Wildebeests, zebras

Wildebeest Crossing Mara River, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Here are just a few of the 2,200 photos I took of thousands of wildebeests crossing the Mara River one morning in late September of 2018.

Wildebeests, Mara River, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Wildebeests Stampeding Down the South Bank of the Mara River

Our guide, John, got us to the Mara River early in the morning and told us that there was no guarantee we would see any of the thousands of wildebeests we were watching actually cross the river into Kenya.  We crossed our fingers.  Many people wait for days without witnessing a crossing.

Wildebeest Crossing, Mara River, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Some of the Thousands of Wildebeests that Crossed the Mara River

My two safari mates and I were standing and looking out the top of our Land Rover taking photos of the many wildebeests around us when John shouted “get down, get down”!  He had spotted one or two individuals start to move down the steep bank of the river and he knew in a few seconds thousands of wildebeests would follow them and stampede to and across the river.  John raced to a spot near the river’s edge where we could witness the crossing.  In all my years of photographing wildlife this was the first time the word “pandemonium” came to mind, but that’s what it was.  It was truly a moving experience.  Thousands of wildebeests and a few zebras raced by for over 30 minutes.

Wildebeests become trapped on the steep north bank of the Mara River

A bottleneck occurred because animals were arriving at the far side of the river faster than they could climb the steep bank.

In addition to the still photos I shot many videos of the crossing.  One shows animals falling down the bank either because they lost their footing in their steep climbs or they were forced off edges by too many animals in too little space.  Some fell on others below.  I had heard of animals breaking legs in these crossings, but all the ones we were watching made it across without any obvious injuries.  There were no crocodiles where they crossed.  John told us later that the water was too shallow there.  Crocodiles prefer to grab their prey and drown them and this area was too shallow for that.  I don’t know if the wildebeests crossed here for that reason.

After the dust settled, we drove upriver a ways and saw two wildebeests wedged between rocks in a rocky section of the river trying to free themselves.  As we watched, it became clear they were never going to get free.  None of their legs could touch bottom.  There was a large crocodile watching them and just biding its time.

Cheetah

Cheetah, Serengeti National Park

A cheetah sits on a termite mound scanning for prey. (Jim Coda)

A cheetah sits on a termite mound.

We watched this cheetah for a while.  At first, I assumed it was scanning for prey.  However, it started calling for some reason.  It may have been calling for kittens.  I’ll never know.  All I know is it finally left the termite mound and wandered away.

For a larger view of the photo click on my portfolio.

African Lion, Lion

Lion Cub, Serengeti National Park

A lion cub rests near its mother, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. (Jim Coda)

A lion cub rests near its mother, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

We saw a lot of lions in Serengeti National park. This cub was in Northern Serengeti.  Speaking of Serengeti, it’s a very big park.  It’s larger than Yellowstone National Park.  In fact, I looked up the acreage of both parks before the trip and saw that if I added two Yosemite National Parks to Yellowstone I’d get one Serengeti National Park.

This cub was with several other cubs and their mothers near a small creek.  It has a few flies on it which look like tsetse flies to me.  Two are on the lower lid of its left eye.  When tsetse flies bite,  you know it.  Unlike a mosquito, a tsetse fly’s mouth has tiny serrations that saw their way to your blood.  They also have hard bodies.  Most of the ones I smacked just flew away.

elephant

Elephants at Dusk, Tarangire National Park

d3A herd of elephants passes in Tarangire National Park. (Jim Coda)

A herd of elephants passes in Tarangire National Park.

When I booked a trip to Tanzania last summer I already knew something about Serengeti National Park, but there was another park on the itinerary that I had never heard of.  That park is Tarangire National Park. It is the third largest park in Tanzania.  It is known mostly for its elephants and baobab trees and it has both in abundance.  Here is a photo from my first day in the park. The photo was taken at dusk near the Tarangire River.  This is just a small group of elephants out of a herd of somewhere between fifty and one hundred animals.

For a larger version of this photo, click on my portfolio.

African Lion, Lion

African Lion with Broken Fangs, Serengeti National Park

In my last post I showed a photo of a male lion with a nasty wound just below his right eye.  I mentioned he had other problems, including his teeth.  Here’s a photo of him mating with one of the lionesses in his pride.  He opens his mouth here and his upper left fang seems to be missing.

African Lions copulating; Serengeti National Park,Tanzania. (Jim Coda)

African Lions Copulating; Serengeti National Park,Tanzania

Lions mating with male lion showing missing and broken teeth

Male Lion Has Missing and/or Broken Fangs, Serengeti National Park.

Here is an enlarged portion of the previous photo which shows his teeth better.  Not only is most if not all of his upper left fang missing, but his lower left fang is broken and looks decayed.  I just saw a TV show about an African sanctuary which takes in wild animals and gives them a second chance.  The program showed some lions and hyenas getting dental work done.  Broken and missing teeth are a common problem with lions (and maybe hyenas as well) and a factor in estimating their age.

This guy doesn’t live in a sanctuary where they give medical care to the animals.  He will have to live with his health problems.  I hope he lives a full life.

For a larger view of the first photo above, click on my portfolio.

African Lion, Lion

Male Lion with Facial Wound, Serengeti National Park

The face of this malelion shows many scars from fighting. Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. It has a large open wound under his right eye and his upper lip exposes his teeth at all times. (Jim Coda)

Male Lion with Open Facial Wound

I saw several male lions in Serengeti National Park and, as I recall, they all had some wound and/or scars on their faces.  This guy was the worst though.  The wound under his right eye looks like it could be serious.  He has lost all his skin over the area and I’m  wondering if flies might lay eggs in the wound.  On the other hand, I’ve seen TV documentaries where lions had worse wounds and they recovered.  I hope this guy makes it.  I don’t know how old he is, but he has some other problems.  There is something wrong with his upper lip.  The two sides of his upper lip don’t come together and you can see several of his upper and lower teeth.  Plus, based on another photo, I don’t think he has his upper left fang and his lower left fang is broken and black in the center which may indicate an exposed nerve and/or infection.  Life  in the wild is tough – even if you’re a male lion.

On the other hand, we saw him mating with one of the females in his pride, so he’s still king of his area of the Serengeti.

To see a larger photo, click on my portfolio.