Lions of Lamai

Well, the last few days have been full of excitement around Lamai!

We have had 5 sub-adult lions living in and around camp.  They have been hunting every day and so far, to our knowledge, have killed 3 wildebeest and 2 zebra so are very well fed, with very large round bellies!!

A couple of nights ago we were woken up by a rustle in the grass next to our house and, expecting to seean inquisitive hyena, we shone our torches out of the window and saw 2 young lionesses lurking outside in the grass.  They were soon joined by another three. 

We listened and watched for about an hour.  One of the females lay down on top of a rock close by while the others set out to trample and flatten the grass around them.  At first we thought they were making a comfortable bed on which to rest, but it was soon apparent that they had something else in mind!

They had found a plastic container and a cardboard box lying around camp and, although we heard all the noise, we didn't know what it was until the following morning when we went to investigate and found the box in tatters and the plastic container nicely chewed up with rather slimy lion slobber all over it!

Early this morning the lions were in camp again - this time however, they kept the noise down and only startled a few unsuspecting staff members during early morning wake-up call!

These five youngsters are nearly the same size as full grown lions, but still with adolescent spots and pink noses. They have obviously just been kicked out of their pride and are now trying to find their footing and place in the Lamai area.

One thing is for sure though... they are doing very well finding food on their own!

One in a Million... literally!!

It has been said that the Wildebeest Migration of East Africa is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, but has anyone mentioned the other animals which take part in this incredible display of courage and honour?

If one takes a closer look, one will see not only the 1.5 million wildebeest but also more than a few beautiful zebras, Thompson gazelles, impalas, topi and the occasional elephant herd or giraffe wandering peacefully  through the chaos.  I cannot help wondering what goes through these animals’ minds when, within minutes, they are surrounded by one million grunting and croaking wildebeest!

There was a rather strange sighting a few weeks ago when the wildebeest herd arrived in the Bolagunja area close to Lamai.  We had stopped the car in amongst them and noticed there was a lot of movement and noise coming from the right hand side and the wildebeest seemed to be moving away from something very quickly.  We waited anxiously to see what it was, all the while thinking silently to ourselves that it may be a hungry lion or a bewildered black rhino.  However, as the wildebeest parted, we were very surprised to see an animal neither wild nor feline!  It was a donkey!

This donkey had obviously escaped from his home in one of the Maasai villages around the park, wandered into the Serengeti plains, met up with the Wildebeest Migration and thought they would make good company! Unfortunately it was apparent that the Wildebeest did not feel the same way.  They all continued to snort at him as though he was an apparition from another world!

Every few minutes a male wildebeest would try and prove himself to the ladies as being the brave and courageous one.  He would prance out of the circle surrounding the donkey and do a dressage-type strut as he moved.  The male never got very close but would stop at a distance, tilt his head sideways, give a loud warning snort, and then dash back to the safety of the Wildebeest wall.  Every now and again, the donkey would look up to see what the commotion was 
about, but most of the time he carried on eating, completely ignoring the goings on around him.

  

Maybe he preferred to live in peaceful naivety and remain unaware that he was in fact the ugly duckling of the herd!

Since that day we have heard many more stories of our 'Punda' (Kiswahili for Donkey), and are happy to say that he is still very fit and healthy!  Most of his herd have now crossed the Mara River into Kenya but he is the wise one and stays on the southern side, waiting patiently for the return of his family!

There are many more wildebeest to come through over the next few weeks so he is by no means alone!

Watch this space for more news on Punda's journey through the Serengeti!!

  

From Chaos to Tranquility!

The last month has gone by so fast with all the exciting happenings in the area keeping us very busy!



Unfortunately the incredible wildebeest migration did not pass directly through camp this year but was only a few kilometers away in the Bolagunja area.  




One can hear about the migration your whole life, but when the day arrives when you are actually sitting in the middle of these animals, it is very hard to believe that it is real.  To say that it takes ones breath away is an understatement.

It truly is a spectacular sight which defines nature.

All five senses are opened wide..  The sound of a million wildebeest is like listening to a million bull-fogs, each with their own distinctive voice. Each individual with only one thought in its mind - food!  The males run around the herds giving off their low grunts and prancing their stuff like proud dressage horses.

We have spent many evenings all huddled around in the lounge area, looking at laptops or Ipads, watching slideshows of amazing photos and videos taken by our guests of wildebeest bravely jumping off high cliffs and swimming across the Mara
 River. What a spectacle!

It sometimes takes two hours of patient waiting before witnessing the spectacle of the wildebeest crossing the Mara River.  They are, understandably, very nervous to cross a river full of hungry crocodiles.  However, this is not their only fear - another major hurdle is the massive wildebeest stampede which occurs, when many animals break legs or are drowned during this short journey across the river. We can not help but ask the question -"Why?" 

It is incredible that these animals can move such a distance and through so much danger in search of food.  There is still a lot of luscious grass around the Lamai area but still, they follow their ancestral paths across the dangerous Mara river in search of  greener pastures.

