Tag: tanzania

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.

African Lion

African Lions Are in Trouble

A male lion moves therough the grasslands of the Serengeti, (Jim Coda)

I saw a lot of lions in Serengeti National Park.  When  I say “a lot” I mean that in relative terms.  According to the African Wildlife Foundation, the lion population has decreased by 43% in the past 21 years (as of 2015).  https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/lion

Basically, all African wildlife is in trouble.  The causes are many.  One thing my trip caused me to do was focus more on wildlife problems outside the United States.  The African Wildlife Foundation is dedicated to saving African wildlife.  I’m now a member.  If you’re concerned about African wildlife, please consider joining this organization at the link above.

elephant

Mother Elephants and Their Calves, Serengeti National Park

Mother elephants keep their calves protected inside the herd.

Mother elephants keep their calves close to them.

Elephant mothers are extremely protective of their calves.  They keep their calves close to them.  They are often helped by their other daughters or sisters.

On my recent safari we saw how upset a mother can get when she is separated from her calf.  I don’t know how it happened, but we were watching a small herd cross in front of us when one of the elephants started trumpeting bloody murder.  She ran back toward where she and the rest of the herd had been just moments before.  Then we saw this little one running toward her.  She let that little calf know in no uncertain terms that it better never fail to follow her again when she and the herd moves on.  It was a very clear tongue-lashing.

For a larger image, especially on your desktop monitor, click on my portfolio site.

elephant

Elephants, Serengeti National Park

Elephants in an endless sea of grass.

Of the Big 5, the two species we had the most sightings of on my recent safari in Tanzania were elephants and lions.  I’m especially interested in predators, but my interest in elephants was heightened in the last year or so by reading “Beyond Words” by Carl Safina.  It’s a book about what animals think and feel and focuses on elephants, wolves and orcas.   So, I paid a lot of attention to elephant actions and interactions on the safari.  It’s so unfortunate that the people in some countries lust after the tusks of elephants.  One of the sponsors of the safari was the African Wildlife Foundation.  It is doing a monumental job trying to stop the ivory trade.  One thing it does is train dogs to sniff out ivory (and rhino horn and pangolin scales) at all ports of exit from countries like Tanzania.  Our safari began with a visit to its dog training school in Tanzania.