Safari Part 3a

August 31, 2009 (Ngorongoro Crater—on the inside)

We’re up early and are greeted by the most incredible sunrise I’ve ever seen. The sun is behind clouds and mist and is glowing red. Clouds are pouring into the crater like cotton waterfalls. It is a silent, cool morning. We grab a few muffins and coffee, and then run off to meet Mike. We head off in search of our Maasai guide, Clemens. Mike was hoping he’d meet us at the hotel, but as he is not there, we continue to his house. Again, no Clemens. Mike leaves another message and we head into the Crater.

The crater is home to most types of East African big game, many who are permanent residents. There are a lot of male elephant, and Mike says the biggest ivory we’ll see will be here, as they’ve been relatively unpoached for some time. Lions, cheetah, leopard, and many types of gazelle are also in residence. Black rhino do live here, but they are the most endangered of the big game species in Tanzania. Mike is not sure of the number, as the park service keeps it secret, but the last numbers he heard were only 16 alive in the Crater (and shockingly only 14 in the 5,000 square miles of the Serengeti). We hope to see one, but the odds are not in our favor.

As soon as we enter the crater we see zebra, tomi gazelle, and grant gazelle. Then the largest of the vultures, the Nubian. And ostrich couples abound. We head to high ground to get a better view. There is a pack of hyena running below, but no sign of what they are running to. We move on into the park.

All of a sudden I see what I’m sure is a cat ahead.

‘Mike—there! There! Is that a lion?’
‘Where?’
‘Straight ahead, on the ridge.’

It is. A large female. Her pride is all there, and from what we can see, all females and cubs. They are hanging out on the edge of a burn site, watching a line of wildebeest make their way to the river for their morning drink.

The wildebeest pick up the pace. Two lions step away from the pride and move closer to the herd. They drop down low. They are definitely in full stalk mode.

The end of the wildebeest herd is coming up. One lioness makes her move. She’s up, she’s in, and—it’s a miss. But not a total loss. Her attack has separated about 10 wildebeest from the rest of the herd. They freeze. Confused but wary. The two lions drop back into stalk mode and hang for a bit.

‘Watch—the wildebeest are not so smart. If the lions wait long enough the wildebeest will forget they are there. This wouldn’t work with the zebra. But the wildebeest, not so smart.’

Sure enough, Mike’s right. The lions let them relax and in a few minutes they’ve forgotten why they were upset. They start to move toward the water again and—snap, a lioness is up, and takes down a young wildebeest.

Insane.

We’ve been in the Crater for less than an hour and have just witnessed a full stalk, hunt and kill scenario less than 50 yards away. Mike will have to work to beat this.

Unbelievable.

‘You see? Did you watch their ears? That is how they direct the hunt. They were working together the whole time. Right ear twitch, go right. Left ear, go left.’

Mike is an unbelievable guide. He’s been doing this for over 30 years and spent two years training in the Serengeti. He now teaches a lot of the younger guides. He can reel of facts about any animal, bird or plant, and has his own CD of East African bird calls. But most importantly, he can read them. He knows pretty well when and where they will go. And he knows these parks soooo well.

We watch as the rest of the pride comes to join in. The wildebeest is down, but not dead. We watch for a bit, and then, as all the other Land Rovers drive up, we decide to move on.

To be Continued...

Photos: Sunrise over the Crater. Lion stalking. Lion post kill. Breakfast. Baby on the way.