Tag: safari

We saw many zebras during our game drives, and often, two of them would be standing nose to tail. We learned that they do this so that they have a full 360 degree view for any potential approaching predators. They are literally watching each others back.

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Rose

The African cape buffalo and the yellow billed oxpecker form a symbiotic relationship. The oxpecker eats the tics and other insects that are attracted to this large wild bovine. The birds will also eat out the diseased portion of a wound on the buffalo, allowing it to heal. In addition, the oxpecker will start to hiss when it becomes alarmed, which alerts its host of potential danger. Not that this huge herd beast has many natural predators other than humans. With its big horns and unpredictable nature, it is a dangerous animal and can hold its own against Africa’s big predators. It takes a whole pride of lions to try and bring down one animal.

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Rose

Giraffes have evolved a long neck so that they can reach the tender new shoots on the upper levels of trees. This way they are not competing for food with the other herbivores. That same long neck though can make it awkward to get a drink of water.

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Rose

I discovered that Africa has creatures both great and small. We found this little male Agama lizard near the Mara river in Kenya. During mating season, the males become these bright, almost neon colors. The rest of the time, they are a drab tan color like the females. This little guy may have had one too many mating territorial fights since his tail looks chopped off.

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Rose

Our first really good sighting of lions was from the heights of our early morning hot air balloon flight over Kenya’s Maasai Mara Reserve. We were able to quietly trail these two female lions for a little while before they went into the brush and out of sight. Even from far away, it was easy to see that they were healthy and powerful and quite well fed. Clearly the top of the food chain.

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Rose

In the first two hours of our first game drive in the Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya, we saw ostriches, zebras, a variety of gazelle, giraffes, cape buffalo, wilderbeests, a female lion and her juvenile cub, and my favorite, elephants. I would have been content after just this experience, but we still had ten more days of game viewing in Kenya and Tanzania. Could it really get much better?

Thanks for visiting.

Rose