Wish you all ...........

Photosafari Kenya (Lake Nakuru, Epilogue)

Dear friends,

It's time for the last post on the Kenya trip. This one is about a relatively small (188 square km) wildlife reserve about a two-hours drive from Nairobi. It's called Lake Nakuru, which is one of the well-known soda lakes in the Great Rift Valley. We visited this game reserve on our way back from Maasai Mara to Nairobi and stayed for 2 nights in a lodge. The park is home to a healthy population of rhinos (both the white and black ones are present), lots of buffalo, tree-climbing! lions, quite some leopards, and the rare Rothschild's giraffe. But the main attraction of this parc are the enormeous amounts of flamingo, which feed on the abundantly present algae in the warm lake. From Baboon cliff, one has a spectacular view on the lake and it was awesome to observe the huge pink 'cloud' of birds in the water. Scientists have calculated that the flamingo population consumes about 250.000 kilos of algae per hectare of water per year! At the lakeside it is allowed to leave the vehicle and enjoy the birds from nearby. Just lay down on your belly and wait for the birds to come close. Important detail is that there are usually some hyenas present that have learned to hunt on flamingo. So it makes sense to not only concentrate on the birds!

I hope enjoyed this photo story on Kenya wildlife. It was my pleasure to write it.


See you,
Dirk-Jan

Photosafari Kenya (prices)

Dear all,

Since about 5 years I've been a member of the Nature Photography Association in Apeldoorn: www.vnf-apeldoorn.nl . We meet every first thursday of the month to speak with friends, drink a beer together, enjoy our pictures, give feedback, and to inspire each other. One of our most popular events is the yearly photo competition in November. There are several categories to participate: landscape, birds, wildlife, macro, and a yearly theme. The theme for 2010 was backlight. Each picture is shown twice and given figures by each member. The level of the contributions is usually very high and it's not necessary to feel disappointed when a contribution doesn't reach a top 3 ranking. This year's competition was quite successfull for me ....... two of my recent Kenya photos were appreciated with prices.

Zebras in a wildebeest herd

Winner in the category Wildlife

Flamingos at Lake Nakuru

Second price in the category Birds

Photosafari Kenya (black-backed jackals)

Time for the next episode of the photosafari to Kenya! This post needs to be more friendly, after the horrible hyenas in the last post. Black-backed jackals are more cute animals. They are the foxes of the savannah. In fact we visited a few times a den with cubs. It was always a pleasure to observe the youngsters playing, sleeping, stalking, running, eating, etc. Marvellous opportunities to takes pictures of their behaviour and interaction. Please enjoy the selection of 5 photos.

See you,

Dirk-Jan

Photosafari Kenya (spotted hyenas)

Dear friends,

Among the predators on the African savannahs, spotted hyenas have a unique position. Their expression, appearance, and behaviour are certainly not friendly and to be honest, I don't like them at all. They are most active between dusk and dawn and their typical whooping and giggling calls are often heard at night. Hyenas have the reputation to be scavengers, but most often they hunt their prey by themselves in small packs. It was during a very heavy afternoon rainshower that James, our guide, saw a small pack of hyenas hunting for wildebeest. In a clever way they separated a calf from its group and chased it towards a small ditch of water. There the poor wildebeest stumbled and it was caught by the dominant hyena of the pack. During a short wrestle, the hyena tried to injure the back paw of the wildebeest in order to immobilize its prey.

During the next half hour we witnessed a horrible spectacle. Instead of killing their prey, hyenas start eating their prey alive. The calls of fear and pain of the poor wildebeest were almost unbearable. I had to remind myself constantly that such cruelty also belongs to an African wildlife experience. We hoped that the freightening sounds of the wildebeest would soon come to an end, indicating that the wildebeest had died. Instead, the unfortunate animal was still alive after the hyena had finished one of the back paws! How long would this torture continue?

After half an hour, two lionesses walked decisively to the site of horror. They had probably heard the calling wildebeest from a distance. After a short protest, the hyena slinked off, its head covered with blood. It knew it wouldn't make any chance.

The lionesses checked their capture and found the wildebeest calf still alive. Cats first kill their prey before eating. I felt delighted as the death-struggle would soon come to an end. A few minutes later we left the kill after the lionesses started their diner.

