Love in the air and other matters at Lamai

 Sitting on the deck at the pool looking out at the breath-taking view, I have also been watching a family of Marico sun-birds as they busily and happily gather nectar from the wild flowers that are growing in abundance.  In the background, I can hear the drone of bees as they too collect pollen from the acacia tree which is so pretty at the moment, with its dainty yellow powder puff flowers.

The past week has been quite warm at Lamai, but two days ago, we had a welcome storm which swept across the plains, filling the rock pools and crevices and making life that much easier for the resident hyrax families, mongooses, lizards which all give us so much pleasure.

Our lion sightings continue to be amazing and on an outing with Gabriel just a couple of days ago, guests were lucky enough to see several sightings of different groups, including the mating of a lion and lioness, and if that wasn't enough, there were plenty of elephant in the area and guests witnessed another mating, with lot of trumpeting and interest from other members of the herd!

One sadness for us is that out on a drive a few days ago, we came across the young pride that live near the camp.  We noticed that the young female had a snare around her neck which was obviously causing her much distress.   Vets from the Parks department kindly agreed to come out with a view to darting her and removing the snare.  However, on the day they were here, neither the pride nor the young lioness were anywhere to be seen, despite search teams being sent out with our guides.  Then two days ago, a young female lion was spotted just below camp.  We weren't able to see if it was our girl with the snare around her neck or not, and just hope if it is, she has been able to feed herself and is not in too much pain, as in a case like this, the rest of her family would almost definitely leave her to fend for herself.  We hadn't seen this lioness for a couple of months and presumed she and her brothers had followed the wildebeest herds out of the area in November.  After seeing her again, it is obvious that she wandered into the area surrounding the villages where she must have picked up the snare.  Hopefully she stays close by now and doesn't wander off again.

There have been lions seen almost every day in the area and one pride has very small cubs, approximately 2 months old.  It is a common sight to see either a male or female lion lying resting on top of a rock, admiring the glorious view laid out in front of him/her.

The lodge is being spruced and polished today, awaiting the arrival of thirteen guests.  There is a positive vibe and air of excitement, and all our staff are worthy of a pat on the back.. YES – Lamai Serengeti last night won the award for “Best New Safari property in Africa”. We are all very proud and delighted!

 

  

The Circle of Life

There are moments in life when you really have to control your emotions and realize that nature has its own way of dealing with situations.  This was one of those moments for me.. when I had to desperately fight back the tears and not intervene!

A couple of days ago we took a drive out to an area which is locally known as 'green mabati", one of our favorite areas comprising of long sweeping, rolling plains, dotted with Balanites trees.  This area is Eden, where all the animals seem to co-exist happily together. In one view it is common to see Thompsons and Grants gazelles, topis,ostriches, impala, zebra, elephant and the occasional  black rhino.

This particular day we came across a zebra herd happily grazing on the freshly sprung grass. It was only when we saw a hyena, jackal and 2 vultures poised close by that we realized one of the zebra mares had just given birth within the last 5 minutes or so.

Next to her we saw a very wet and timid baby zebra lying flat on its side so, keeping our distance, we sat and waited for the little one to climb to its feet.  We were so excited as in all our years in the bush, we had never witnessed something like this.

For 40 minutes we sat and waited, watching the little foal kick and twirl around on the ground. It lifted its head every now again but for some reason,  just couldn't get up onto its feet.  The mother nudged it a few times but after about 20 minutes she started to get anxious.  She ran backwards and forwards in-between her family members, leading the majority of them away in a circle and then back to the baby.  She did this a few times and every time we thought she has left, she would appear again trotting up to the foal, calling even more hurriedly than before.  The jackal approached a couple of times but was soon chased away by the 'guardians'.  There were 5 members of the zebra family who would not leave the foal's side, possibly siblings or cousins, and they just stood and watched from a close distance and kept the area clear of any intruders. 

