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