Hyenas have never been my favourite animals. This has certainly not changed after this unforgetable experience. Nevertheless, an African savannah and photosafari isn't complete without them.

Next post will be more friendly. Promised!

Dirk-Jan

Photosafari Kenya (cheetahs)

Dear all,

Today's post will be on one of my favourite photo motives, cheetahs. These beautiful animals are the athletes of the savannah and their hunts are spectacular as they are able to reach a top speed of over 100 kilometers per hour. In the Maasai Mara we were lucky enough to observe cheetahs almost every single day.

There was the so-called rooftop cheetah that frequently used the roofs of safari vehicles as its viewpoint. Even more spectacular was the female with her 6 young cubs! But most impressive were the hunting shows of the three brother cheetahs. They had been inseparable since their birth, a few years ago. They are working together like a perfect team and their hunts are so effective that the guides gave them their nickname 'the killing machine'.

We found them on a few occassions during our afternoon game drives. They were resting in the shade of an acacia tree, but it was a public secret that their shows usually started at around 4 o'clock. After they got awake, they started with grooming, some stretching exercises, and playing together. This ritual was followed by a short walk towards a nearby termite hill. From such a viewpoint, they spotted where the herds of wildebeest were. Once they selected a target they started their hunt by walking towards their potential prey in a parallel way, separated about 100 meters from each other. It was striking to see that they didn't bother too much about their camouflage. They completely relied on their speed as they probably knew how effective they were with the three of them.

The wildebeest usually didn't bother about the approaching brothers until they came within a few hundred meters. One of the brothers usually opened the chase resulting in an obvious panic within the herd. If they were able to separate a calf from its mother their diner was served.

It was spectacular to observe these hunting parties. Hope to meet the brothers again on a certain day! For the time being, the pictures are a precious memory.

Next post will be on hyenas.

Best regards,

Dirk-Jan

Photosafari Kenya (birds)

Hello to all of you,

Today no story, but just a collection of 7 bird pictures taken during the safari drives on the plains of Maasai Mara.

1) portrait of the Saddle-billed stork;

2) African fish eagle in flight;

3) Ostrich family with 4 chickens;

4) Lilac-breasted roller in flight;

5) male Kori bustard displaying;

6) Southern ground hornbill eating maggots on a carcass;

7) Rüppell's vulture on a zebra carcass.

Next topic will be about my favorite cheetahs. Keep in touch to see the three brothers hunting!

Dirk-Jan

Photosafari Kenya (wildebeest river crossing)

Dear all,

The previous post was on the wildebeest migration. On their way through the savannah they have to cross some rivers. Swimming in dangerous water is certainly not their favorite pursuit, but their instinct and constant search for water and food drives them to the river banks. I saw this nervous spectacle quite often on television but to observe it in real life is something special ..........

Thousands of them are waiting at the river bank, often accompanied by zebras .....

After hours of nervous waiting at the river bank, a brave one-year-old calf starts a massive crossing .....

With hundreds per minute, they plunge themselves in the water ..... uncertain whether they reach the other side safely ..... this crossing continued for more than an hour .....

Where the river banks are steep they jump like athletes .....

Trying to cross the Mara river as soon as possible ..... hungry crocodiles are waiting .....

The view after the crossing ..... the river bank is covered with exhausted wildebeest ..... some are in shock, others have broken their bones or spine ..... unable to continue their journey ..... a certain death is ahead .....

Some are 'lucky' and recover after their shock ..... but the danger is still around ..... after playing for half an hour like a cat with a mouse, this wildebeest calf was killed .....

After the wildebeest crossing, the Mara river is covered with hundreds of carcasses ..... leaving behind a penetrating stench of cadaverine .....

Next post will be on the birds of the Mara plains.