The jackals became bored and started to yelp hastily, causing confusion amongst the ranks.  It seemed the more they yelped, the more upset the mother zebra became.  She started calling repeatedly to try and coax the baby onto its feet.  The baby just spun around and around while the mother ran in circles and we prayed that the little one would find the energy to stand. 

Unfortunately after a few minutes of the jackals screeching, the mother couldn't bear it anymore and this time left for good.  Another mare with a small foal approached from about 200 meters away and the mother ran to meet her, followed by yet another mare and foal.  This was incredible behavior to observe and one wonders whether these other two mares were her sisters, trying to console her?

By the time the mother ran off, it was evident to us that the foal was not going to survive.  Zebra foals should stand on their feet within 15 minutes of birth, and it was now 40 minutes.  Soon after the mother ran off, the inevitable happened, the skulking hyena arrived on the scene and stealthily edged closer to the foal, carefully smelt it and then picked it up in its powerful jaws and ran off with it into the distance.

It was very difficult not to feel incredibly heartsore at this stage, but one wonders how many times this has occurred and how many births go unnoticed in the African bush.

We just hope and pray that the mother can overcome this cruel loss and is able to give birth to another healthy foal. 

I guess nature has to keep all animals fed....

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS AT LAMAI

Lyrics By Forrest, Louise and Kristen Booth                                      
 
(Who joined us for Christmas 22 - 26 December 2012)



On the first day of Christmas

My family gave to me

A bread stealing vervet monkey

On the second day of Christmas

My family gave to me

Two dik-diks hiding

On the third day of Christmas

My family gave to me

Three wildebeest

On the fourth day of Christmas

My family gave to me

Four napping lions

On the fifth day of Christmas

My family gave to me

Five pachyderms

On the sixth day of Christmas

My family gave to me

Six hyrax scooting

On the seventh day of Christmas

My family gave to me

Seven giraffe a-browsing

On the eighth day of Christmas

My family gave to me

Eight mongoose running

On the ninth day of Christmas

My family gave to me

Nine buffs-a-glaring

On the tenth day of Christmas

My family gave to me

Ten hippos gaping 

On the eleventh day of Christmas

My family gave to me

Eleven tommies pronking

On the twelfth day of Christmas

My family gave to me

Twelve frogs a-singing

Eleven tommies pronking

Ten hippos gaping 

Nine buffs-a-glaring

Eight mongoose running

Seven giraffe a-browsing

Six hyrax scooting

Five pachyderms

Four napping lions

Three wil-de-beest

Two dik-diks hiding

And a bread stealing vervet monkey

Merry Christmas to all our friends and families!!

What a fantastic year this has been at Lamai in the Northern Serengeti.. from new lion and cheetah cubs and brand new hyrax babies and dwarf mongoose all being born on our doorsteps, five sub-adult lions playing tricks and building a playground right under our windows, exhilarating sightings of 2,000 and more wildebeest crossing the hurdles and challenges of the Mara River and then trudging across the Serengeti plains and through the rocky outcrops to continue their journeys south... this year has almost definitely been the most exciting yet!  

Herewith just a few photos to recap the adventures we have had this year.

The wildebeest have left now but this doesn't mean the area is quiet.. on the contrary in fact.. it seems that with the wildebeest out of the way, the other animals are able to be the stars of the show and there are so many animals to see.  The buffalo, zebra and even topi herds seem to have doubled in size during the last few weeks.  The baby boom has definitely hit this part of Africa and all the animals, big and small seem to have little replicas of themselves following closely behind!!

The landscape is a beautiful emerald green with dainty white ink flowers scattered gently across the plains.

It is definitely my favorite time in this area, so fresh and vibrant that one seems to forget about the vicious and traumatic sightings which were experienced in the same area a couple of months ago.

We are full house over Christmas and New Year and very much looking forward to celebrating with all those who are with us.

To those of you who have visited us in 2012, it has been very special sharing these exciting moments with you.  We hope you visit us again soon and to those of you who are visiting us in 2013, we look forward to showing off our Eden to you.

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and prosperous New Year!  

