Africa Safari Day 9: Lions Cubs in the Masai Mara

 We are here in the Masai Mara, which is Kenya's top notch destination for a wildlife safari. It is Day 9 of our safari, and by now we have seen most of the big animals in this part of East Africa. So the group was thinking, 'what else could be possibly see, that we havn't already?' That is when the Mara served up something special, lion cubs.

This picture captures the essence of our morning game drive.

Encountering baby big cats is one of my all-time favorite things while on safari. There really is not much out there that is cuter than a baby lion, or cheetah, or some other big cat. We got word about possible baby lion cubs, but they were down a very muddy path. Luckily we had the right vehicle and the right driver. Jackson tore down this slippery, muddy track, off the main road. It was like Tokyo drift as we tried to keep some speed so we wouldn't bog down. The exciting driving paid off as we came across our target, two mother lions with five cubs. They were very young cubs and after they got used to us they didn't seem bothered by our presence.

We watched the lion cubs for a long time. Whenever they would stop, the cubs would nuzzle its mom, or play with the other cubs. But for the most part, the parents kept the kids moving. It seemed like the two moms were hungry, and we couldn't see any possible prey in sight. So they kept moving. It is certainly not an easy life out here in the wilderness...even for the king of the jungle.

You really have to look twice at this photo to see what is going on. The lion cub was doing something naughty, so mom launched him upside down. I like how the sibling is peeking around, watching what happens.

Speaking of the king of the jungle, shortly after making it back to the main road, we came across a huge male lion right next to the road. As we were taking photos, he got up and came right next to the vehicle behind us. He was not interested in them at all, but we could hear the driver ask the guests if they were comfortable, and they said no. The car ended up moving farther away. You just never know what will happen on your game drive.

Our black maned lion heading right at me. Definitely the king of the pridelands.

In typical luxury safari fashion, we stopped out in the bush for coffee and tea. It is an amazing experience having fresh, french pressed coffee in the middle of the vast plains of Kenya. It wasn't until halfway through my coffee that I noticed a wildebeest skull very close by. It reminded us that we were not in a fenced in, safe area. A safari in Kenya is still very much a wild experience.

Incredible animal encounters continued throughout the day. We came across mating lions, down near the border with Tanzania. At first we spotted them pretty far off. But with each subsequent mating, they would get closer and closer to us. Until finally, they walked right past our car, heading for some shade on the other side of the track. The act of mating would only take about 10-15 seconds, then the male and female lion would rest for about ten minutes. Then they would mate again. They can go like this for several days. Pretty cool to think that because of what we were witnessing, there could be more cute baby lion cubs in the near future!

We stopped for zebra prancing through the water, cool birds like a tiny bird of prey called the black-shouldered kite, and huge elephants, flapping their ears to stay cool. We knew this was our last day of game drives in the Mara, so we wanted to soak it up. It turned out that our guide Jackson had one more surprise for us. As we cruised by the Mara river on our afternoon game drive, he pulled over, jumped out, and seemed to check out the area. Then he said we could walk over to the cliff edge and check out the river. It was full of hippos. We stood and watched them for some time. When we turned around we saw that Jackson had set up a picnic table with a full bar, ready for happy hour with the hippos. The look on everyone's face was priceless.

This group has experienced so much already. We have had a wonderful safari through Kenya, including Nairobi National Park, Tsavo West, Amboseli, and now the Masai Mara. But we are not finished yet, Tanzania and the famous Serengeti are still to come. It is hard to imagine anything comparing to our experience here in the Mara, with our wonderful guide Jackson. But that is the beautiful thing about being on safari in Africa, there is always new things to see and experience, even if you keep coming back for years.

Fearless leaders, Dai Mar and Jackson.

Patty wondering, 'how close is too close?'

The Fab Five, just before walking over to the edge of Mara river for hippo watching.

Hippos were popping up and down behind us like a game of whack-a-mole.

Jackson, always full of surprises, set up this sundowner cocktail picnic next to the river for us.

Early passing storms left some very dramatic skies over the vast plains of the Masai Mara. Here, a panorama captures our view of the Mara River.

As the sun set on our last day in the Masai Mara, we traded stories around the campfire back at the camp. Then a special meal served up in the eagles nest, before turning into our tents, out in the jungle, to the sounds of hyena and hippo, dreaming of what is to come tomorrow as we head to the famous Serengeti of Tanzania.

Mom and baby take a little cat nap.

Our morning view from Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp: Hot Air Balloon over the savanna in the Masai Mara, Kenya.

We heard there might be lions cubs this way, but we might get stuck in the mud. Hmmmm...let's go!

Success, two female lions with five cubs!

Celebratory drinks after spending the morning with lions, here in the Mara. Thanks for another awesome bush experience Jackson!

We made it through the mud to see the lion cubs, but the car doesn't look brand new anymore.

Maybe you would like a little Amarula in your coffee?

We came across these two mating lions near the border of Tanzania.

Lions make the greatest facial expressions when they are mating. They will mate over and over, during the course of several days.

Next time I come back to the Mara, this male might have young offspring around.

Intense stare of a lion.

There is not much cuter than baby big cats. We found five very young lion cubs this morning.

The five cubs were tailing behind their mom as they plodded across the savanna.

One of the lion cubs got close to a bush and out popped this very frightened serval cat. It bounded across the savanna so quickly that I can't believe I got a photo. We never would have seen it if it hadn't been scared out of hiding by the lion.

Just before heading back to camp after our sundowners with the hippos, we came across these three female lions. They gave us some great photos.

Even though it was getting dark, I managed to snag a couple of photos of these three lions.

This big, dark maned lion was on the trail of a female who he had been mating with.

Adorable lion cubs.

Momma lion stalking around the corner.

Our lion group, stalking across the savanna.

Time to dog pile mom!

Back on the main road we came across this male lion. He is part of a major clan in this area.

Zebra heading into the water.

Little baby lion cub camouflaging into the grass.

We were lucky that this beautiful male was right next to the road.

There are so many beautiful trees here in the Mara. You just have to pick the right sky... maybe sunset, or just after a storm like this.

An African elephant striking a pose.