The Cheetah quest continues...

Although we had plans to head to the Musiara Marsh mid way during our trip we have decided to make a slight change of plan and at present continue to stay around the Olkiombo area. Whilst we are keen to hook up with the Marsh Pride and see how they are doing as well as to see the Marsh breakaway females its not every day that you get the opportunity to see young Cheetah cubs. So with two sets of cubs around the area it seemed sacrilege to move anywhere else and therefore mission for the last 36 hours has been predominantly looking for Cheetah. 

Yesterday morning we went again to look for Maliaka and her two young cubs (Two month’s old) and the same little cuties that we saw on the 4th. After spending around 2 hours looking we abandoned the search. It was highly likely we could have driven past her, grass as high as six foot in some places is a damn good hiding place for the little spotty ones! So before the heat grew too intense we headed to where the Notch boys were, around 45 minutes away and South of the Talek River.

It was not long until we came back to the similar area they had been the day prior but by now it was getting pretty hot so we scoured under croton bushes and in the long grass. By now it was likely we would find them horizontal and sure enough they were. Grimace and Caesar were flat out in the grass and not too far away Notch 2, who was still mating with the young female. Notch and Ron were nowhere to be seen but no doubt not far away.

Grimace and Caesar were laying directly in the sun so we decided to sit it out and wait as we knew it would nt be long until they would need to find shade and sure enough around 30 minutes later they hauled themselves up and moved around 50 metres into the Croton and it was here we left them and headed back to camp.

In the afternoon we decided to head to Look Out Hill with our friends Aatish and Aashit to look for the other Cheetah mum who has 4 six week old cubs and also look into the distance toward the Serengeti and Sand River for any signs of the impending Wildebeest migration. Apart from a few small herds of Zebra we could not see any Wildebeest at all and so the migration still seemed some distance away, although some guides had reported earlier in the day seeing a herd of around 300 Wildebeest approaching.

As we started making our way back we finally came across the Cheetah and cubs, but only knew they were there as a few vehicles had been with them for the day, sadly they were not visible at all and lay flat in the grass. After waiting for quite some time to see if they would move Andy and I decided to make use of the last remaining evening light and head back toward camp and check out the whereabouts of the Ridge Pride, who we had passed on the way to Look Out Hill. Split into two groups around 1km apart they had barely moved in the last 3 hours since passing them on the way to Look Out. Although they had clearly managed to make a small kill as one of the sub males proudly munched on the head of a Warthog. 

The next morning (this morning) we again dedicated our efforts to finding the Cheetah Cubs near Look Out. Returning to the same area that she had been seen the night before, we knew that they would certainly be in the same area, as the tiny cubs would not be able to move far. Again we had no luck although we knew they were likely to be there, but as this morning was so cold and very cloudy it would be sometime before mother and cubs would rise from their slumber and where no doubt she was keeping the cubs warm until the sun gained some strength. We waited for some time but then felt our best option was to perhaps try them a little later when it was warmer. 

So we left the area and decided to track back across the Talek River via the area the Notches were seen the day prior. Although we knew by now they would most likely have moved off and this indeed proved to be true but it was still worth a quick check. These guys cover immense distances and by now were most likely a good few kilometres away.

With no luck with the one group of Cheetah Cubs we headed back to where Maliaka had been hanging out in the last few days and sure enough, with the help of a little 'inside intel’ found her and her cubs perched on a termite mound protected by Croton. Finally we were able to get a good view of the cubs. They seemed to be getting cuter day by day as they slept close to mum, at times resting on her and giving us a few good opportunities to get some nice stills.

After sitting with them for around 1.5 hours and fortunately this time in the company of only a few (well behaved!) vehicles the cubs began to get restless and started mooching around the bottom of the Termite mound, all the time Maliaka keeping a watchful eye on her fragile and vulnerable babies as they ventured a few metres away from Maliaka. Although still hard to sex at such a young age it looked as if the two cubs were a male and female. They played mischievously with Maliakas tail and one cub even decided to start investigating its surroundings by climbing into the Croton, peeking out before virtually falling back down inside the bush. We must have spent over two hours with them and although most of the time they slept it was so nice to sit and be able to absorb these gorgeous little creatures and to see them interacting with their new home and with each other and their mother. What made the morning even more special was that despite traveling extensively around various reserves in Africa and with at least 23/24 visits the the Mara we have seen very few Cheetah Cubs so we were really so happy to have been able to spend this amount of time with them. Above all we are just hoping so much that she had success in raising them to adulthood which given the high rate of cub mortality in the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem will be a huge challenge for sure. 

Later this afternoon we returned to the Cheetah cubs, but this time they lay hidden and did so until we had to return to camp for the night. A shame as by the evening the cloud had dissipated providing the most amazing evening light and a spectacular sunset as we drove back across the beautiful African plains of the Mara.

Grimace seeks shade

Grimace and Caesar in symmetry!

Malaika grooming one of her cubs

The Cheetah family resting on the termite mound

Caesar 

The sky glows red over the plains

Notch 2 'procreates' and more tiny babies!

