A great morning with the leopards

Today my “ office” did not dissapoint. I set out early as i have been doing to look for zawadi the leopard since i did not see her or the other leopared by the Mara river yesterday. Today i got to the leopard gorge at 7.00am sharp. I was only focused on the leopard. I even had to painfully ignore a perfect sunrise with a lone Boscia tree and a giraffe(the typical African horizon photo)

I arrived at the same time as my friends Jonathan Scott and Angie. We have all been attracted to this spot by Zawadi. When with Jonatahn, we keep talking about the good old days, when the leopard gorge was the place to be if you wanted to see a leopard.  This morning we spent about two hours with her, as she posed on the rocks, walk around and play with the cub. i may not have taken any good shot, but i enjoyed more just sitting to watch. When she left the cub, we thought she had gone to hunt so we did not want to disrupt and so we left the gorge, to go and look for other animals, then ended up at the camp for lunch.

When i went out again later, i wanted to look for Olive, the leopard to show my guest. I found lions, girrafes etc, and just whne i was going back to camp, i found Olive and bahati. What a day!. The two leopards entertained us fro sometimes playing around before wandering around. At some point bahati jumped on some guinea fowls, missing one by a whisker. I went back to camp very happy. Surely my “office” can never dissapoint.

On the lookout from a tree

spending time with cub

The cub learning jumping techniques

Zawadi takes time to play with her cub

Filling the gaps in my "office"

Today as usual i set out into my”office” to look for the leopard i saw last evening heading to her den with kill but i did not find it even after spending 2.30hrs going around the same place many times. Now i had to look for alternatives. Not far from where we had been driving around was a herd of Elephants. I noted the light was great so i convinced my guest to take pictures of them even though he has had enough elephants shots. What followed was clicks after clicks when the elephants went just past us casually and there were two males teasing each other to a fight. With these shots, the day was now started. After this we went down to the river to look for a place to have a picnic. Before i got there i found a martial eagle that had killed and was eating a young thomson’s gazelles. There were more clicks before the eagle took off and landed on the opposite bank of rht eriver, but within our view. As i parked the car  next to the river ready to unpack our picnic box, my guest was clicking away from the roof hatch of the car. I inquired what was of interest and he showed me some two Hippos which were roughing one another. They continued to perform for us the entire time we had our picnic. So we were between sipping coffee and clicking. After the Hippos slowed down the show we went off to look for the leopard again, but it was geeting hot and our chance of seeing her was not great. I drove along the stream commonly known as Kifugo ya nyoka, whihc heads not from the Mara river in teh opposite direction to Serena lodge. It was then that i came across a green backed night heron on a nest. I have never seen one with small chicks. We spent one hour with the birds, watching them change guard(between male and female). This crowned our morning and we went back to camp. Surely this was not a leopard morning, but alas other things came along,and as usual i say welcome to my ‘’office”  and bush school where you learn forever!....

A herd of Elephants we spent time photographing

Martial eagle with kill

Two Hippos charging at one another

But sometimes they were friends again

One of the heron parents on nest with chicks

Heron with Chicks

Two Leopards, two kills in day

Today has been a leopards day for me and my guest. I started the day by visiting the leopard gorge once more to see zawadi. When i arrived at the spot where we left her last evening, i was at first worried when i saw a Hyaena sleeping under the small tree i saw the cub climbing yesterday. This instantly become my concern on the saftey of the cub. i picked up my Binocular to scan the ridge and i was relieved to see the tiny cub in teh tree, at least safe from the Hyaena. The next thing was to look fro her mom, whom i shoortly picked up through my binoculars behind the tree where the cub was. At this point i was relieved.

After about 40 minutes watching her, she got up and headed east of the gorge and i thought she was going to drink from a nearby pool. But she carried on going and we only stopped  following her when she started to hunt. She managed to kill a young Impala which she immediately took up the tree to avoid the Hyaenas that turned up immediately she killed the impala. She proceeded to take it up the tree fro safety where she went on to feed.

I left the sighting to go and look for another leopard (Pump house female) with two tiny cubs near the Mara river. I had seen her two weeks ago,a nd i got information yesterday that she has been seen again with the cubs. When i arrived at the location of her den, by some big rocks near the river, i driove along there but did not see her since it was still very hot. However, i stampled upon a caracal! What a gift! She satyed there and allaowed me to take about 10 pictures before she went into the bushes. I satyed around as i waited for the sun to go down or at least the heat to go down.

While i was waiting and constantly scanning the surrounding area to see if i can see the leopard coming. Finally i saw her walking through the grass in a hunting mode. The next thing i saw was her carrying a young thomson gazelle, which she took to the den by the rocks. Those were the activities of interest in my office today. I am off very early tomorrow to look for the pump house leopard and her cubs.

 Zawadi's cub, up at tree to avoid the Hyaena

Zawadi sunning herself in the morning sunshine on her current favourite rock at the gorge

Prey seen in a distance

scanning the valley below from a termite mount

The pump house female pauses during her long walk to the den

Carrying a precious catch

With a take away meal

Another day spent at the leopard gorge

I spent the day again today at the gorge, staring into a small bush for 8hrs! This is the small bush on a ridge at theleopard gorge where i spent about the same time again waiting for zawadi to come out and pose for us. Teh wait today was longer but of course having warmed up yesterady, i was all set for teh wait.

I arrived at the leopard gorge some minutes to 7am and found nobody there, so i had to look around to find zawadi. I was able to locate her within minutes and what a gift! She came out and sat on teh rock in teh nice morning light. However, the cub did not join her ruining what would have been a nice mother/cub potrait on the rock in nice golden morning light. After taking some shots she went back to the bush again. this seemed to have been teh end of the show for the day, we did not have another great pose.

