Blue-green Cyanophyte Spirulina Platensis , which is the main food for the brilliant pink Flamingoes, can be found in Kenya's Lake Nakuru.
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Sometimes there are millions of greater and lesser Flamingoes plus thousands of other birds wading on the lake's edge. It has been said, "Flamingoes can be found in such vast numbers, sometimes it literally looks like the water has turned pink"!
But food conditions change periodically so the number of birds fluctuates accordingly.
These beautiful Flamingoess are so graceful walking in the water and in flight! Their reflections in the water is so perfect you can't tell where the legs end and the reflections start. This gives the appearance that these birds are all legs!
Lake Nakuru National Park is a sanctuary to a huge number of native African animals, which include waterbucks, warthogs, impala, buffalo, Rothschild giraffes, elands, the endangered black and white rhinoceros, and if you are very lucky, the occasional leopards.
There are six White Rhinoceroses as we arrive but three leave--leaving us with a mother and baby.
Actually, a family of three Rhinoceroses...
The birds are always there! On a safari drive it may take time to find a big animal but it seems around every corner there is a bird and for a birder that is terrific!
The White Fronted Bee-eater...
The Elephants in Amboseli (the name "Amboseli" comes from a Masai word meaning "salty dust"). Amboseli is one of the best places in Africa to view large herds of elephants up close and personal!
The Elephants in Amboseli carry some of the largest tusks in Africa. If you are out on safari in the morning you will see large herds of Elephants come down from Mount Kilimanjaro into the dusty plains of Amboseli and in the evenings they will cross over the safari roads going back up the mountain for the night.
This is one BIG male crossing over the safari road and blowing the dust with his trunk right in front of the vehicle. The large tusks start to slow these gentle giants down as they get older.
Grey Crowned Cranes--they are just beautiful, especially when the sun is shining on their golden crowns, and they mate for life.
Kori Bustard is the world's heaviest flying bird. It is quite handsome, and strides around very slowly, which makes it look very proud.
Kori Bustard and two (female and male) White-bellied Bustards. The male has the white face and the female's is mostly buffy orange.
The Grey Go Away bird is quite special to see, and if you are lucky and listen, it will tell you, "Go Away".
Tarangire National Park, Tanzania
There aways seems to be a reason to go back to Africa and getting these beautiful pictures of the Secretary Bird is a very good reason! It is called the Secretary Bird because the black feathers that are laying down the back stand straight up and look like pencils, plus when the bird walks it looks like it is wearing high heels!
The watering holes are a great place to see the calm and relaxed nature of the animals and birds (at times).
But they always do have an eye in all directions, especially if they are alone.
When the zebras decide to cool off and run through the watering hole--
Peace and quiet one moment and the next it is everyone for himself!
And there are times when all the humans have to get out of the safari vehicle because it is stuck in the dry, loose, deep sand where a river will run once the rains come!
Or it could have been a flat tire...
One of the most majestic birds and the most photographed bird in Africa,
The Lilac Breasted Roller
The Lilac Breasted Roller sits on its perch just awaiting dinner. Because it is so colorful and sits so still for so long, an insect may think it is a flower--it comes close and the roller snaps it up! And because the bird stays so long in one position, photographers are able to get a portrait shot!
But you still have to be quick...
Cheetahs are found mostly in partially open savannas, where they rely on the tall grasses for camouflage when hunting.
Approaching these Cheetahs it looks like they are females and expecting!
But it is three males after gorging themselves. There is no kill in sight, But by looking you can tell they couldn't have come too far!
The Cheetahs are the fastest land animals in the world--what a marvel of evolution--so sleek and fast. As the chase can only last from 20 - 60 seconds, only half of the chases are successful. But, they must eat quickly before they lose their kill to bigger or more aggressive predators.
Cheetahs can be distinguished from other cats because
they are smaller in size with a smaller head and ears and the beautiful "tear stripes"
that stretch from the corner of the eye down to the corner of the mouth.
Ngorongoro Crater (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Tanzania
He does look tired and a little haggard--oh, but wait a minute...
He continues on his mission and when he stops there is a female waiting for him.
It is a honeymoon--the pair go off from the pride for five days in hopes of an offspring in four months. They both look a little tired, crabby and ready to go back to the pride.
Looks like the honeymoon is over!
A large predator had made an elephant kill in the Crater and now the hyenas and vultures are getting their share. A big animal feeds many other creatures in the wild.
Zebra foals are born with brown and white stripes...
The mother zebra generally keeps the newborn foal away from all other zebras for two to three days until her foal recognizes her by sight, voice and smell.
Zebras are very social animals and live in big groups called "harems/herds." Zebras are known for their black and white stripes--in fact each zebra has its own unique striped pattern.
The stripes are believed to be a camouflage that helps the zebras hide well in the grass. A group of zebra is called a "Dazzle" because the stripes blend together so their predators can't tell where one zebra starts and another stops.
drinking 10 gallons per day.
The Gnu or Wildebeest lives in harmony with the zebra--they even make the migration together. There are two kinds of Wildebeest in East Africa, the Blue Wildebeest and the Black Wildebeest.