Compared to the last couple of days with great Leopard sightings yesterday was a little quieter, but nonetheless still a good day. 

First we managed to catch up with the Notch Coalition, south of the Talek River, although sadly arriving at the sighting when the light had started to become a little 'harsh' and unfortunately not during the 'golden hour' in which every photographer prays for a good sighting! 

Apparently all 5 males of the coalition (including the Notch) were in the area but by the time we had arrived we could only see 3 of the males, Notch 2, Caesar and Grimace. 

Notch 2 had clearly won the battle for mating rights as we found him with a female, and quite a young female at that (around 4- 4.5 years old). It looked as if they were in the early days of mating as the frequency of such was quite something and in the course of just an hour mated at least 6 times, but this would inevitably reduce in the next few days. 

Mating lions is always quite an aggressive affair and this was certainly no exception and surprisingly each 'session' went on for quite some duration with the usual aggressive and violent 'dismount'. Despite the fact that the heat was growing in intensity the pair did not relent and Notch 2 was focussed on procreating, even though the female may have been in 'false oestrus' and may not even conceive as a result of the activities that would inevitably continue for the next 2-4 days.  Despite the onset of a bit of 'heat shimmer' we managed to get a few nice shots.

Grimace was located a couple of hundred metres away and tucked up inside a Croton bush with two other females, one who was also young, around 4 years and we were fairly sure (like the one that Notch 2 was mating with) were females from the original Olkiombo Pride. Although Grimace failed to lift his head you could just about make out that there has been some infighting as he sported a slight injury to his left eye and looked his usual dishevelled self! and our thoughts were that this has occurred over tensions of who was going to mate with the receptive female that Notch 2 was with. Again some 100 metres away from Notch 2 and Grimace we could see the male that looked to be Caesar (but again, long grass and no clear view made it hard to be 100% on this) 

We looked under what felt like every Croton in the surrounding area but were unable to find Notch or the male called 'Ron', although guides had reported they were around but had also lost them when they escaped the heat and retreated to shade in thick bush. So seeing Notch properly on this trip has still evaded us!!! 

Later we headed again to look for 'Malaika' the Cheetah and her two cubs. First we came across what had apparently been a kill that she had made a few hours prior, and in a similar area to the last sighting of her. By now she had moved away and what remained was now being devoured by Vultures and a couple of cheeky jackals who zipped in, stole a bone or two and scampered off! 

Looking in the the surrounding area we soon found the Cheetah family, resting in the long grass. The unbelievably cute and adorable cubs frolicked around as Malaika rested, despite her little ones trying to clamber all over her.  However, our sighting of them was sadly a brief affair, whilst there were several vehicles at the sighting it was a peaceful scene and the cubs and mother were not surrounded and remained relaxed. That was sadly interrupted about 10 minutes later when it then turned into a bit of a 'circus', with several other game vehicles racing to the sighting and without any thought or understanding of how to conduct themselves ethically at a sighting, as they almost encircled the poor cats. With some rowdy tourists shrieked ridiculously loudly at delight. Ok, we were all happy at seeing the cubs and perhaps it was their first time to see Cheetah babies but you would have thought common sense may have prevailed to keep noise to a minimum given how tiny and fragile these little ones were, but sadly not! Many game vehicles, including us became quite annoyed and decided that we had to do something, so quickly moved away from the area and watched from afar, fortunately encouraging most other vehicles to follow and give the Cheetah some space. This meant we could no longer get any images but at times like this you have to forget photography and prioritise the animals welfare. 

So that brought about the end to the day and another good one at that, even though it had been spoiled a little at the end by some crazy people! 

 'Notch 2'

Notch 2 mating with a lioness

Cute babies!

The Leopard fest continues!

After an awesome morning with Olives Cub (Saba) the luck with Leopard sightings continued into the afternoon of the 3rd.

We heard that a female Leopard had been spotted just south of the Talek so of course we hot footed it over, on the way spending a few brief moments with one of the sub adult males from the Rekero pride who was wandering around and calling for the rest of the pride who were located not too far away.

We came to a small Gardinia bush and a gathering of cars, and sure enough there she was, Bahati, the beautiful female Leopard and as mentioned before the previous offspring of the legendary Olive. Perched in the middle she peeked out and then descended down to a recent kill, a large male Impala. She soon came down and fed at the base, just out of sight. Feeding for just a short amount of time she then clambered back into the bush and away from the heat of the afternoon, where she groomed herself and rested. It was not long though until she became quite restless and moved around the bush, occasionally giving us all some good opportunities for a few nice shots. Surprisingly she made no effort to move the kill into the confines of the bush and had fed very little, but with barely any wind and the lions hauled up a couple of kilometres away her kill would likely be safe for a while. However, come nightfall and as the scent of the kill would start to fill the air it would no doubt start to attract other predators such as Lion and Hyena. She later moved on, through the long grass and down to a nearby lugga where she disappeared and was no doubt finding a pool of water in which to rehydrate.

