JUST DRIVE, THEY WILL TRACK YOU
If you are used to tracking a tiger in Indian forests, tracking animals in Masai Mara is a child’s play. All you got t
o do is to just drive and the animals will be passing by you.
The herbivores and birds are everywhere. They roam around freely around the resorts and even near the ‘bomas’ (the fence around the houses of Maasais). However, they would not venture inside as the premises are fenced. Animals crossing the airstrips is a common sight.
On the first day of our safari, Moosa took us to a wide patch of grassland, just next to the resort. Within minutes we were surrounded by giraffes, zebras, five to six types of antelopes, water hogs and wilderbeestes. Slowly, one or two Hyenas showed up, but disappeared in the bushes.
As we drove further, Moosa asked the driver to move towards a bush. They were hoping to track a lion in the bush, but there was no sign of it. As the jeep backed up, the driver noticed something inside the bush, and he was right. It was a lion cub. “The mother might have gone in search of food,” he said. We spotted two more cubs in a nearby den. They were apprehensive of coming out due to the sound of the jeep.
Aft
er travelling for over a kilometre, w
e spotted another safari jeep parked near a bush. The driver rushed there, and there was a real action. A fully grown male lion was desperately trying to mate with a lioness in vain. The lioness was not cooperative and the male was getting impatient. The drama went on for over 15 minutes, and the male decided to give up. It was an unusual sight for us. Both the lions were resting as if the two jeeps never existed around them.
After sometime, the two lions suddenly became alert and started staring towards the road we came. We wondered if they were looking at us. But when we turned back, we saw a Maasai running on the road and another Maasai was pushing a cycle further down the road. “Don’t worry, even lions know that he is a Maasai and will not bother about them,” Moosa joked.
For Maasais, lions are not as dangerous as the Hyenas. I was shocked to hear this. There was an interesting incident. When we were in a Maasai village, a youth, sporting scratch marks on his neck and legs, told us that Hyenas had attacked him a fortnight ago. Even Shailesh Patel had a similar story to tell. A safari jeep spotted a Maasai woman being attacked by two Hyenas. The driver straight drove near the spot and rescued the woman, who was badly injured on her hands and legs. Luckily, the Hyenas did not get an opportunity to catch neck of the woman, thus she survived. The tourists in the jeep asked the driver to take her to a hospital and the Maasais were moved by the gesture of the tourists.
Though funny and awkward looking, Hyenas are strong and courageous. When they want to scavenge, they don’t mind even taking a group of lions head on and snatch the kill. Their jaws are so strong that they eat the bones of the animals as well. We were stunned to learn about the strengths of the Hyenas.
The following day, our safari tour was packed with action. Less than half an hour of our drive, we spotted a small leopard and began following it. Strangely, a herd of guzzles also started following the leopard. We senses of some activity around and started scanning the entire area as the leopard began moving towards a particular tree.
On the top of the tree, there was a female leopard with the carcass of a guzzle, the two had killed just a while ago. As we moved towards the tree, the leopard climbed half of the tree and began waiting for its turn to feast on the catch. After 20 minutes or so, the female made its way for the male to have its share. Meanwhile, we saw two Hyenas sitting nearby, waiting for the leopards to drop some bones.
All the safari jeeps started moving towards the tree to catch the glimpse of this rare sight. It was really a dream come true to see such a fascinating activity in the wild. All these days, I had seen such incidents on Animal Planet. We decided to move on further, and only to find another ‘wild activity’. We came across a young male lion trying to flirt with a female lion. Our driver was not convinced with just that. He signalled of something more for us. After 15 minutes, he drove around a bush. He was right, amidst the bush cover, we could see three lions trying to eat something. It was only after sometime, we realised that they had killed a wilderbeeste.
After an hour, as we were driving back on the same route, we saw the jeeps still surrounding the tree where the leopards were enjoying their prey. As we approached the tree, the female leopard came down. It was followed by the male leopard, with the caracass in its mouth. The leopards looked much disturbed with the presence of tourists, that they decided to change the place of their meal.
As the tourists followed the two leopards, we decided to move in a different direction.
We headed to Rhino park, which is in the fringes of the main national park. The rhinos have become extinct in Maasai Mara and many parts of Kenya. As a conservation effort, the Kenya government has procured three rhinos from South Africa and is breeding them in an enclosure, guarded by forest rangers. A cute 10-month old baby rhino was the main attraction at the time of our visit.
During my three-day stay at Maasai Mara, the Cheetah eluded me. I wanted to see the magnificent hunter in flesh and blood, if not in action. Even Moosa was not very promising whenever I asked about Cheetah. He had seen a Cheetah a month ago and I realised that the animal was as elusive as a tiger in Indian forests.
