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Other entries in Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti

Sunday, Monday, September 17 Serengeti National Park

Long drive to the Serengeti. Stopped along the way at the site where Louis Leakey discovered the remains of the oldest humans (3 ½ million years ago). It seems that this part of the world was where human life evolved from, very good habitat for primitive humans and animals to survive and thrive.

Game driving in the Serengeti means long drives where nothing happens and then your guide sees a lion or cheetah or leopard and everyone is on and alert. The park is enormous so there is much to see in terms of landscapes. First sighting was a pride of at least 6 lions on the top of a kopje (Dutch word for the top of a small head). A koepje is a stone formation which rises out of the plain. It is anywhere from three meters to fifty meters high and stands out from its surroundings. Animals like to rest there as it is in the sun and a good look-out area. Saw several other prides of lions, including one where I hung way outside of the jeep so I could be in the photo with a lion. Guide, Jerry, was not pleased. One of my philosophies is: “It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission (subject to doing no harm to others)” See attached photo.

Now the goal was to spot and view cheetahs. That meant getting up at 5:30 and hitting the road at 6. We drove for 4 hours and only saw one cheetah, but one is reminded that you are not in a zoo, so be patient. As you may know, cheetahs can run up to 90 KPH, but only for short distances. They hunt solo during the day. This is because hyena and lions may steal their kill, but both of these animals sleep during the day and hunt at night. Cheetahs are much like domestic cats, don’t have sharp teeth and are not especially aggressive. They are an extremely beautiful animal to see, but difficult to find. Our guides were excellent at spotting game. They spotted a cheetah in some tall grass and we tracked the cat for about half an hour. It crossed the road in front of us and eventually got on top of a termite hill and started to howl, what an awesome sight. The howling was either to find its cubs or tell them to lay low, mum is on the look out. Cheetahs have up to 6 young at a time, but only one in twenty survive to age one. Between getting lost or eaten by other animals, it is a tough life.

There were limited animals in the Serengeti as they had mostly left for the Masia Mara. The campsite was challenging and the wild animals immediately around the site were many and frightening.

Got two or three leopard sightings, but none was close up, usually a hanging paw or tail way in the distance.

As I had done the Masia Mara, I was pleased with what I saw, but most of my mates were new (only 4 of us had continued from the Kenya leg), and they were not aware of what they were missing.

Don’t remember if I talked at length about my constant travel mate, being the book “Mammals of Southern Africa” which I had read several times and carefully highlighted. The guides and I had fun trying to out-trivia one another. Further I asked many, many questions. This is how I stimulated my animal interest. The lead guide decided to call me “the professor” and it stuck. Soon everyone was calling me “the professor” (in jest of course). This helped the group get acquainted and loosen up.

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