So we were lucky in that the 3rd of July marked a double dose of Leopard (or treble if you want to be pedantic and count Olive!) and what a great day it had been, seeing Olive (albeit deep in the tree) as well as two of her offspring, one from a current litter and one from a previous litter.

Just another awesome day in the Mara and with the usual fun and laughter continuing into the evening with our good friends Aatish and Aashit.

Another morning with the Leopard Cub

Given the minor (I hope!) mechanical issues we had the day prior we decided that until we could have a look at the problem we should keep ourselves local and not venture too far. So we decided to return again to the area where we had yesterday seen Olive's cub. This proved to be a good plan!

As we came up to the area, known as Smelly crossing it was not too long until the cub was found, but this time with Olive. The cub was perched high up in the tree and Olive was hidden deep inside the tree. It did not take long to realise that they had a kill in the tree as you could just about make out the remains of an Impala dangling from a branch. Olive remained hidden but the cub was restless and gave us some good opportunities for some nice shots.  The cub moved around the tree and soon returned to the kill where it was clearly feeding given that the Impala and tree were shaking around. Although you could not see Olive very well, you could see she had a very full stomach and tolerated with patience as the cub again clumsily moved around. We stayed with them for 4 hours, several times they came down the tree in the deep bushes and hidden by the dense foliage, hoping they may move into the clearing but it soon became obvious that this was unlikely. However, as we had had the chance to get some nice shots of the cub we could hardly complain!. Given we had to investigate the origin of the fuel leak felt it was a good idea to make a plan and see what the issue was and so we returned to camp and providing the opportunity to catch up on the blog and the last couple of days!

As an update.........It turned out that unfortunately we have developed a fracture to the main fuel tank, we hope that it will not hinder us for the rest of our trip and will certainly keep an eye on the as a proper repair is going to involve a day without our vehicle and something we would rather avoid if we can!

Olive's Cub (Saba)

Cute babies and lots of mud!

They say things come in 'threes' and on the morning of the 2nd it most certainly did.! Fortunately the association was a positive one (although life in the bush never comes without a few issues...more on that later!)

The morning started with a lovely sighting of the Rekero Pride (AKA Ridge/Maternity pride) and located in the same spot as the evening prior (south of Mara Intrepids). Up until now seeing these lions clearly had evaded us because of the long grass. Finding them at first light we were the first ones at the sighting (always nice!). They were fairly active enabling us to count up who was there. In total 11 members were present, 3 Adult females, 4 Sub adult males, 2 Sub Adult Females and 2 cubs. This differed to the numbers we had seen in March, when there were 12 members, so it appeared one sub adult female was 'missing' from the group. The young males and two younger cubs were captivated by a vulture positioned at the top of the Acacia that they were sat under, their big eyes gazing up with playful curiosity as they scratched on the tree with their big clumsy paws!

The three adult females were not wishing to get engaged in any playful antics and softly vocalised to the cubs in order to group them together, clearly the lionesses were looking to move off and so it was the signal that playtime was over. As they formed together as a group in the road the females began to vocalise with increased intensity and began roaring loudly in order to reestablish their territory, with the males joining in. One day these males would be out on their own and in a few years doing the same yet this time not under the protection of their mothers. A lions roar is such an iconic and evocative sound of the African bush and it has to be said one of the most awesome sounds you could ever hear!

The pride looked in relatively good health, one of the cubs in March had looked quite sick and those who read this blog regularly may recall that the mother was consistently reluctant to feed her cub as she herself was not in the best of health due to such sparse game. The good news was that all members now looked good, and apart from one sub male all looked well fed and in much better shape than a few months prior. This was certainly good to see.

The 'bush telegraph' soon brought news that Olives one remaining cub had been sighted so we left the pride, who started to move off and we headed across to the area where it had apparently been seen.

Expecting to see many cars at the Leopard sighting we were lucky in that only a few cars were around and not long after arriving we caught sight of the little cub, nestled safely on a branch high up in the tree. We sat and watched as it fidgeted around on the branch and at some points looking like it was going to tumble out, certainly this little one needs to hone tree climbing skills. It was hard to see in between the leaves but it looked as if this was a female cub, and the one named in March as 'Saba' (meaning 'seven' in Swahili). Olive had given birth to two cubs in early February, one male and one female, so it seemed it was the female that had survived and so now aged 4 months so still very small and vulnerable.

Olive was not present but we had heard she had been sighted not too far away and would no doubt return to the cub later to where she has safely stashed her precious little bundle of fluff. We managed to grab a few shots before we left as again more news echoed around the Mara that a cheetah and 2 cubs had been spotted, around 30 minutes from our current location.

