Mara 2019 - The Final Couple of Days

Kiok & Koshoke, Topi Plains Pride Males

After taking an afternoon rest the previous day, we were feeling completely refreshed on the morning of our last full day. We were back on top of our game by 6:20am photographing the Enkuyanai pride once more. I was happily adding to my portfolio of shots featuring the wonderful Olbarnoti while watching more of the antics from the cubs and sub adults. The light wasn’t wonderful and after a while we moved on, but it had improved considerably by the time we reached our next Lions.

This featured one of the Six Pack males mating with a lady and at this point the other four members of our group joined us. This was the final morning for two of our group so we had planned to meet up for a group breakfast, but there was more action to be seen before we satisfied our hunger.

We found some of the Bila Shaka female Lions feeding on a Buffalo carcass, watched over by the rest of the Buffalo herd. None of us were prepared for what happened next. The Buffalos organised themselves and chased the Lions away, before gathering around the body. It was as if they were trying to bring it back to life, even though the body had clearly been ripped open. Some were even licking it trying to get some response; it was a surreal experience.

By 9am we were all ready for breakfast and this one was to be more leisurely than usual. We spent some time on a photo call to record the occasion and to get pictures with our three guides Joseph, Jackson and Dominic.

Our Guests and Guides - Final Group Breakfast

As our two guests left us to prepare for their flight back to Heathrow, the remaining four of us split up again the see what we could find. There was some more Lion action to be had and another fight between two Topi, but otherwise it was quiet. We revisited the Buffalo kill and found the Lions back feeding, but by now the Hyenas, Jackals and Vultures were gathering. The Buffalo herd had moved on.

We decided on an early lunch so that we could get to the airstrip to bid our guests farewell, thank them for joining us and wish them a safe journey. We arrived at the airstrip in good time, but the plane was late leaving after having to wait for a passenger from the nearby camp.

Looking around, we could see there was another late afternoon storm approaching, thankfully not on the flight path back to Nairobi for our guests. Once they were safely airborne we resumed our game drive and found a Tawny Eagle in a tree, superbly lit and with a clear shot. It also gave me one of my favourite landscape shots from my visits to the Mara.

Tawny Eagle

Soon after, the storm hit us and we thought it was game over for the day. There were still a couple of hours before darkness was due to fall, but the light was pretty poor so we started off towards camp. We were fooled though, as this storm passed through quickly and in less than an hour we were stopped beside a Hyena den outside of which a mum and young cub were sitting perfectly at ease. They were so relaxed, we didn’t get anything other than a few sitting shots, so our guide, Joseph suggested another den close by.

This was a good call as there was a mum with two cubs, who were both bigger than the one at the previous den. They were quite boisterous, so gave us more to work with. We could also see a second mum with a very young cub that Joseph estimated to be no more than a couple of days old. Mum was sat in the entrance to the den, shielding the cub from the outside world and therefore we only got an odd glimpse. Now it was time to head home for the day for a welcome dinner and preparation for next day’s departure.

Our final morning started at the usual time of 6am and our first subjects of the day were the five Black-backed Jackal pups. This time they weren’t very animated and just spent their time sat outside their den. Time was of the essence, so we moved on and the rest of the morning turned out to be a Lion-fest. First we found the Enkuyanai pride and as Lolparpit, Rose’s favourite, is a member of this pride, we spent some time with them. Eventually we left them and spent the rest of our time either side of breakfast with the Topi Plains pride.

Both of these encounters gave us some delightful head-on walking shots and in particular, male portraits. It was a great morning, but we had to get back to camp for two very important appointments prior to our final lunch.

Presentation to Joyce & the Village Elder - Photo courtesy of Helen Jones

On our last two trips to the Mara, we have taken unwanted clothes donated by generous people local to our home, for the children in the local village. The village elder collects them from us and distributes them to the most needy families in the village.

We also sponsor a village girl by the name of Joyce, to help with her schooling and provide her with some clothing too. This was the second time we have met her and her Mum, but we weren’t prepared for what actually happened next. Out of the blue, Joyce’s Mum presented both Rose and I with Maasai blankets and the most beautiful beaded Maasai necklaces. We were truly humbled by her generosity and remain so.

