Lion!
Transcribed from hand-written journal
Big night tonight. While Richard was running the antenna and I was running the receiver, we finally picked up one of the three collared lions! After much tracking and triangulating, we discovered Kabochi, a big, handsome male, walking along the very road we were driving along.
He's a big fellow with more of a mane than most of the maneless Tsavo lions--very handsome, very alpha male. Soon we discovered that his buddy Bahati (Lucky) with whom he has formed an apparently very tight coalition, was nearby. We followed them for at least three hours, focusing on Kabochi. Later in the evening, he began to roar, a full-throated, deep chested sound that you could feel in your breastbone, The first time he roared, Nic, Richard and I all said "Wow!" at the same time. It was just amazing.
Eventually, the two lions parted company, but as the evening wore on, they began to call to each other. The calls seemed to follow a pattern: 3 or 4 rumbly roars, then anywhere from 15-25 chuffing roars followed by a last throaty chuff. Alex wouldn't respond to me when I asked him about this--twice. I was peeved but didn't push it.
Really exciting night.
Note: Kabochi was named for Paul Kabochi, a guide who used to work the project who, several years ago, was trampled to death by an elephant. Bahati was named Lucky because the first time he was spotted, he was with two female lions, and was taking his pleasure with each in turn. Appropriate name.
12:07 PM
This first week, each morning after breakfast the team leads are giving us classes in different subjects (hence the nature walk previously mentioned). Class this morning was Cultures of Kenya. Each of our guides plus our team lead talked about their peoples. Part of me was fascinated. Part of me felt odd about it, wondering if it didn't feel -- for them -- as it would for me talking about Judaism to tourists. It was interesting, though, and I had to remind myself -- as they did -- that a lot of what they were talking about was traditional practice no longer observed by the modern peoples, not unlike the sort of thing one might talk about in social studies class. Note: I'm still working out why this bothered me so much.
Turns out that we're going to a Maasai village tomorrow morning -- very excited about that.
For Sunday, we have the option of going to Tsavo East which is an official preserve, to Mombasa for a city tour, to Kasigow to experience local culture, or to stay in camp. I'm for Mombasa. But it's a majority rules sort of decision, so I hope others are, too.
In the survey truck, 6:45 PM
Kabochi sighted by the other team. Off we went, hellbent for leather across the landscape, bumping, rattling, scraping past thorny trees and bushes. We found the cat reclining amongst a couple of shrubs and a couple of low trees, his eyes shining in our spotlight. I tried to get a shot of him but in the darkness I couldn't get the camera to stay still long enough to make a clear image. Kabochi is sleeping now. I suspect we'll be here for a while.
Earlier we stopped at a waterhole and mud wallow, and watched several elephants, including one juvenile and one not more than a couple of months old playing and rolling about in the mud. I got some great shots of the group. (Note: This was where my long lens failed me. With only one or two exceptions, all the pictures from this incident are fuzzy; it just about killed me to see them.) They're just delightful to watch! I can't get enough of them.
Later
We broke for dinner at 8:30 PM when Kabochi headed off into woods too dense for us to follow.
Cliques are beginning to form in the group, something that always makes me uncomfortable. I never know how to deal with it.
Big night tonight. While Richard was running the antenna and I was running the receiver, we finally picked up one of the three collared lions! After much tracking and triangulating, we discovered Kabochi, a big, handsome male, walking along the very road we were driving along.
He's a big fellow with more of a mane than most of the maneless Tsavo lions--very handsome, very alpha male. Soon we discovered that his buddy Bahati (Lucky) with whom he has formed an apparently very tight coalition, was nearby. We followed them for at least three hours, focusing on Kabochi. Later in the evening, he began to roar, a full-throated, deep chested sound that you could feel in your breastbone, The first time he roared, Nic, Richard and I all said "Wow!" at the same time. It was just amazing.
Eventually, the two lions parted company, but as the evening wore on, they began to call to each other. The calls seemed to follow a pattern: 3 or 4 rumbly roars, then anywhere from 15-25 chuffing roars followed by a last throaty chuff. Alex wouldn't respond to me when I asked him about this--twice. I was peeved but didn't push it.
Really exciting night.
Note: Kabochi was named for Paul Kabochi, a guide who used to work the project who, several years ago, was trampled to death by an elephant. Bahati was named Lucky because the first time he was spotted, he was with two female lions, and was taking his pleasure with each in turn. Appropriate name.
12:07 PM
This first week, each morning after breakfast the team leads are giving us classes in different subjects (hence the nature walk previously mentioned). Class this morning was Cultures of Kenya. Each of our guides plus our team lead talked about their peoples. Part of me was fascinated. Part of me felt odd about it, wondering if it didn't feel -- for them -- as it would for me talking about Judaism to tourists. It was interesting, though, and I had to remind myself -- as they did -- that a lot of what they were talking about was traditional practice no longer observed by the modern peoples, not unlike the sort of thing one might talk about in social studies class. Note: I'm still working out why this bothered me so much.
Turns out that we're going to a Maasai village tomorrow morning -- very excited about that.
For Sunday, we have the option of going to Tsavo East which is an official preserve, to Mombasa for a city tour, to Kasigow to experience local culture, or to stay in camp. I'm for Mombasa. But it's a majority rules sort of decision, so I hope others are, too.
In the survey truck, 6:45 PM
Kabochi sighted by the other team. Off we went, hellbent for leather across the landscape, bumping, rattling, scraping past thorny trees and bushes. We found the cat reclining amongst a couple of shrubs and a couple of low trees, his eyes shining in our spotlight. I tried to get a shot of him but in the darkness I couldn't get the camera to stay still long enough to make a clear image. Kabochi is sleeping now. I suspect we'll be here for a while.
Earlier we stopped at a waterhole and mud wallow, and watched several elephants, including one juvenile and one not more than a couple of months old playing and rolling about in the mud. I got some great shots of the group. (Note: This was where my long lens failed me. With only one or two exceptions, all the pictures from this incident are fuzzy; it just about killed me to see them.) They're just delightful to watch! I can't get enough of them.
Later
We broke for dinner at 8:30 PM when Kabochi headed off into woods too dense for us to follow.
Cliques are beginning to form in the group, something that always makes me uncomfortable. I never know how to deal with it.