We soon found the female Cheetah and were told by our good friend Onesmus that this was a female called 'Maliaka' (sp?!) who indeed had two cubs, around 2 months old. The cubs were nowhere to be seen but as the female looked like she was going to hunt she had most likely stashed them in a safe place while she went about securing herself some food. We saw she was 'locked on' to a young Grants Gazelle and within just a few moments of being there she launched through the long grass and made a successful kill. The grass here was very long and indeed much longer than a Cheetah would ordinarily prefer to hunt in but in order for her cubs to survive and provide them with milk she had to take any opportunity, instead relying on cover to hunt as opposed to speed. We were unable to see the actual hunt with any clear view but could see he through the grass dispatching her quarry with a throat hold.

It was vital that she move the now deceased Gazelle into cover, in order to avoid any attention from Hyena or Lion who could easily steal her efforts. We watched as she battled with the grass and dragged the kill around 20 metres to a small Croton bush. As she recovered from the short chase and hauling the kill to safety we knew that now she would likely call the cubs and just 10 minutes later she started 'chirping', signalling to the cubs that they must join her.  For a good 10 minutes she did this and wandered around the area looking high and low, travelling quite some distance. For a while we were slightly concerned as in the area in which she called and searched a large herd of Elephants had gathered. The calling then stopped and she started to return to the bush, we assumed she must have found the cubs and hoped that they followed her, knowing how small they would be at that age it would be hard to see them with the grass height. Then with a playful bounce one cub suddenly appeared at her tail, and then followed by another. Certainly a sigh of relief from all that they had no been 'displaced' by the Elephants. The bounded along after her, as you could just make out the tops of their bodies and the white fluff they display at this age along the top of their backs (This is not only camouflage but also a possible natural defence in which they resemble the appearance of a Honey Badger so to deter any predators)

The cubs quickly disappeared into the bush, giving us just a few moments to get a couple of shots, it was so awesome to see these tiny little bundles of cuteness and it's been so long since Andy and I have seen such young Cheetah cubs. With the population in the Mara under so much pressure at the moment we hoped that she would see these though to adulthood. The light was by now far to harsh to even entertain the idea of photography so we left this picture of maternal bliss for some peace and quiet.

So it had been a great morning and although the Mara is famed for its predators we are never ones to take for granted seeing 3 cat species in one morning and it had certainly been 'babies  galore'!!

The afternoon saw us again return to the same area again to look for the Cheetah and cubs, ordinarily after feeding a Cheetah will leave the area of the kill, in order to avoid any other predators that would want to also enjoy the spoils of the kill. To our surprise she was in the same position, still some four hours later. We could just make out the group hidden in the bushes, but given by now there were many cars we decided to move off, she needed space in which to move and 'bed' for the night and we were not keen in staying and causing any pressure, frustrating in some ways but for the best for the Cheetah.

Some of the Notch coalition had been seen not too far away (but far far away from their last reported location south of the Talek River) so although we knew given the afternoon heat they would be hauled u in a bush somewhere we gave them a go. As expected they were as we found them just North East of Double Crossing. We arrived to see for a nano second one male, just the side of his mane so again could not ID who he was by this alone, but just enough to see it was not Notch himself. We were told earlier that day Three had been present and so we assumed there were still three around.

By now it was starting to get late and we needed to be back in camp by 7pm so we started the journey back. We had crossed a wet area several times already that day and had to do the same to return and this is where the 'slight hitch' came to the end of our day! As we started crossing the deep mud Andy accidentally stalled the vehicle, we knew at this point we were doomed and yep, sure enough we had lost the power to continue through and sat deep in mud, wheels spinning! Just part of life in the bush!  Fortunately our vehicle is equipped with a winch and the equipment to get out alone. Andy started getting out the winch pins to pull ourselves out but at that moment our good friends, Aatish, Aashit and Dixon turned up to help and so we decided instead to make life easier and use their vehicle as the anchor, rather than the hassle of using the pins. It was our turn today to get stuck after pulling the guys out a few days ago at anther wet location. Just 15 minutes later we were back high and dry although most of us looking like we had been rolling ourselves in mud! It was no big drama and just something you have to accept when driving around. However, the biggest issue we then encountered when we returned to camp was we had somehow developed a small leak in one of the two diesel tanks. Although it was small leak it was something that we would need to attend to and although it would not stop us going out in the morning we knew we would have to abandon the idea of moving our base to the Musiara Marsh until Andy had checked out what the issue was. So as I type this blog Andy is attending to the vehicle and checking its nothing to major and making some minor repairs and just hoping that when he comes back with news it not too bad in that we have developed a major issue! This is where we are lucky that he knows the Land Rover better than anything else and a skilled mechanic so lets hope he can apply his practical expertise in applying a solution! No doubt in the day when we had encountered some rough terrain something had been knocked and caused the problem.......again, just part of life in the bush!!

Rekero/Maternity Pride

Olive's Cub

Curious Sub Adult Males from the Rekero/Maternity Pride

Adult female & Sub Adult Male from Rekero/Maternity Pride

Malaika dragging the Grants Gazelle

Cute Cheetah Cub

Mara adventures have begun.......