From all of us at Lamai, both great and small, both two and four-legged.. have a great festive season!

Bushmail brings news of Rains!!

The full rains have arrived in the northern Serengeti and the the landscape is sporting a beautiful brightly lit emerald appearance.


The message has somehow been passed through bush mail as all the Wildebeest, bar a few, have left for their long journey to the Southern Serengeti.

There were a few incredible sightings of a few thousand Wildebeest at a time crossing the Mara River which is a sight only your imagination can consider.  There long journey to the southern Serengeti started as they reached the other side and we have heard that they have arrived after only 2 weeks of travelling.

The last we saw from camp was of a giant herd of Wildebeest sweeping across the fields like a giant oil spill.

Even with the Wildebeest gone, there are still so many fantastic wildlife sightings such as 3 Lionesses with their cubs, Cheetahs with their cubs, male and female Leopards mating up in a tree and many more great things!
Unfortunately, however most of the animals do not like sitting in the pouring rain but it is not long until they can lie in the warm sun to dry off!

   

Proud Mother!

There have been many exciting adventures over the last few weeks including great river crossings of the Wildebeest as they tremble and plunge across the Mara River, Rhino sightings close to the Rivers edge and a Lioness carrying her brand new cubs in her mouth from one side of the open plains to the other.



However, probably the most interesting one for me is of the proud Mama Cheetah and her three cubs which have been seen several times resting, running or playing on the Bolagunja plains north of Lamai.

They are truly one of the most beautiful animals in the African bush!

Crossings, new hyraxes and baby ostrich...it's all happening

The Northern Serengeti is one of the only places we know which gets rain throughout the year.  It is a beautiful time to be at Lamai with emerald green grass and the endless herds of wildebeest, as well as giraffe, zebras and impalas, all foraging happily in front of camp.

Every morning commences with the sun shining brightly before the clouds slowly build up throughout the day and the evenings bring the dark storm clouds.  The distant thunder becomes louder and louder, until finally the pitter patter of rain drops can be heard falling on the roof, followed by the wonderful aroma of rain hitting the hot earth.  Soon the small drops turn into larger ones and in no time, the pathways and streams are filled with fresh rain water.

There have been so many adventures and sightings over the last few weeks but a couple of very special ones cannot go ignored. 

Firstly, for those of you who have visited Lamai recently, you would have seen our lovely pair ofostrichs who have been sitting on a nest for nearly two months now.  When we first saw the nest there were 18 eggs, but unfortunately the jackals have kept a very close eye on them and by the time they hatched, only 5 of them made it. We have not managed to get photos of the new chicks yet as the mother and father ostrich keep them well protected away from vehicles and predators.

We are also very excited to announce the arrival of our baby hyraxs (or dassies).  Firstly, twins wereborn close to Room 10 and now, a few weeks later, there are eight more babies, living under the guides’ tent.  They are adorable, each resembling a rather tubby bundle of cotton wool!

Grunts, snorts and croaks from wildebeest and zebra can be heard all day long at Lamai.  We sometimes have to smile at these strange sounds - they talk to each other non-stop and we wonder what they could possibly have to say to each other! 

The lions, hyena and vultures have been having a field day with all the food around and if you think the days are loud with vocal choruses, then just wait until night-time!  When the lions roar and the hyena giggle and whoop, it seems to open up the stage for a whole new enchanting theatrical production.

The wildebeest are everywhere, even spread across the airstrip and pilots often have to do a fly-by first to chase them off before landing! Isn’t that a great story to take home with you! 

Yesterday the crossings began again but this time they seem to be travelling north again, back to the Lamai wedge and the Masaai Mara in Kenya .

There have been some incredible crossings and these photos show only a couple of them.  Unfortunately, many wildebeest this year have not been lucky and have either fallen victim to the crocodiles in the Mara River or the lions on the nearby plains.  However, the sheer capacity of the herds which remain behind is an astounding sight which one cannot imagine possible and photos, videos and words could never explain or capture the sheer number of them.