, perhaps she was going to try and cross the river. We waited for some time but after a little while decided it was time to move off. 'Mission Olive' a success but of course we really hoped that we could get another opportunity to photograph her and the cubs, but this time with a little more light we hoped!! 

Paul then advised us that he had heard that a male lion had appeared at the same site as the lions we had seen the previous afternoon. Andy and I follow all the animals in the Mara (particularly the predators) with great interest but in particular spend a lot of time with the lions and very interested in the pride dynamics of the Mara as the evolving stories that unfold with each pride.  So of course I was really keen to see who this male was and so were Paul and Angela. 

As we approached the exact same location as yesterday it took about 2 milliseconds for me to ID this boy. It was 'Grimace', one of the infamous Notch boys and one who we are rather fond of. Although admittedly he is one of the more troublesome members of this 5 male coalition (Including Notch) as he had been responsible for killing many cubs in the Mara, even those from prides they have control off.  The exact reason of this is unknown to an extent but I suspect its due to the fact that he has not mated with many of the females bearing cubs and therefore will kill any cub that he knows is not his. He is one of the only Notch boys that rarely seems to gets the opportunity to mate and the females view him with a degree of distrust,  In addition, even if he has mated with females and sired cubs because he spends a considerable amount of time away from many of the cubs he has sired and therefore its possible he loses the scent that the cubs are his and therefore potentially driven to kill them. Just two of the possible reasons. In a nut shell Grimace is a lion with 'issues'! 

As we approached he was feeding on the now even more rancid Buffalo carcass that still lay in the deep lugga, but soon moved off and toward a female, one of the sub adults who was 2-3 years old. Despite her age, being a little too young to bear cubs he followed her with interest, sniffing her and advancing with a keen interest! Although she may have been starting to give off the necessary pheromones as she is starting to mature and the scent that was attracting Grimace she made to clear to him that any sexual relations at this point were not on her agenda, but they were on his! Getting the hint he then settled down alone, not before he scent marked bushes near by. She moved away and unsuccessfully tried to hunt a warthog, staying around 25-50 metres away.

The concern on all of our minds was where are the cubs?! Knowing his track record we were understandably worried. None of the cubs, nor the adults were to be seen. Only the sick female lioness who had barely moved at all and the sub. Searching further up the lugga we had no joy in locating them. One of two things had happened, either the cubs had been killed or more likely (and we hoped) the lionesses had moved to another area. It was clear we were not going to get the answer to this until someone could confirm if they had seen the cubs elsewhere. 

It was time to leave Grimace under a tree but not before I managed to get a couple of nice head shots, and in these it's clear why we had given him the name of Grimace!

We trundled on toward Topi Plains to see what else was around, not too far from the Double crossing area we came across a young sub adult lioness, she was thin and alone. Again evidence that times are really tough right now and not just due to the lack of prey. Paul advised that its likely she is a breakaway female from the Ridge pride.

At this point we had a call from our good friend Simon who advised s that 3 of the '4M's' had been sighted not too far away. As we approached they were doing what Lions excel at, sleeping! The three males, Hunter, Sikio and Morani were flat out and refused to even lift their heads. Scarface was the only male from this coalition that was missing. By this point it was  hot and they needed shade so we took a couple of shots of the big piles of tawny fluff and then headed off. It was clear they were moving or not going to show their faces properly for anyone! 

It was time for us also to get some shade as by now it was approaching 12:30pm and the sun was starting to beat down with a ferocious heat, it seemed a storm was possibly building as Cumulous clouds began to form and the heat becoming quite oppresive. Hopefully the rains would wait until later that night!!!

Just as we approached our camp Paul spotted some lionesses, deep inside the Croton bush. It was soon clear that it was some of the adult lionesses from the 'breakaway Olkiombo pride'. It was very hard to see but at this point no cubs were to be seen, however it seemed that not all of the lionesses were here. So the questions around where are the cubs remained unanswered..

Our next adventure was going to be leaving for another drive that afternoon at 3:30pm and would hopefully reveal answers to the location and fate of the cubs. So just a brief time to seek shade and try and catch up on the blog before heading back out.

Olive and the cubs

 A very tolerant mother!

Grimace

 Grimace scent marking

Adventures in a different Land Rover!

After what has seemed like an absolute eternity I am now happy to report I am back in the Masai Mara! 


You will notice this time I have said 'I' and not 'we', and that's because sadly I have returned to the Mara without Andy. Although we were due to travel to the Mara in December we were forced at the last minute to change the trip, largely due to Andy's workload but also heavily influenced by very wet weather conditions in the Mara, so this was changed to February instead. However, yep...you guessed it this trip also had to be aborted again just 48 hours before we were due to fly as Andy was under so much pressure at work, plus a few other factors (being self employed sucks sometimes for Andy!) 


