Tanzanian Safari : Northern Serengeti - .... more lion

We found several prides of lions in the area, however the rarest sighting was a mother with three cubs that were so young that they had not yet been brought into her pride. We found them in the high grass playing and curiously looking at us, their mother had gone hunting. They were very difficult to see moving around in the high grass. I got lots of pictures, this is the only one where they all look up, and most eyes are open.

The next day we searched for them again in the same place and found them close-by with their mother suckling the young ones. 

We also found a couple about to mate - or not? We waited for a while. And while I don't like the paparazzi voyeurish trait of photography, the others wanted to wait and so we did. 

 She is not happy about his advances.

 This is frustrating - What should I do with her?

Let's wait... bad mood.

 not yet - let's wait some more .... 

 He is losing patience.

This looks promising - let's wait some more ... 

Keeping her paws warm might help.

Not yet - but he seems to be the gentleman and has lots of patience.

We left and decided to come back the next day.

We found another pride, a male and his harem with little ones!

 not the most elegant way of resting

full belly - bloody paws

Don't wake Daddy. 

Tanzanian Safari : Northern Serengeti - the Kopjes

In the Northern part of the Serengeti close to the Kenyan border the area becomes varied and rocky. Millenia old round granite and gneiss boulders dot the unique plains. These rock formations offer living habitats, protection and look-out points for various species of animals adapted to these conditions  that are rarely seen in the dusty desert areas further south. In the early mornings many boulders are occupied. 

 See the little lonely rock hyrax?

There are more ...

The closest living relatives to these pretty little furry things are elephants - deduced from skeletal anomalies.

a martial eagle has seen them, too

This huge boulder is look-out point for klipspringers, a small sturdy antelope with adapted feet to climb steep rocks.

Banded Mongoose

 Oribi, another tiny antelope, that prefer the grassy areas between the kopjes.

Rainbow or common Agama (Agama agama), drying his nails. He also goes by the nickname "Peter Parker"

Cats liks this area, too. The boulders are ideal vantage points for cats on the look-out. During the heat of the day they retire to the shade in the crevices of the rocks. In the evening they climb up on the heated stones for a good overview of their territory.

see the lion brothers?  

Are they both sticking their tongue out at me??

Leopard mum had left her two cubs playing on the rocks, quite undisturbed by us watching. 

 Well-bred -  yawning with a paw over his mouth! 

 mother is posing as sunbathing sphinx 

Tanzanian Safari : Tarangire National Park - Lion Lunch

Our very first photo safari 12 years ago had taken us to Tanzania. We had visited Ngorongoro Crater and Klein's Camp. This time we wanted to retrace some of the steps and had chosen Tarangire NP south of Arusha to start this trip.

On our first day in Tarangire NP we found a large lion family - mother, teenage son, two daughters and two young ones. All were peacefully resting in the shade of a tree.
They were curious when we arrived. I took pictures, our driver was proud that he had found them all by himself, no other car was around,  and he positioned the car for good photos.

 the young male

I took more pictures, he repositioned the car again, I took some more pictures ... and when he wanted to move further, the tires screeched, turning in the soft sand and we were stuck! 

Discussing proceedings ...

The lions found the goings-on in our car interesting, watched and waited. And got up, each one tested their strength and sharpened their claws on a tree nearby.

And waited....  
And so did we - our guide tried to radio for assistance but it seemed we were out of reach in low ground  ... radio silence. We were preparing for a long wait confined to the car. Lions sometimes select a shady place in the morning where they stay all day to wait out the hot weather. We had water and food, no bathroom though. 

I was not worried, lions usually don't attack people in cars ... but then, you never know. What if they found out we were like sitting ducks? We had no gun, we could not get at the shovel because the lion were only 10 m away - they might be chased off, but then maybe not, and they might find we were easy game. 

 ... still there ...

... don't do it ....

... nice paws ...

One and a half hours and hundreds of pictures later, having extensively looked at each other, appraised each others beauty or suitability for a meal, we saw a car on the horizon and our guide managed to make radio contact. They had  a tow cable on board!  

The lions saw them too,  decided the place was becoming too crowded,  gave up the wait and withdrew so that we could connect our car to the cable and be pulled out.  

Otherwise, this blog would have ended here and now.