See you,

Dirk-Jan

Photosafari Kenya (wildebeest migration)

It's called one of the last large migrations on our planet. We are talking about the great wildebeest migration in Eastern Africa, the topic of today's post. Yearly, about 1,5 million wildebeest make their journey through the savannah plains of the Serengeti and Maasai Mara ecosystems. This unique pilgrimage already exists for God knows how long. Driven by their constant search for food and water, they follow a kind of oval route of about 3000 kilometers in a clockwise direction. They reach the plains of the Maasai Mara between August and October. Before my trip to Kenya, I had conceived how it would feel like to be in the middle of such a wildlife spectacle .... to be surrounded by such an enormous amount of animals. Well, it exceeded my wildest imaginations and triggered all my senses. It felt special to stop in the middle of a large herd at sunrise and just listen to their constant cow-like sound and the rustle of their grazing. It felt special to enjoy a healthy bush breakfast in the middle of an endless procession of walking wildebeest. An hour or so later, the view is still the same despite thousands of them have passed in the meantime. But it is not all that romantic. I've never experienced so closely the battle of animals between life and death and their struggle to survive. One of the most remarkable experiences of the whole trip were the massive river crossings with thousands of wildebeest. All of you will remember those images from the famous wildlife movies. In the next post I will post some of the crossing photos.

See you,

Dirk-Jan

Photosafari Kenya (lions)

Dear all,

Thanks for your positive feedback on the previous post about the leopards of Maasai mara! This is motivating. As promised this post will deal with the king of the savannah, the lion. The lion population of Maasai mara is very dense. The reserve is about 30 by 50 km and is home to about 500 lions. There are several prides of which the so-called marsh pride is largest and consists of about 35 individuals. Because of the large population we had several lion sightings a day. In spite of their mighty appearance and expression, a lion sighting can be very boring. Actually, they are quite lazy creatures that spend most of the day resting in the shade. When a vehicle arrives with tourists they lift their eyes for a few seconds and quickly they return to the relax mode. But, whenever they become active ...... this is when the 'fun' starts ...........

There was the honeymoon couple that were mating almost every 15 minutes for a week. Every copulation ended with an agressive tête-à-tête between the partners, which is rather curious from a human perspective.

There was the female with a small cub. We found her while she had just started to hunt wildebeest that were migrating a few hundred meters further with thousands all together. First, she was slowly sneaking through the high savannah grass, perfectly using her magnificent camouflage. Followed by patient laying in ambush for an hour until the wildebeest were within her reach. A sudden run, panic in the herd, and there she was wrestling with an adult wildebeest that had no change to escape. A few minutes later the wildebeest migration just continued like nothing happened.

There was the small lion pride with a freshly killed wildebeest in the first morning light. It had been cold during the night and each breath of the lions condensed, a photographically very interesting situation. While there were about 5 vehicles present at the kill I still don't understand why we were the only ones taking shots from a backlit viewpoint. Later, we understood from our guide that the other guides had asked him in Swahili through the radio why he positioned his vehicle in such a strange position.

Hope to see you back for the next post on the wildebeest migration.

Dirk-Jan

Photosafari Kenya (leopards)

Dear all,

Just returned safely from an exciting photosafari to Kenya. It was a marvelous time and has surpassed all my wildest expectations. The Maasai mara plains were flooded by 100-thousands of wildebeest and zebras. They were everywhere! The predators and scavengers had the time of their lives and were feasting because of the abundant presence of food. Everyday brought new highlights and it felt like being in photographers' paradise. The organisation of our private photosafari was perfectly arranged by Sunworld safaris, our guide James Nganga was outstanding, and Mara Bush camp is a fantastic place in the heart of the wildlife reserve with excellent food, beautiful safari tents, and a fantastic staff. I realise that this text is full of superlatives, but to be honest, it's true.


But now ........ returned home with about 3000 photos and it will not be easy to select them. Next month, I would like to share with you a photographic coverage on the highlights in 10 chapters. Today we start with part I: leopards.


These elusive predators prefer riverine biotopes. Despite their beautiful patterned fur, they are not easy to spot as they spend most of their time in dense shrub areas and trees. In the direct vicinity of Mara Bush Camp a female leopard has its territory with her two one-and-a-half-year old cubs. We had four leopard sightings in 9 days and the last occassion gave the best photographic results as it happened in early morning light, there were not too many vehicles around, and the cat showed us some typical behaviour. Can one imagine a better start of the day?


Next post will be on another big cat, the king of the savannah.


Best regards,
Dirk-Jan