It was around 10.30am whne a Hyaena came to where zawadi was with her cub. the hyaena went round and at some point was close to teh cub, causing zawadi to engage in some confrontation. She did not manage to ward the hyanean off completely. Bith animals went to sepnd the day ont eh opposite side of the same bush. This led us to worry for the cub, but without our knowledge, the cub had gone up a very thin tree trunk. I then waited and waited, untill the hyaena left the scene around 4pm. I also gave up at 6.30pm after waiting for hours.

Today i and my guest were the only “die hards” to brave the baking sun, staring into the small bush across the gorge hoping for zawadi to come out and pose once more. But well.............. this is ‘my office’ where nothing sticks to a partern/routine and no rule has been set for our subjects! Things just unfold and you find out as you go! Welcome to my office cum bush school, there is a lot to learn here!

Zawadi on her favourite lookout rock, this morning

Playing with her cub

A beautiful view of the northern entrance into the gorge

Zawadi warding off an intruding Hyaena

A day with Zawadi, the Leopard

I set out this morning for a game drive at 6.am, with one objective, to see Zawadi the leopard at the leopard gorge. She had been reported to have one cub of about 3 months old. My mission and that of my guests who has been coming here for many years, was to establish the truth, since the leopard in reference is a known character who featured a few times on the BBC’s Big Cat Diary. She is about 16 yrs old by now and for her to have a cub at this age is proving us wrong in what we would have thought is not possible.

Back to the leopard gorge.... when i got there this morning, i found Jonathan Scott, a proffessional photographer in the Mara who has been following this particular leopard since she was a small cub. When we met, we talked of the good old days at the same place when we used to come and see Half tail, Zawadi’s mother in the early 90s. This particular spot was a popular land mark for the driver guides looking for leopards.

When i arrived, before my chat with Jonathan, i looked around and did not see teh leopard though i know she will be somewhere here if Jonathan is also around. It did not take long befroe i saw some movement in the grass on the opposite side of the gorge, and there our anticpiation and long drive was rewarded when she appeared with the cub. Our cameras immediatley went into “rapid fire” mode taking so many of the pictures we later deleted whne she posed nicely giving us the opportunity we wanted. We watched her and around 9am sh eleft the cub and walked away. We assumed she went to hunt and we did not want to spoil her hunt, so we just waited where we were.  She came back and went to where the cub was and just slept! We waited until 5.45pm when she came out with the cub, and gave as some great nice poses, whne she knew well that the light was gone and we could not take any picture; well...tomorrow is another day, an di will be there early enough an dall set to spend another day at the gorge, either taking pictures of her, or waiting! Thats life in the Mara....my office.

 With the tall grass, she has to be on the lookout all the time when her cub is playing

 A lookout from her observation rock

 Zawadi plays with her cub on the rocks above the gorge

The cub playing with mum's tail

The Lion and Buffalo drama in the Mara

The five male lions coalition (Notch & sons) killed a Hippo near Rekero last night. I found them this morning feeding ont he hippo, thouhg Notch himself had already eaten and was sleeping in teh shade about a hundred metres fro teh carcass.

As the morning sun started getting hot, the lions left the carcass one by one untill only one was left and this one decided to guard the carcass from teh Hyaenas that were waiting around.

While watching this, some four Buffalo bulls came towards the carcass. Tehy soon picked teh scent of the lions and they started charing at two males that were sleeping in the bush, driving them away from the vicinity of the carcass, although Notch was spared since he was a bit further. The Buffaloes left breifely before coming back and started chasing the lions again around. This time they went upto the carcass and drove away the one that was watching over it, and drove them away including Notch.

After this drama which lasted half of the morning, the Buffaloes gave up and left the lions to continue with feast. This is the fourth Hippo we have seen recently killed by the five. It seems they are now tunring to the Hippos since there is not much else to hunt.

The Buffaloes turned up at the carcass and the lion which was watching over had to flee for dear life

The Buffaloes briefly went to investigate the carcass

 Then they decided to drive the lions completely out of the vicinity

It was inetersting to see the big males which brought down the Hippo were running away from the Buffaloes. i could not take picture of all the actions, as i also had to put my camera away and observe the drama.

challenges and excitement in the Mara

The tall grass in the Mara is currently presenting a challenge to us in the field when looking for game. The grass is so tall in some places that it can reach 2.5mts! we normally experience such situation in April May and June after the long rain just before the wildebeests arrives. At the moment the animals in the reserve are only concentrated in certain places, mostly where the grass or drier ground. Due to this, the cats and other predators are facing a season of reduced food supply since the animals staying in such groups are more vigillant.

Despite the above condition, we are having great sightings. We have been seeing Bahati, the leopard cub movong between the Talek and Olare-Orok rivers. this evening she gave us superb sighting, posing for us from the tree top at sunset.

Lions:

The marsh pride is still split up. Joy is with her two subadult sons and five cubs, one of whihc is adopted. The four musketeers are still by Bila Shaka, now with Bibi and white eye the rest of the pride are on the border of the reserve. On a few occasions they have killed cows in the nearby villages. Romeo ahs dissapeared for sometimes now and we are worried he could have died. We saw Clawed recently, look better.

Cheetahs in the reserve are now very few and getting even difficult to find one. I heard this evening that Shingo’s male cubs were seen over lunch heading inot the park. I will report tomorrow when i see them.

Photogenic sunrise lately

One of the Rhinos we have been seeing quite often towards the Mara river

 I came across this Hippo this morning on the plains before making his way to the river

 I followed Bahati this morning, and is a challenge keeping her on site

 Wattled plover, is one of the birds found along water pans/pools

 Bahati up a tree this evening scouting for prey from a tree top

 Elephant sighting is really great at the moment

The lions are having a rough time finding prey, hence go up trees or termite mount to use as