Safari Day 8: The Big 5 in the Masai Mara, plus Cheetah!

 

Shot of the day. Finding the cheetah was hard work today, but Jackson prevailed. We got an up close look at two cheetah. This one gave us a brief look at its incredibly sharp teeth during this yawn. Luckily I snapped the photo right as it happened and captured the moment.

   It was a tough wake up for everyone this morning here in the Masai Mara. And by 'tough' I mean our butler woke us up with coffee and biscuits at the requested time. We may be camping in tents, but here at Kichwa Tembo Luxury Tented Camp, it feels like glamping to the extreme. After the early morning pick-me-up, the group met Jackson at the vehicle, ready for a big morning game drive. Our plan was to cover a lot of distance, maybe searching for cheetah, and seeing if we got lucky with any lions on they way. I would say lucky was an understatement.

Sunrise view from our camp.

   Our first big find was three young male lions, sleeping and basking in the early morning sunshine. Shortly after, Jackson excitedly exclaimed, 'leopard!', pointing into the tall grass. We followed the beautiful cat around a group of bushes, and were ready when he emerged out the other side. I managed to get some cool backlit photos during our high quality encounter. He worked his way to the river forest, where he disappeared for the rest of the day. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.

Our morning leopard in all of his glory.

We passed by families of elephants, herds of zebra, big groups of cape buffalo, towering giraffes, and antelopes along our route as we searched for our next big encounter. The group then got a real treat, as we stopped at a solitary tree, got out and stretched, and watched in amazement as our guide Jackson set up and cooked an incredible bush breakfast. Scrambled eggs with onions and pepper over the camp stove, pancakes, bacon, sausage, oranges, yogurt and muesli, biscuits, hot tea and french pressed coffee were all on the menu. We sat in the middle of the Masai Mara, vast rolling grasslands as far as we could see in every direction.

Jackson: Bush Chef to the max!

   Jackson gave us some insight into the Masai culture as we ate, and everyone just soaked this incredible experience in as we knew it would end to soon. But, now with full bellies, we wanted to get back to our search for the elusive cheetah, so off we went. We definitely took the roads less traveled, to a far off corner of the park, but were rewarded with a close up view of two resting cheetahs. I managed to catch the one big yawn on film, so make sure you check out that photo. After encountering lions, a leopard, and cheetah, all in the same morning, we turned back towards camp.

   We got back to Kichwa Tembo around 1:45pm for a late lunch. So we decided to have a shortened afternoon game drive starting at 4:30pm. Right around our go time is when the rain started. But our group didn't hesitate at all. We donned ponchos, loaded up the safari vehicle, and headed off into the storm. Out here in the Mara, the weather can come on you fast, but often leaves fast as well. And that is when the dramatic skies and clouds can really happen.

   I'm so glad we did go out into the weather, because we were rewarded with a lioness with a kill. We were close enough to hear bone cracking as she ripped her prize apart, and we assumed it was a warthog, but could never get a proper look at what she was eating. Then we finished our day with some absolutely amazing luck. We found four out of the fifteen black rhinos in the entire park. Not only did we feel quite impressed to find four of such a rare animal, but the fact that we added rhino to our daily list meant that we had seen the Big 5 all in one day. Rhino, leopard, lion, elephant, and buffalo. And lets throw in cheetah for good measure.

Rare sighting of black rhinos to complete our Big 5 day here in the Mara!

The Masai Mara never fails to impress.

A big male leopard stalks towards its daytime resting place.

Closeup of a leopard.

Even amongst the big famous animals of the Mara, I always stop for beautiful birds as well. Like this lilac-breasted roller.

Our second leopard sighting of the trip! We got lucky with another extended encounter this morning with this beautiful big cat.

This Nile crocodile was warming up on the bank of the Mara river. It looked like it fed well during the recent river crossings of the great migration.

Lions and sunrise. Not a bad way to start the day here in the Mara.

A little baby zebra, looking a little unsteady. Notice the brown fluff on top. They will lose that and become more black and white as they grow.

I think these lions were enjoying the sunrise, just like us. Pretty fun that we all got to do it together.

This inquisitive black-backed jackal was one of the more curious and bold jackals I've ever come across. We were deep in the Mara, off the beaten track when this guy and his partner trotted right up to us. He just stared right at us without an ounce of fear. It is pretty unusual behavior, but worked out great for photos.

Not only did we get the Big 5 (leopard, lion, buffalo, elephant, and rhino), but we also got one of the Little 5 (rhinocerus beetle, buffalo weaver, ant lion, elephant shrew, and this guy, the leopard tortoise!)

I thought this shot almost looked like a cheetah version of Game of Thrones. Notice his buddy laying down to his left!

This topi really wanted his picture taken.

A large family of elephants coming right towards us.

This is another vehicle from our same tent camp enjoying the leopard encounter with us.

A rare day encounter with a hippo out of the water. Usually they stay mostly submerged all day and come out only at night to feed. This one must have been really hungry, and didn't mind a little sunburn.

This lioness was secretly ripping into some fresh kill, not wanting to share with any nearby member of her pride. Notice the red on the mouth.

I heard this photo snap, then I heard the bone snap of whatever she was eating.

Kevin and Janet, ready to strike out on their own.

Hippo pool after the afternoon storm.

A little rain and lightning isn't stopping Kevin from heading out on safari!

Everyone wanted to check out our find of the lioness eating in the bushes.

Terry was thinking, 'there sure isn't much between me and that elephant right there...'