A thrilling sight is hundreds and thousands of Wildebeest thundering across the Serengeti in the mass migration, but this is not the migration time and these Wildebeest are enjoying the waterhole and the green grasses. There is no trauma here with the Wildebeest scrambling up the steep banks of the Mara River, no panic or getting picked off by crocodiles--that will come later when it has to migrate to get the tender green grasses of the Masai Mara once this green grass is gone and the waterhole dries up.
Arriving in the Serengeti National Park, we are surprised to turn a corner and see four Cheetahs just minutes after a kill, gorging themselves on baby Wildebeest. (Please skip the next four pics if you are squeamish)
The Cheetah may be a predator but it is also preyed upon. Among carnivores of the African savanna, only the lowly jackals give way to the Cheetahs. Lions, leopards and even the hyenas challenge adult Cheetahs for their prey.
Unlike females, male Cheetahs are highly sociable living in groups known as a "coalitions". These four Cheetahs are a mother and three siblings. The guide believed these cubs are very lucky because this mother is a very good mother--she is still hunting and feeding her offspring even though these cubs are old enough to be out on their own.
Lions turn on each other for territory, females, and to have their own cubs. If one male takes over control of the pride from another male, he will kill the other male's cubs. When fighting for a pride, if one male does not back down--one of them will kill the other.
The Serengeti Lions do not have NINE lives...
An adult male Lion, if lucky, can live to the age of 12 years in the wild. Adult females can live longer, to the age of 19 years.
During the day the Lions are at rest but at night there is nothing more exciting than to listen to the roar of a Serengeti Lion, which can be heard up to 5 miles away!
Lying next to the water in the bush on the Serengeti Plains, half asleep and half awake, these cubs are being closely watched. The lionesses are snoozing the day away but from time to time their heads pop up to scan for trouble. When it comes they are awake in an instant!
Three cubs, three females and two males
make up this family!
The Amazing Black Faced Weaver is hard at work to get the nest built. The male literally weaves a nest for his mate.
If the nest does not meet the expectations of the female, she will rip it apart.
The Southern Ground Hornbill
Another great find in the Serengeti--hippopotamus (or if your name is Thomas) hippo-po-thomas!
In a beautiful waterhole actually mating...
The Hippopotamus loves the water--it spends up to 16 hours a day submerged to keep its massive body cooled off, and protected from the hot African sun.
The hippopotamus is very graceful in the water, a good swimmer and can hold its breath underwater for 5 minutes at a time. But it also needs nearby grasslands to feed. It emerges at dusk to graze on the grasses. Grazing on land is a solitary activity, but in the water the hippopotamus rests near its peers.
Reproduction and childbirth both occur in the water, and the calf swims before it learns to walk.
At one time the King of the Jungle (the Lion) was the most dangerous animal in Africa but things have changed. The ten most dangerous animals are: Hippopotamus, Mosquito (malaria kills over a million Africans a year), Elephant, Black Mamba, Nile Crocodile, Great White Shark, Lion (the 7th most dangerous), Puff Adder (snake), Cape Buffalo, and the African Rhinoceros...
Africa's most common antelope is the Impala--it is a vital part of the ecosystem in which it resides. It is sad but true that one of the most important roles the Impala fills is that of prey animal.
Six or eight dominant males set territories and have fifty or more females in that territory. Other bachelor males are allowed to stay if they ignore the females. The territorial male challenger has worked his way up the hierarchy of the bachelor group until he becomes the dominant male.
He then leaves the group and challenges a dominant male through a horn duel. The males approach one another slowly, and then, with a signal, like a swiveling the eyeball to show the whites or slightly nodding their heads, they rush forward and clash horns. This could be fatal and it isn't the length of the horns that gives the male the advantage--it is his condition and weight. The territorial male loses weight from his frantic activities, so he is defeated!
The male Elephants form a bachelor herd but there is a great deal of aggression among them. They fight continually for dominance of the group.
This tension is maybe the reason why many of the males leave the bachelor group and venture around on their own.
Or if he is weak the Elephant may be forced to leave the bachelor group.
The male Elephant will leave the family structure when he is about 14 years of age, so is part of the sophisticated social structure for a very long time. But now he is in search of a mate.
Lions weren't built to climb trees but in East Africa entering Lake Manyara National Park, this sign welcomes park guests: "Home of Tree Climbing Lions"!
Really? They didn't get the memo about not being able to climb trees!
These Lionesses are enjoying snoozing the day away up a tree! Tree-climbing by Lions is common in many different national parks.
It is said to be a learned behavior. Young Lions see older Lions climb, so they copy, and, like any skill, the more that they do it, the more confident they become.
It is believed that the Lions climb the trees to get a better view, or to enjoy a breeze on a hot day, or just to get away from the tsetse flies and other things that bite on the ground.
In the wild, Giraffes almost never lie down because of their vulnerability to predators, as they do not get up easily or quickly. Giraffes only sleep for about five minutes at a time, sleeping no more than thirty minutes a day. When Giraffes do sleep, they will sleep standing up with their necks curled or sit down with the neck curled.
Lots of Giraffes on our last day in the Serengeti!
Maybe this Giraffe wanted to sleep on his friend's back, but if it was only for five minutes the friend might not even notice!
They look like graceful, tall blondes or redheads striding along in the bush!
Giraffes require over seventy-five pounds of food a day, but only need to drink every couple of days. They get most of the water they need from their plant-based diet.
The End of the adventure in East Africa!
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