Finally after a crazy work schedule in the UK we are finally both back in the Mara now for a little over two weeks hopefully giving us plenty of time to catch up on whats been happening since the trip in March. We arrived into the Mara late on Thursday (28th) after the usual bone rattling 6 hour drive from Nairobi and since this time we have been spending most of our time around the Olkiombo area. The grass is still high as expected given that the 'lawnmowers', AKA the Zebras/Wildebeest have still yet to arrive and word is they are still quite some distance away in the Seronara area of the Serengeti, although reports as to where they are do vary! Given this and the fact it looks like they have had more rain in Tanzania I don't think they will be here for a couple of weeks yet, but who knows what will happen, thats natures prerogative to keep us guessing! So, given this you can imagine right now the plains remain empty apart from resident herds of Topi, Impala and a few Thomson Gazelles. Although we have not yet been down to the Musiara Marsh, this is certainly the case from as far as the Talek Gate all the way East to the start of Paradise Plains. 

It's been pretty quiet on the game front, with the long grass making it quite a challenge to locate the predators, although we have had chance to see some familiar faces, albeit random body parts and the odd glimpse of a head peeking through the grass! Three of the 5 male lions from the Notch coalition are around, with us seeing them on the first afternoon with some members of the Rekero/Maternity (and also called 'Ridge pride) Notch, Grimace were both there and another male, but who refused to show anything other than a leg and the side of his mane as he lay deep in the grass. They had huge bellies and clearly had been enjoying the 'lions share' of a buffalo that looked to have been killed that evening prior. Although the carcass was visible, not much was left, but just enough for some of the members of the other members of the Rekero Pride to feast on, deep off-road we sadly could not get any shots of these guys on the kill. A little nearer Notch raised his head for about a millisecond and just enough time to pap a quick (but pretty dire!) shot (below). The next day the males had left and it is belived Notch headed down to the Olkeju Rongai Pride further south as it seems no-one has seen Grimace and the other male since, we have a feeling they may have once again headed to the Maji Ya Fisi area. 

As we found the Rekero pride again, having moved into deep croton thicket with just a couple of the subs from the pride occasionally popping their head up and from what we could see looked to be no more than 5/6 of the pride there.  Here they have stayed for two days and it was only this morning they had moved back onto the plains, but again in long long grass. So we have yet been able to count up if all 12 members are 'present and correct' and given that the game is incredibly sparse its likely they will remain in sub groups, but never to far away from each other. It will be great if by the end of the trip we can see if all 3 adult females, 7 subs (4x male and 3 x female) and two cubs are all still accounted for and of course catch up with the other prides we have followed for some time. No doubt we will head to the Musiara Marsh at some point and base ourselves there for a little time.

Interestingly we have seen 2 of the '4km males', who are the Male lions who took over the Mugoro Pride late 2010 and they continue to advance into the Narok side of the Masai Mara, crossing back and forth across the Mara. They were around 2km West of the Serena pump house and this is the furthest I have ever seen them into the main reserve, with so many coalitions around on this side it will certainly get interesting when migration returns and the lions hotly contest the prime hunting areas. Speaking to some of our guide friends they also agree they are pushing their territory further and further now.

We have spent some time looking for the Leopard named Olive (Now around 11-12 years I think) she has not been seen for at least 4 days from what we hear and so we are still yet to find her and her one remaining cub. It's early days yet and we still have a good few days in which to hopefully see her. Although we have been fortunate to have caught up with her daughter, Bahati. Finding up deep up a tree, sitting in what looked like the most uncomfortable way in the fork of a tree (and partially hidden) before she slunk down and into the croton, shortly after 'losing her' for around an hour in the forest before finding her again just as darkness was falling around 1km away near Mara Intrepids. Talking of Leopards we have also 'seen' a male (and believed to be the one that hangs near the Serena Pump House)  he was also in a tree but so deep that it was impossible to get a shot, but just enough to see it was most certainly a male! 

So that brings us up to speed to today, which so far has been a really quiet one, no luck in finding Bahati or Notch but once again seeing 'body parts' of the Rekero pride sprawled out in the long grass (did I mention the grass was long!!) so again preventing any shots. Although we still continue to GPS the locations of the lions and continue building up a record of their territories throughout different times of the year.  It's going to be likely that until the migration arrives the lions will limit any activity, in order to conserve precious energy so we have a feeling that unless we are lucky early am or late PM we are going to be seeing a lot of sleeping lions on this trip, but as its only day 4 anything could still happen for the next 12 days we have left. 

One thing is for sure, that even though we have barely lifted the cameras out of their bags (and we are sure that everyone who knows us and reads this blog is not going to be surprised to hear this) it is just awesome to be back here! The place we truly feel is our 'second home'. We have both desperately missed hearing the iconic sounds of the African bush so last night when we heard the echo of a Hyena vocalising ('Whooping') it brought a huge smile to our faces just to be back in Africa. Not only that but great to catch up with good friends and great people here and let's just say we have had some pretty fun times in the last few evenings as the 'Tuskers flowed'!! 

Until next time here is photo from Thursday 28th of good old 'Mzee Notch', papped as he popped his head up before returning to a motionless state!!