Whilst it was a hard decision to make my amazing husband (Thank you Andy!) decided that why should we both suffer from not going to the Mara, so he kindly sent me packing off so I could catch up on all the news in the bush. Instead of taking a trip in the Mara in our own Land Rover I decided to join my good friend Angela, who by a twist of fate was also looking for a travel partner to get back to the Mara. So, this time I was not to be guiding both Andy and I but instead to be guided by one of the finest guides in the Masai Mara, Paul Kirui. It was going to be a different trip for sure and whilst  I knew it would sad returning to the Mara without Andy it was going to be great opportunity to join Angela for some 'girlie time' and also a chance for me to hone my bush skills further and learn from the master himself! 


So here I am now, sitting in the luxury of a lovely tented camp and in just a couple of hours off on our next drive but not before I have a chance to update on all the goings on in the last 24 hours since we arrived in the Mara


Although jaded after a long flight we spent no time messing around and embarked on a our first drive yesterday (10th)


It was just so special to be back, I had so desperately missed being in the bush. Admittedly it was at first a little strange driving the same tracks that Andy and I have done many times! I knew I would miss certain things for sure in comparison to our other trips (camp fires!) but I wont lie and admit that I was rather looking forward a a little luxury and also it was going to be a great opportunity to catch up again with Paul, Angela and other friends in the Mara, four and two legged of course!


Whilst there is  never a firm plan in the Mara and you go 'with the flow'  the agreed idea for the afternoon was to hopefully check out some lions seen nearby to the camp (Mara Intrepids) and also to see if we would be able to find a Leopard that Andy, Angela and I have photographed many times, known to many as Olive and of course hopefully a glimpse (or more!) of her newly born cubs. 


It was not long until we came across the lions, not too far from Olkiombo Airstrip, 3 Adult females and 2 Sub Adults (2-3years) and two tiny little cubs,  just 6-8 weeks old. The sighting was marked by a stench, one that meant only one thing, a lion kill. Paul advised that he had heard that the lions had killed a Buffalo just a few days prior  and by now the unlucky Buffalo was becoming rather rancid to say the least as it lay deep in a culvert where they had obviously had the opportunity to ambush


The cubs frolicked around in the long grass, doing everything possible to evade the opportunity of a clear shot with our camera whilst the mothers lay close by and still digesting what they had gorged in the last 48 hours. As with all lion cubs they were just so cute and utterly adorable! Sadly one of the females was in very bad shape, desperately thin and weak.  Paul advised she had been one of the females that had tried defending cubs from the 'Notch boys' some time ago (and who now control this 'break-away' pride). She had sustained some injuries and had since this event had never recovered. It seemed her condition had began to worsen again, she was in a bad way, that was for sure.


For those who are familiar with the Mara and follow the trials and tribulations this group of lions were originally part of the "Olkiombo pride' but now considered as a breakaway pride from the core group (who have now moved much further East).  Times are tough right now for the lions, not only due to the lack of prey but also due to the chaos that the Notch crew continue to bring upon the lion prides in the Mara. So many of them are split and pride territories a little more vague as you would expect in such conditions. The two tiny cubs were sired by one of the Notch boys, and lets hope this time these ones survive. There was no sign of the boys themselves.


Coming out for a brief moment in order to investigate the interest from the vehicles we managed to get a couple of shots of the little cubs before they darted back into the long grass. There was lots of vocalising from the cubs and in return came back stern instructions from 2 of the lionesses to return to the safety of the 'creche',  followed by a little discipline by the mother, which is always rather comical! 


As the temperature started to drop now seemed a good time to see if we could find Olive. As the cubs were still only 6-8 weeks old we all knew that this would be no easy task but we would certainly give it a go! It was clear when we visited the den, where the cubs had been spotted that morning that Olive was not around, given this it meant the likelihood of finding the cubs was going to be a slim one as they would remain hidden in Olives absence. So,  we left the cubs, who we assumed were hidden under the granite rock. 


Soon after the sun dropped and darkness fell across the Mara so this was our cue to head back, get some food and finally some rest! 

Cubs Sired by Notch et al.

 View of the Talek from the air

My tent......Luxury compared to what I am used to!

Tent from the outside

Canada 2011 - New Photos loaded on our Website

Well, after spending hours  trawling through literally thousands of images from our Canadian adventure we have now selected our favourites from among them.

CLICK HERE to go straight through to the 'new images' section of our site now.

Bears, Wolves, Otters, and more.......

We hope you enjoy!

www.imagesofwildlife.co.uk