Masai Mara
08-12-2008
If you are used to tracking a tiger in Indian forests, tracking animals in Masai Mara is a child’s play. All you got t
o do is to just drive and the animals will be passing by you.The herbivores and birds are everywhere. They roam around freely around the resorts and even near the ‘bomas’ (the fence around the houses of Maasais). However, they would not venture inside as the premises are fenced. Animals crossing the airstrips is a common sight.
On the first day of our safari, Moosa took us to a wide patch of grassland, just next to the resort. Within minutes we were surrounded by giraffes, zebras, five to six types of antelopes, water hogs and wilderbeestes. Slowly, one or two Hyenas showed up, but disappeared in the bushes.
As we drove further, Moosa asked the driver to move towards a bush. They were hoping to track a lion in the bush, but there was no sign of it. As the jeep backed up, the driver noticed something inside the bush, and he was right. It was a lion cub. “The mother might have gone in search of food,” he said. We spotted two more cubs in a nearby den. They were apprehensive of coming out due to the sound of the jeep.
Aft
er travelling for over a kilometre, w
e spotted another safari jeep parked near a bush. The driver rushed there, and there was a real action. A fully grown male lion was desperately trying to mate with a lioness in vain. The lioness was not cooperative and the male was getting impatient. The drama went on for over 15 minutes, and the male decided to give up. It was an unusual sight for us. Both the lions were resting as if the two jeeps never existed around them.After sometime, the two lions suddenly became alert and started staring towards the road we came. We wondered if they were looking at us. But when we turned back, we saw a Maasai running on the road and another Maasai was pushing a cycle further down the road. “Don’t worry, even lions know that he is a Maasai and will not bother about them,” Moosa joked.
For Maasais, lions are not as dangerous as the Hyenas. I was shocked to hear this. There was an interesting incident. When we were in a Maasai village, a youth, sporting scratch marks on his neck and legs, told us that Hyenas had attacked him a fortnight ago. Even Shailesh Patel had a similar story to tell. A safari jeep spotted a Maasai woman being attacked by two Hyenas. The driver straight drove near the spot and rescued the woman, who was badly injured on her hands and legs. Luckily, the Hyenas did not get an opportunity to catch neck of the woman, thus she survived. The tourists in the jeep asked the driver to take her to a hospital and the Maasais were moved by the gesture of the tourists.
Though funny and awkward looking, Hyenas are strong and courageous. When they want to scavenge, they don’t mind even taking a group of lions head on and snatch the kill. Their jaws are so strong that they eat the bones of the animals as well. We were stunned to learn about the strengths of the Hyenas.
The following day, our safari tour was packed with action. Less than half an hour of our drive, we spotted a small leopard and began following it. Strangely, a herd of guzzles also started following the leopard. We senses of some activity around and started scanning the entire area as the leopard began moving towards a particular tree.
On the top of the tree, there was a female leopard with the carcass of a guzzle, the two had killed just a while ago. As we moved towards the tree, the leopard climbed half of the tree and began waiting for its turn to feast on the catch. After 20 minutes or so, the female made its way for the male to have its share. Meanwhile, we saw two Hyenas sitting nearby, waiting for the leopards to drop some bones.
All the safari jeeps started moving towards the tree to catch the glimpse of this rare sight. It was really a dream come true to see such a fascinating activity in the wild. All these days, I had seen such incidents on Animal Planet. We decided to move on further, and only to find another ‘wild activity’. We came across a young male lion trying to flirt with a female lion. Our driver was not convinced with just that. He signalled of something more for us. After 15 minutes, he drove around a bush. He was right, amidst the bush cover, we could see three lions trying to eat something. It was only after sometime, we realised that they had killed a wilderbeeste.
After an hour, as we were driving back on the same route, we saw the jeeps still surrounding the tree where the leopards were enjoying their prey. As we approached the tree, the female leopard came down. It was followed by the male leopard, with the caracass in its mouth. The leopards looked much disturbed with the presence of tourists, that they decided to change the place of their meal.
As the tourists followed the two leopards, we decided to move in a different direction.
We headed to Rhino park, which is in the fringes of the main national park. The rhinos have become extinct in Maasai Mara and many parts of Kenya. As a conservation effort, the Kenya government has procured three rhinos from South Africa and is breeding them in an enclosure, guarded by forest rangers. A cute 10-month old baby rhino was the main attraction at the time of our visit.
During my three-day stay at Maasai Mara, the Cheetah eluded me. I wanted to see the magnificent hunter in flesh and blood, if not in action. Even Moosa was not very promising whenever I asked about Cheetah. He had seen a Cheetah a month ago and I realised that the animal was as elusive as a tiger in Indian forests.
Masai Mara
08-12-2008
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