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| They get close here |
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| Lion in a Tree |
When people go on their first safari one of the major goals is to find the 'Big 5.' This group of animals was nicknamed by the hunters during colonial times, not because of their size, but because if you shot one of these five animals and only wounded it then it could charge and kill the hunter. Hence there is no giraffe on this list. The Big 5 consist of Lions, Elephants, Buffalo, Rhino, and Leopard.
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| Cuteness factor with baby lion cubs |
We were lucky enough to encounter all of the Big 5 here in the Masai Mara. While a lot of the major national reserves and parks in Africa house the Big 5, it can be quite difficult to see them, especially in just one park over the course of several days. We managed to see the Big 5 in just one full day here in the Mara.
We had several lion encounters including a family taking down and eating a warthog, which if you haven't read about the
click here for a play by play. We saw another pride of 13 lions lounging by a water hole. And finally we came across females with tiny cubs that had just made a zebra kill. The youngest of the cubs was only a couple months old and possibly the smallest cub I've ever seen.
Elephants and buffalo were spread around the park, although one big group of both species was mingling around a swampy area at the base of the escarpment. It was fun just to sit there and watch them jostle for position and communicate with each other. The buffalo would disappear from sight as they sank down into the muddy water to cool off. It is hard to imagine these gentle animals as part of the 'Big 5', but local Africans across the continent fear these two animals the most. They are pure power which most of the big predators think twice about messing with.
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| Black Rhino |
Another gentle giant, at least while photographing and not hunting, is the rhino. In the Masai Mara there are about 18 black rhinos remaining. They are cruising their natural habitat that they have lived in for generations. This is a rarity around Africa, as most of the rhinos were hunted out to local extinction and had to be reintroduced to places that could contain and protect them. We were lucky enough to be with guide Massek, who works as a rhino researcher when he isn't guiding. He was able to tell us the names of the different rhino and backstories on each of them. There is something so gentle and amazing about these animals, and while you watch them it is very hard to understand the drive some people have to poach them simply to turn their horns into a mystical medicine.
Our last sighting to give us all the Big 5 was late at night when we were on our way to a bush dinner. We had a leopard walk through our spotlight. We were able to follow it through the brush for quite some time before it ran off across the plains to go hunt. Since it was on the move and in the darkness I wasn't able to get any pictures of it. So I will just have to substitute a sixth species to make up for it.
The Cheetah might not have been a Big 5 for the hunters, but it could easily qualify for a Big 6 for Safari goers. We found these two brothers right on the political border between Kenya and Tanzania. Here the landscape opens up where the spotted land of the Masai Mara meets the endless plains of the Serengeti. Luckily the cheetah brothers stayed in Kenya for this encounter. They had recently eaten, hence the huge bellies, and were quite content with laying in the shade under a lone tree.
All in all another quality day for the Dillon's here in Africa.
Elephants and buffalo were spread around the park, although one big group of both species was mingling around a swampy area at the base of the escarpment. It was fun just to sit there and watch them jostle for position and communicate with each other. The buffalo would disappear from sight as they sank down into the muddy water to cool off. It is hard to imagine these gentle animals as part of the 'Big 5', but local Africans across the continent fear these two animals the most. They are pure power which most of the big predators think twice about messing with.
Another gentle giant, at least while photographing and not hunting, is the rhino. In the Masai Mara there are about 18 black rhinos remaining. They are cruising their natural habitat that they have lived in for generations. This is a rarity around Africa, as most of the rhinos were hunted out to local extinction and had to be reintroduced to places that could contain and protect them. We were lucky enough to be with guide Massek, who works as a rhino researcher when he isn't guiding. He was able to tell us the names of the different rhino and backstories on each of them. There is something so gentle and amazing about these animals, and while you watch them it is very hard to understand the drive some people have to poach them simply to turn their horns into a mystical medicine.
The Cheetah might not have been a Big 5 for the hunters, but it could easily qualify for a Big 6 for Safari goers. We found these two brothers right on the political border between Kenya and Tanzania. Here the landscape opens up where the spotted land of the Masai Mara meets the endless plains of the Serengeti. Luckily the cheetah brothers stayed in Kenya for this encounter. They had recently eaten, hence the huge bellies, and were quite content with laying in the shade under a lone tree.
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