New Website Images loaded from latest trip

Finally I have got around to loading on some new images onto our photography website www.imagesofwildlife.co.uk taken during my last trip to the Mara with a few new ones from last year. For those who follow our adventures check back here again in two months time as we return to the Masai Mara in Kenya at the end of June for the next chapter in our African adventures.......

CLICK HERE to go direct to many more NEW IMAGES on our website.

Olive hunts in the Midday sun!

The afternoon of the 16th was a quiet but nonetheless a very pleasant drive . We came across a small breeding herd of Elephants who were feeding in the forest along the river, not too far from our camp. In amongst them was one particularly huge Elephant and that must have been at least 45 years plus. The youngsters in the herd stayed close to their mothers and dwarfed in comparison. Cavorting in all positions, and deceptively agile for the size they fed along the steep banks of the Talek River. We watched as they used their dextrous trunks to shake the seeds of the grass and spitting out the less palatable roots. Amazingly Elephants have around 100,000 muscles in their trunks and you could see how they put these to use!

Further down the river we then came across more Elephants, but this time down on the river bed. They ‘rumbled’ and communicated with one another as they slowly transited along the rocky terrain. One elephant had clearly been making use of the minerals found in the soil along the river bank as it’s tusks were stained brown and with residue of soil still evident. This process of gauging out soil along river banks is quite common practice for Elephants and is known as Geophagia (sp?), a vital way of gaining additional nutrients in their diet. 

Later on we again found the Ridge pride of Lions, laid flat out in the long grass, perhaps there were others that were hidden from view but we could only see 10 of the 12 members of this pride. They still looked hungry and given there was absolutely no prey for quite some distance they would certainly have to move in order to hunt.

The sunset was spectacular this evening and was a perfect night for a sundowner, although I have to admit I felt quite emotional knowing that this evening was my last afternoon drive and the last time for while that I would see the sunset over the Mara plains,

I did not really want the morning of the 17th to arrive as it marked our very last drive. We first focused on trying to find Olive, but knowing that by now she would have likely moved the cubs it was hard to know where to start! We knew we may not find the cubs but indeed hoped to find Olive on her way to or from the den. Although she may well have moved the cubs to avoid pressure from game viewing vehicles it would have also been expected for her to have by now moved the cubs in order to avoid leaving too much of a scent that could attract unwanted predators. She may have moved them only a short distance or perhaps a km or two up the river. Despite scouring all the possible places we were not successful in finding her so we went on a mission to find the Notch boys. From unconfirmed (and rather sketchy) reports they had apparently headed East the day before and toward the Olkiombo Pride (who are now South of the Talek). This was interesting as I the last few days we had not seem then and I suspected they may have done this so when we heard this news I was not surprised.

We came across 3 young males on their own, 2 that were around 14-16 months and one younger at around 1 year, hidden in the croton. No other adults were in sight, although again may have been hidden from view. They did not appear too stressed, although if indeed they were on their own it was slightly concerning as had the Notch boys been continuing their reign of terror over the Olkiombo Pride and split the pride? (which is currently occupied by 2 pride males and the former ‘stars’ of BBC Big Cat Diary ‘Cheza and Sala’)

We scoured the area for well over one hour but the Notch boys were nowhere to be seen, only coming across the young males noted above and later a lioness from the Olkiombo pride some distance away. If indeed the Notch males had made their way East they would be highly mobile so we knew finding them would be hard and also given by the fact that the reports we had were not substantiated first hand, but had rather come though on the ‘bush telegraph!

As we tracked back West we again saw the Ridge pride and this time just 8 members of the pride, it seemed 2 of the young males, 1 female and 1 sub female were not there. The two youngest cubs (4-6 months) continued to look a little unhealthy and by now sadly starting to look malnourished, their ribs subtly protruding and their coats beginning to show poor condition. One cub tried to feed from the mother but was denied access repeatedly, the females clearly needed some food to be able to provide the cubs with the milk they so needed. Although by now the cubs would also have also started to join the females at ‘kill’s and by now eating meat. Since the evening prior they had clearly not had anything substantial to eat and I just hope that they soon have some success. They were mobile and walked across the plains, drinking from a small pool of water along the way, then retreating into the bushes where it looked like they were likely to remain for the rest of the day.

We had heard that Notch was possibly with the Olkiombo breakaway females and I really wanted to chance to say goodbye to the ‘old mzee’ so even though by now it was coming up to 11am and baking hot we decided to ‘take a punt’ and see if we could find them. 

However, in true ‘mara plan’ style (which means there is NO plan!!) we changed our focus as Bahati (Leopard) has been seen (Olives Daughter). Sure enough, not too far from Rekero camp we had a glimpse of her for a second or two, just as she moved into a lugga. We waited, hoping she may reappear but ‘lost’ her in the area where she had walked into. We figured that in the searing heat she would now be seeking shade so it was a little pointless to bake ourselves to and by now I had to face the inevitable....it was time to head back to camp and pack my bag.