August has been the perfect time to be at Lamai with the best of both worlds.  We have been able to enjoy the excitement of the migration on the plains with the incredible views of one million wildebeest spread out like ants and the overwhelming chaos occurring on the banks of the Mara River, before returning at the end of the day to the peace, tranquility and comfortable luxury of Lamai. 

They seem like two different worlds and we are grateful that we are able to witness both!

Extra Effort Equals Ecstatic Enjoyment! By Emanuel Mosha

Photo by Petra Jansma

As the result of a long days safari their eyes were turned to settings which resulted into a memorable picture of the wildebeest in their life and something which will make them not to forget Lamai Serengeti with their different experience in the bush.

Photo by Petra Jansma

A Sea of Black and White..

Some of us went out on an adventure searching for the Migration which we had heard was not too far away.  I joined Heather, Anne, Richard and Francoise and we started our journey with Kakae after a nice, slow start to the morning, haven had a delicious breakfast.

Our first few sightings outside camp were two Oribis, two Reedbuck and a lovely little Dikdik. We then spotted a huge herd of Elephant over in the hills opposite us and we knew that we were in for a good day!

We drove 70kms South-west and then South-east and saw many fantastic sights, such as hundreds of vultures on a Zebra kill, large herds of Eland, Topi, Red Hartebeest and great groups of assorted animals feasting together on the dried-out burnt patches where National Park had done 'control burning' which is a common occurrence this time of the year.

 

As we left, two lionesses who had recently been feeding on a Wildebeest carcass, were now flopped down in the grass with rather large bellies.  

We drove over the hill and had our first sighting of the beginning of the famous Wildebeest Migration!  There were probably a hundred Wildebeest dotted around the plains with a couple of Zebras thrown in for color, but it was not so much the sight which amazed us as we closed in on them but the sound, which is something that one cannot explain – just truly incredible.  Each Wildebeest has its own voice and each one sounds completely different, with much ‘neighing’ and 'grunting'.  Summing it up in one word, they are quite appropriately called 'G..N..U..'.
 

Soon we left them and continued towards the Bologonja River . Words cannot really express what we saw, but hopefully the photos will be able to explain in more detail.  Let me just say that there was literally a sea of black and white, and in every direction we moved - we saw more and more Zebras!  The collective noun - 'A Dazzle of Zebras' – is definitely the best way to describe this sight!

In total we worked out we saw approximately between 8,000 to 10,000 Zebra in this one area.  They were standing, walking and running in their groups all around us.  The noise was astounding as each stallion called out to his family and each mare called out to her foal.   Groups would run backwards and forwards, trying to decide where to go, and once arriving at the water to drink, one of them would let off a neigh and again, they would all gallop away!  The most incredible thing of all is that each and every Zebra we saw had a different marking, much the same as a finger print!

 We found a lovely spot on the edge of the small stream where we set up our picnic, surrounded by these magnificent animals, all galloping and cantering around us!

 

We arrived back to camp at about 1800 in the evening after a full and truly adventurous day,  ready to tell all about our sightings!

Since then, most guests in camp have taken the time out of their busy Lamai schedule to drive to the Bologonja River to witness this incredible spectacle of the Zebra migration!

If this is only the start of it... we can only wonder what lies in store for us over the next few weeks!! 

A feast for Three! By Kakae Saiteu

I went to the Lamai wedge with the Sheer family and after hours of searching we came across a cheetah kill.  A very healthy and large male cheetah had killed a Thompsons Gazelle a few minutes before.  The kill was very fresh which implies that is had happened very recently. 

After staying there for about 15 minutes the vultures started soaring above us and a few minutes later a black-backed jackal arrived.  The Jackal walked straight towards the cheetah as if he was going to challenge it and take the kill away but he instead he stayed about 3 metres away.   The Jackal waited until the Cheetah saw a hyena coming and moved away and it was then that the jackal got a chance to start eating the Thomie which eventually got taken away by the hyena.  The hyena left both the intestines with the jackal and then the vultures started descending to take away the remains.

The jackal kept chasing the vultures but eventually gave up and allowed the vultures to share!

Just another day at Lamai!

Photo by Lisa Dokken

We have had such fantastic sightings over the last couple of weeks and the Dokken family managed to capture some great photographs with John on their game drives.  In one day they sighted a huge healthy male Cheetah on a 'thomi' kill, which was eyed closely by a black-backed Jackal and eventually stolen by a Hyena!

Photo by Lisa Dokken

 
A beautiful large male leopard was seen relaxing up in a tree and a male lion hiding sneakily behind a bush!  What a day!!

These beautiful photos show two of the biggest spotted cats in Africa in true style!


Lisa Dokken took such great photos I couldn't resist asked her for them!  

'The Rogers Family' with Emmanuel by Lisa Dokken

Fortunately the Lamai wedge has opened up now and it has become a ritual for daily visits to this beautiful area. 


It is like a secret Oasis in the middle of the Serengeti!!

'The Lamai Wedge' by Lisa Dokken