Safari Day 3 - Big Cats, Small Flies

So we have seen and photographed and observed most of the larger animals. All that remain are Rhinos (which we won't see here but will almost certainly see in Ngorogoro crater), cheetah, leopard, and crocodile. And we all sort of want to see a kill: a lion taking a zebra or a cheetah running down a small impala or even a crocodile grabbing a young warthog.

We are not let down. While observing probably a thousand head of buffalo I note a couple of heron up ahead. Urick had missed taking a photo of one yesterday so i pointed it out and asked Solehe to edge closer. As we approached, one of them flew away but the other stayed behind. He posed nicely for us to take a few pictures, turning his head first one way then the other. Snap! Faster than the blink of an eye he strikes at the ground with his head and comes up with something squirming around. Is it a fish? No, I'm looking through my binoculars and it looks more like an eel. A snake! He has managed to grab a 15 inch greenish snake by the neck. He's holding tightly, just behind the head, and the snake is twisting and writhing - desperate to escape. But there is no escape. The snake slows. And stops. And the heron flips back his head and swallows it whole. Our first kill.

Moments later we see the second. We haven't moved and this time we are watching the herons up ahead. Again, a blinding strike and a heron comes up this time with a huge lizard. The action plays out relatively the same except the bird drops the lizard a few times (having legs it has a bit of an advantage over the snake) but each time snaps down again on its neck. Finally, the lizard has enough and stops the struggle and again we watch the heron swallow its meal whole.

We drive through the savannah and swamp in search of a cheetah or leopard, but instead see elephant, hippo, crocodile, heron, numerous birds and a number of hoofed animals: hartbeast, redbuck, waterbuck. No other drivers have seen our quarry either and we try everything we can: looking in trees, rock outcroppings, near water, on the edges of herds, even looking for circling vultures.

At one point in our search we hit a swarm of tsetse flies. Nasty little creatures. Look like big grey houseflies until they bite through your clothing. It HURTS and is dangerous because they can carry sleeping sickness. Not fun.

Finally it is time to head back to camp for lunch. The day is hot and we all lie down after lunch for a nap. Then back out. Quickly we see some trucks stopped at the roadside and driver over to investigate. Two male lions are sleeping under a tree at road's edge. Other than the rise and fall of their chests, they could be dead. Not even a bat of their eyes or flick of tail. 50 meters away, two females are taking their mid-day rest. One has a radio collar on for research purposes.



Near the end of our day, while we are visiting another hippo pond we hear of a cheetah sighting and head that direction. By the time we arrive, this shy animal has disappeared. I recognize this place, we are right near the sleeping lions from earlier. We see the males, still unmoving but the females have disappeared. We are about to head back to camp when we spot the younger female creeping through the grass. She stops and stares at the area where the cheetah sighting had been and i wonder if she has caught the scent. I think so as she is walking now with a purpose in that direction.



Suddenly we see the cheetah! She has appeared at the roadside directly across from the lioness. They face each other, 3 meters apart and growl and hiss. The lion moves forward and the cheetah counters, circling. Now the lion is moving away into the field and the cheetah attacks.

Now you have to understand that the cheetah is 1/3 or less the size of the lioness. They are small and fast but the lion is big and strong. So for the cheetah to attack she must have a strong reason. Our best guess is that she is guarding her young hidden somewhere nearby and the lion is hunting them.



So the cheetah attacks and then as the lion turns to counter, retreats as the lion gives chase. This happens three times and finally we lose sight of the cheetah, The lion seems non-chalant. She is slowly walking through the grass, perhaps in wait for the mother, perhaps searching for the cubs. Who knows. But wow to see these two fighting was amazing. I'll show you pictures. My camera is not fantastic but Urick is going to burn a CD of his pictures (with a much better camera and a much better zoom) so the slideshow will be excellent.