As we headed across ‘Smelly Crossing’, not too far from camp we stopped as a Minivan flagged us down, they pointed deep into the bush and low and behold there was Olive!!! We had started the day looking for here and now we had ended the day by finding her, just as we started packing away the cameras.

She slinked into the croton and we suspected she may come out the other side into a more open area so this is where we headed. Sure enough she did what we anticipated, relaxed with our presence, but as she appeared though the bushes her behaviour suddenly changed. She was fixed on something that had diverted her attention from ambling along. It was a group of 3 Impala, a mother, young fawn and large male tucked deep in a bush.

We moved away, giving her some space at a respectful distance as she slinked into the long grass, not taking her eyes off the Impala for a second, remaining fairly hidden and perfectly still. She was clearly going to try and hunt! I have to say she is one clever cat, who like many other cats in the Mara seem to have started adopting a strategy of hunting in midday, perhaps this was to avoid Game vehicles or perhaps this was to avoid the attentions of the lions who would by now be flat out in a bush somewhere and the Hyena that would be deep inside their dens or resting in mud pools. The game was patchy and very sparse at present in the Mara and thus competition for food is fierce in these situations. So this was one strategy which to ensure she would not lose her hunting efforts to others. In addition Leopards and the other cats are all ‘opportunistic hunters’ so while its not ‘textbook’ for them to hunt in the day they will take any opportunity if it looks like they can successfully hunt.

So it seemed that packing our luggage was going to have to wait, there was no way we would leave a hunting Leopard! She sat patiently for over 30 minutes and then began to  ‘reverse’ further into the bush, with this she then began to stalk just a few metres and then with a sudden burst of energy pelted into the croton and right at the Impala. The mother and fawn darted away, but in the bushes we heard a scuffle and saw dust flying, she had been successful and amazingly she had brought down the male Impala.

Although she had successfully managed to bring the Impala down she now had the task of dispatching her quarry. It took some time as she chose to dispatch by using the ‘kiss of death’ rather than a more common throat hold, perhaps as this was quite a large animal for her to manage. As the Impala finally stopped struggling we knew that she had now taken its last breath. It may sound as if I write these words so ‘matter of fact’ or write such an event with little emotion. However, believe me its never easy to watch an animal die and I always feel emotion in a situation like this. However, this is life and death on the plains and that I just have to try and rationalize that this is how the cats survive. We knew that Olive must feed well in order to provide for her dependent cubs. So, whilst it was of course very sad to see the Impala reach its demise we also knew that it would help Olive produce the vital milk for her little cubs, Nane and Saba.

Olive finally dragged the huge mass into another bush where she sat and caught her breath and finally began to feed, starting at the rump and pulling off its fur to try and break the skin. She fed for only a short time and then headed away from us and toward the river. Clearly the energy expounded, together with siting in the searing heat had made her dehydrated so she was off to drink. At this point we left her in peace, knowing that later she would return to feed some more. We just hoped that she would not lose her hunting efforts to any nearby predators. Once she returned she would not doubt have regained the strength to move her kill into a tree and away from Hyena and Lion.

Returning to camp it was time to face facts, our trip to the `Mara was now over. In just a couple of hours we would be jumping on a small bush plane and headed back to Nairobi where the next day we would return to the UK.

Suffice to say It’s been a truly amazing trip, catching up with my feline ‘friends’, spending time with a good friend of mine and also being guided by one of the best guides in Kenya. Thanks you Paul for such a wonderful time! 

I had hopefully taken some nice images and had also enjoyed GPS’ing the lion prides and their movements over the trip. I would certainly look forward to writing up the ‘research’ and sightings’ and completing the lion pride map that I intended to do on my return to the UK. Thanks goes to Paul for his input into clarifying the current pride dynamics in the Mara.

The time came to sadly say our goodbyes to Paul and then travel the short distance to the airstrip. As our plane travelled down the gravel runway the tears flowed as I took a long lasting look at the Mara from above. I knew I would be back again soon hopefully but its never easy in leaving the Mara and quite frankly always feels like someone is wrenching my heart out when I leave this place, it just gets right under your skin!!

At least the next time I would return (hopefully) in a few months it would be with Andy, whom had no doubt sat at home jealous at some of the sightings I had while the poor man had to slave away at work! However, I knew he was also pleased that I had seen some amazing things. Sorry Andy that you have had to put up with my blog posts, it must have been painful!! and thank you for being such a kind and understanding husband in supporting my trip to the Mara! 

Thanks also to everyone who had read and commented on my blog and my often very lengthy posts!  I hope its been both enjoyable and hopefully informative to read, and that you will join me again when I hopefully return to blogging again from the Mara again in a few months time....

Until the next time....