And so another successful visit to the Mara drew to a close and as we left, we were already looking forward to our next visit with guests in June 2020. Little did we know what was around the corner for us all.

Mara 2019 - The Next Phase

Topi Plains Juveniles at First Light

Entering the second half of the Mara portion of the trip, we were out with the Topi Plains pride of Lions before 6:30am. The light was fantastic and in a little over an hour had shot over 400 images, mainly of the cubs at play. As temperature rose and they settled down, we left them and looked out for more action.

Soon we found a tower of Giraffes and witnessed our second fight of the year between two males. We’d previously seen two brothers fighting some years ago in Botswana and watched as the parents moved in to break them up and keep them apart. We were told that it’s not impossible for a Giraffe to die in one of these fights due to a broken neck, but thankfully haven’t had to witness that. Neither of these fights were broken up by others, but just seemed to peter out, probably through lack of energy.

Our next sighting involved Rose’s Lion of the moment, Lolparpit. This time was a bit different to previous sightings of him though, he was alone with a female. We spent the best part of an hour with them waiting for some action, but all to no avail. With the hunger pangs building, we left them and headed for a spot to have breakfast.

We were quite close to an area known as Rhino Ridge having breakfast and looking around could see something actually on the ridge. Once we’d packed up, we drove to the spot and found Amani, one of the well-known female Cheetahs of the Mara. She was happy to pose for pictures for a good forty minutes before she climbed up into the rocky part of the ridge where we were unable to follow.

Amani

The morning had been quite successful and it was still only 11am, so we decided to see if we could find ourselves an obliging Leopard. We were successful to some extent, we found a male Leopard, but the position was rather tricky and afforded us few opportunities. He wasn’t showing any signs of relocating; it was the hottest part of the day after all, so time to move on.

Final sighting before a welcome lunch stop was Lolparpit’s brother, Olbarnoti and the rest of the Enkuyanai pride.

While we were having lunch I became aware of a large bird in a densely leafed tree, so dense I couldn’t identify it. I asked our guide and he made a stab at an identity, even though his view was no better than mine. Shortly after, the bird took flight and landed on open ground on the opposite side of the river. It was only then we could see it clearly enough to realise it was a first for us, a Silvery-cheeked Hornbill.

First sighting of the afternoon as we moved along the shore of the Talek River was two male Lions from the Fig Tree pride. They were sleeping under a large bush and one of the pair, Maridadi, had a huge and bloody gash from the top of his nose almost down to his top lip. Amazingly, this had been caused in a recent fight over a female with the other Lion sleeping beside him, his brother Kaka. Eventually they stirred and moved around slightly, but didn’t stray from the first position we had found them in. We stayed photographing them for about 30 minutes, until our attention was diverted to a huge troop of Baboons approaching. A half hour of grooming and various Baboon antics followed, made all the more interesting by the number of babies in the troop.

Maridadi's Injury

Time was getting on by now and it was looking like the daily late afternoon storm was approaching, so we started back to the camp. There was still one surprise in store for us though, an encounter on open ground with another female Cheetah. This time it was the beautiful Nora, looking like she was wanting to hunt, but with no prey anywhere to be seen. We stayed a quarter of an hour or so and made some images that did her justice, before the rain arrived in earnest. Another day drew to a close, but it had been a good one.

Next day was the complete opposite as eight straight days of thirteen-hour game drives caught up with us. We were out on our first encounter at 6:30am as normal. But a couple of hours later, we stopped for a quick breakfast and headed back to camp for some much needed rest and relaxation.

The first sighting had involved Black-backed Jackals, a species I particularly like, but on this occasion showing the dark side of their character. They crossed paths with a herd of Thomson’s Gazelles and singled out a vulnerable fawn. A huge chase ensued with the fawn’s mother doing her best to ward off the Jackals. She was successful for quite a while by placing herself between the fawn and the pursuing Jackals, but the chase was relentless and when her speed took her in front of the fawn, it was game over. But we then witnessed the dark side of it all where the Jackals just ate the fawn alive.

We moved away and soon found a Spotted Hyena den with some sub adults giving us some shots. Then we found the Marsh pride Lions and spent some time with them before a quick breakfast and the drive back to camp.