Tags
Bat-eared fox, Blacksmith plover, Common jackal, Dik dik, Egyptian goose, Fischer's lovebird, flamingo, Francolin, Genet, Grant's gazelle, Hyena, Impala, Kori bustard, lesser flamingo, Lion, Lovebird, Ndutu, Ngorogoro, Ostrich, Serengeti Select Safaris, Spotted hyena, Superb starling, Tanzania, Tawny eagle, Thomson's gazelle, White stork, Wildebeest, zebra
This Saturday, 27th February, I returned from a fortnight-plus-travelling trip to see the wildlife of Tanzania.
Over the next two or three weeks I shall be sharing just a very few of the photographs I took of the rich wildlife that the country is conserving in its national parks.
We landed at Kilimanjaro Airport late in the evening of Wednesday 10th February after a violent rainstorm. February is the middle of the wet season in Tanzania, though it has slightly less rain than the months surrounding it. Our leader, IW, had been fortunate in previous visits at this time of year in not having experienced much rain. We had a fair amount over the two weeks though it only affected us seriously during the last part of our visit.
We (IW plus eight of us) left our overnight hotel in rain, which continued for much of the five-hour journey across the Ngorogoro Conservation Area to Ndutu Safari Lodge. We had first sights of many animals, but weather conditions did not make for good photos. We were pleased to be able to settle in our accommodation, and that the weather had cleared considerably.
We enjoyed the view.
After lunch and a good rest, we went out for our first safari drive.
It was the time of the great wildebeest migration, and we saw hundreds, perhaps thousands, of these animals during our stay.
It was not long before we came across our first lions (thanks to the expert knowledge of the drivers of Serengeti Select Safaris who were with us for a week).
Apologies to those of a sensitive disposition. The male had two lionesses with him, mating with each turn by turn every ten minutes. The stand-off at the end of the encounter is because it hurts the female.
This beautiful nocturnal creature is a not a feline but a genet, related to mongooses. We should not see it, but for years three of them have been visiting the dining room of the Lodge each evening, no doubt because they know that the kitchen will see them alright if they do.
The following morning dawned grey and overcast, but we hoped that, as the previous day, it would clear up later. Our first viewing of the spotted hyena led us to consider that it was fluffier than it seems on TV, and not nearly as ugly as we had hitherto thought, even when carting off a baby Thomson’s gazelle to eat.
Almost immediately afterwards we saw a Grant’s gazelle in the minutes before and after giving birth.
She had cause to be worried about hyena and jackal, but her only concern about this wildebeest is whether it will tread on her calf.
Back to the Lodge for lunch.
(To be continued)
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tootlepedal said:
What a feast. You chose well for your trip.
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Musiewild said:
This is just the start…
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jo said:
Lovely pictures…. await more with anticipation. xx
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Musiewild said:
I’m going to try to do fewer posts than for the Pantanal, but there’ll still be lots!
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susanpoozan said:
What an expedition, thanks for sharing all those pictures and making them interesting with the commentary. I loved the colourful birds.
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Musiewild said:
Wait ’til you see the roller!
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susanpoozan said:
Hurry up and publish it, I can’t wait!
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Musiewild said:
In due time!
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Christine said:
Hello Venetia. What a beginning ! Real wildLIFE ! One of my favourites : the Dik Dik
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Musiewild said:
The Dik dik is very sweet – shy but consumed with curiosity at the same time.
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Hazel Priestley-Hobbs said:
Spectacular pictures as always. Hope you had a good zoom on the camera and you weren’t really that close to the lions !
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Musiewild said:
We were sometimes only a few metres away from the lions in fact, though safely inside jeeps. The lions are totally habituated to human presence and are completely unfazed by it, just getting on – as you have seen! – with their own thing.
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Josh Gross | The Jaguar said:
Wow…Africa…the homeland of our species. It must’ve been a remarkable experience to travel there and see all of these wonderful animals. I’m definitely looking forward to your upcoming posts!
As a side note, hyenas definitely don’t deserve the bad reputation they get in popular media. The Wild Safari Live program I wrote about on my blog often features spotted hyenas, and people love watching them. They’re intelligent, curious, and surprisingly likable.
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Musiewild said:
There’s quite an amusing hyena scenario coming up quite shortly…
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maryhutton2 said:
It must be an exciting experience to see all those magnificent animals and birds – thanks for sharing all that variety of wildlife.
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Musiewild said:
Very exciting! I didn’t expect to be so up close and personal with some of them.
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Gerry said:
Thank you for sharing your experience with such wonderful photos and commentary. I have to thank Mr Tootlepedal for sending us over to see the post. I didn’t even know of the existence of some of these creatures – the genet? Oh my. And that starling. What a good way to begin the day. Thank you again.
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Musiewild said:
Thank you. I’m so pleased that you enjoyed this. I’ve just posted ‘Tanzania 3’, and will be doing perhaps 7 others over the coming couple of weeks. I also thank Mr Tootlepedal!
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