Kwaheri

Olive shortly before she started to stalk the Impala

 Olive 'dispatches' her prey

Three young males from the Olkiombo Pride

 Two Members of the Ridge Pride

Returning to the Marsh

On the evening of the 15th we took a drive down toward Paradise Plains and here we came across three of the Paradise Plain/Serena females. With them were three male lions, ones which many of the guides did not recognise. Two of the males could have easily been mistaken for the 'Notch boys', but they were not these guys. Whilst Paul and I were not 100% we were quietly confident that they were in fact three of the '4km' males, who had come from the Mara Triangle (there are 4 of them in total). Two appeared to be the same age, around 7 years, whilst one was a fraction younger and looked to be no older than around 6 years. That would be a job for when I returned home to indeed see if I could make an ID match to the males from the Mara Triangle.


The next morning we headed back to the Musiara Marsh, by now we expected that some more of the Marsh pride would have discovered the dead elephant and hoped to capture some of the action at first light.

En-route we came across a leopard, straddled in the fork of the tree and at the base of the tree a Hyena, who had been attracted y the kill that the Leopard had stashed in the tree two days before. As we approached from some distance it was clear that we would have only a few 'miliseconds' before the leopard would jump down and by the time we had found a suitable position it indeed jumped down and sprinted off into the thicket. Clearly this was a shy Leopard so we decided not to try and relocate. It's not always possible to 'get the shot' and this was just one of those occasions.

As we approached the same area as the morning prior we were astonished to see that the Elephants still remained with the carcass, that was something we certainly did not expect. This appeared to include the same Elephant who had stuck closely to the body the morning prior. Unlike yesterday, when they were frantic and stressed the scene was a little more calm and the vigil at the dead Elephant continued. Sure enough on the carcass fed some of the Marsh pride, we saw that Bibi and Charm were there, but no sign of the other adult females, White eye, Sienna and Joy. With the two adults were a total of 5 sub adult females and nearby, although not feeding were the two younger males. Although it was initially suspected that these were the young males from the pride it is now thought that they may have come from elsewhere.....I would not like to be in their shoes if the 'four musketeers' return!

The Elephants just stood next to the carcass as the lions fed, the lions growling and swatting their paws as they argued over the best spot at the dinner table. Nearby on the tracks around the Marsh more elephants stood, while some lay down. One particular elephant even started mating with another Elephant even started mating with another, quite bizarre to see whilst the Lions continued to feed just a few feet away.  It was just most bizarre to see that they continued to 'mourn' and only once or twice did they try and deter the lions off the Elephant, but not with the ferocity they had done the day before. It was if they accepted that they were just not going to stop to the lions feeding.

The Elephants moved off and so later did the sub adults and into the shade, as we left the two adult females remained at the carcass and the males continued to sit around 100 metres away.

We headed off leaving the scene and wanted to try and find the '4 Musketters', the males who in September had ousted Romeo and Clawed but who had still yet to consolidate the Marsh pride since the takeover.

Today was hot, a fierce heat that feels as if it is maybe building for some rain again, the only likley place that we would be finding the male lions by now was under a tree and seeking shade.

Sure enough in the distance I spotted a shape under an Acacia and after inspecting with the binoculars you could see it was a male Lion. We headed over as as we approached you could see he was a young male, aged just a little over 5 years I would suspect, Indeed it looked like Morani or Hunter from the Marsh pride. Nearby Paul then spotted more lions around 200 metres away and again lay flat out under a tree. As we approched it was obvious we had found the remaining 3 of the 4 Musketeers. Sikio, Scarface and either Morani or Hunter (I am not 100% which one at this stage) panted heavily in the heat that must have been topping 90 degrees by now. They looked well and appeared to have fed fairly recently. Scarface had sustained a bad eye injury at least 6 months ago, which had been treated by a wildlife vet at least 3 times. Now it seemed it was starting to heal, although his eye closing up, but the wound itself not looking as infected or open as before, but still a pinkish colour.

Across the plains, maybe around 500 metres away two females appeared out of the croton and walking slowly toward an Acacia tree in the distance, but not before they had cooled themselves in a mud puddle en route!. The males saw the females and they exhanged eye contact at a distance so clearly the group had already been aware of each others presence. We watched to see where they headed and then ahead saw that they were headed to the tree where it looked as if another lion was rested. We could not see if a Lion was there but a Topi acted in such a way that signalled a predator was nearby. Investigating further there was indeed one more female here and as we got a closer look at the other two females we saw it was 'the breakaway females' from the Marsh pride. There was no sign of the 4th female, but suspected she ma have been in the thicket still from where the other two had come from.

The lions were all hot and bothered and by this point so were we!, as it was positively baking today! So leaving them to it we headed back to camp, just time for me to catch up on this mornings sightings before we head back out laer for our last afternoon drive in the Mara. Sadly we have only one further night here in the Mara and I can tell you I am starting to feel so sad that very soon I have so once again say goodbye to this wonderful place until we can hopefully return in a few months, but this time returning with Andy and Our Land Rover. 

Possibly one of the '4km males' from the Mara Triangle

The Elephants continue their vigil at the Elephant Carcass.

The two new young males at the sighting

Bibi, Charm and the female sub adults feed on the Elephant 

One of the 'Four Musketeers'

Three of the Four Musketeers

'Scarface' and the injury to his eye that begins to heal

One of the four 'Breakaway females'

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