The Lions and the Cape Buffalo (please read note before viewing)

Moon setting at sunrise near Ndutu Lodge

This website posts the most recent first. 

The earliest posts are "last" in the directory (right side of page)...so July posts are the earliest.

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note of warning ...

the following photos tell the story of a lion attack on a buffalo. we happened to witness this spectacular reality of life and death on the plains of Africa. Without the buffalo meat, the lion cubs and perhaps their mothers could not have survived. The photos may be disturbing....I shed tears for the buffalo....but it is, as the song says, the 'circle of life'

Don't look further if you do not want to see these photos.
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The Lions and the Buffalo

Augut 1, 2012

The Marsh Pride of 13 lions were showing signs of hunger and were walking with staggering malnourished cubs who could barely keep up.

Nearby, a solo African Cape Buffalo (under the trees) is unaware of approaching lions. This buffalo had been observed by one of our guides. When he saw the lions walking, he knew there was a chance they may go after the buffalo. It is never safe for any animal to be separated from the heard.

Lions in tall grass are seen heading on a mission toward the unsuspecting buffalo (at least 3 lions in photo)
Some lions hang back to help the attackers remain unnoticed. Cubs are made to stay behind so they do not spoil the attack.

The lions suround the buffalo; but to avoid the buffalo horns, the lions mainly stayed behind the large dangerous buffalo. It took several minutes before the lions could take hold of the large animal.

The lions held on with strong jaws and attacked from the back.

Lions latched on and bit and held the buffalo for 2 hours

The lions were patient and waited for the buffalo to weaken.
It was a brutal wait for the wounded buffalo.

The other femail lions and cubs were waiting in the wings, sharpening claws and even "washing" blood-stained faces.

The buffalo clung to life and even stood up a few times in protest. But the lions never let go.

After nearly two hours, the lions sensed weakening; they became aggressive one last time and delivered the fatal blows. The pride of 13 were depending on this food to survive.

Finally, the buffalo stopped fighting, no longer lifted his horns in defense.

The lions moved in toward the head, rolled the male buffalo over, and as one held its leg, the other covered the buffalo's nose with its mouth for a very long time. The usual method of kill is suffocation.

Hyenas (below) came within a few hundred feet after the kill. When the lions were finished, probably in 2 or 3 days, large numbers of hyenas and jackals would move in to scavange the leftovers.

Within 24 hours, the bulk of the buffalo had been ingested. The lions slept on or near the kill and filled themselves. No other animal would approach such a large group of lions.
The lions were exhausted, full, and some had to sleep on their sides or backs because of their huge bellies.

The cub (below,center) who was emaciated and struggling just a day before, is now well-fed and has a second chance at life because the buffalo gave his life for the lions of the Ngorongoro - Serengeti preserve.

Home again....
The second week went so quickly and I was ready to come home....nine of 14 went on to Kenya for another two weeks.  I do not think I could keep up with the pace.
I'm posting some nice pix here since it will be awhile before I get the days sorted out....
some of my favorites here.

Giraffe and acacia trees in the Ngorongoro-Serengeti Preserve
Here we were able to drive off road wherever we wanted to go to see the wildlife.

Blue Monkey
Lake Manyara NP

Male Cheetahs waiting for female in hiding. 

Family group of elephants

Lobo Lodge built into and around rock formations

Mara River - the Serengeti main migration route for Wildebeest and Zebra

The Great Migreation of Wildebeest
Serengetti National Park
Mara River

Wildebeest rutting

Mara River crossing

 

Mara River crocodiles wait for crossing wildebeest

Ngorongoro Crater at dawn with finger fog floating in over the rim

Ngorongoro crater floor with forest habitat, grassland, alkaline lake and fresh water streams

Olduvai Gorge at site where Mary Leakey discovered australopithecus fossil

             A new fossil dig was going on and we found lots of animal bones in volcanic ash

Peaceful families coexist in the rivers and plains.

Colorful lesser flamingos add color to the water landscape.

The males are the darker pink in the center, performing a display to attract females.

August 4, 5, 6

Good intentions....

I was sure I'd post every day and add photos...but there iw just no time.  I have to combine days, and even now, I don't have it all sorted out!
It is starting not to matter too much when things happened....it was all so grand and unbelievable....I just have to keep looking at my photos t remember it all. 

August 4th
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAMMY!

I tried to call Aug. 3rd but for some reason could not get a call to your cell phone....it turns out no calls were going out for the entire stay at that lodge.  I was thinking of you heading to Nantucket and wishing you would have a great birthday while away. 

photos to come....

August 5th....photos.to come....

August 6th

Hippos piled in a shallow pool 8/6/12

Lioness in the shade

August 6^th

I am 7 hours ahead here....so it is still Monday.
I have had the most amazing week....
I saw my first elephant at Lake Manyara and took photo and videos only to find out the memory card was not in the camera. But I got to see many more elephants.
It is now Monday, August 6th. I have not had any phone or internet for 5 days. I also have no free time...up at 5:30 Am and on the road by 7 am....it is kind of grueling. We drive for hours in a bumpy 4 wheel land cruiser over rutted dirt roads. It is not easy....but worth it!
I have pictures to publish for each day, but not until tomorrow. I am just catching up....
Tonight I am sleeping in a perfect "out of Africa" room with a 4 poster bed and mosquito netting...I feel likeI am dreaming.
My hotel, the Soroi Lodge, has 24 thatched roof cabins that are all dark wood inside and some of the walls are tent-like. It overlooks a valley and "hangs" off the side of a cliff. Dinner was in a room with no walls or windows and there were tables on a deck below for lounging. We are not allowed to walk anywhere after dark or before sunrise and must get an escort because of the animals. there is nothing around for miles. No stores, no towns. On the road in to the lodge, there were zebra, baboons, monkeys, gazelles, cape buffalo, (one dead carcass, recently killed), and lots of exotic birds.
I heard a loud call outside when I went out to use the outdoor shower late at night.   All is well....
I have to post some pix from the last few days tomorrow."
This is really a remote 3rd world place to be and I cannot expect or rely on any of the things we take for granted.

That said, here’s the most beautiful room I’ve seen while traveling.

May as well throw in the bathroom too...

 

Started the day at 6:30 Am breakfast...then took a quick hike up to the top of the kopje (big rock) upon which the hotel I stayed in last night is built.

The rock walk at Lobo Lodge

Into the cars....
Some of the animals we found today were a family of elephants drinking at a pool,
A pair of giraffes about 10 feet from the truck, a female ostrich sitting in the road, and the male finding her...and some hungry hippos!  We found a lioness under a tree...it was a great day.

Our fleet of stretch Toyota Land Cruisers fortified with concrete-like interiors.

Elephants drinking at a water hole.

 

African giraffe soars against the sky

Female Ostrich sitting in the middle of the road.

The female is joined by the colorful male, whose legs are bright pink during the mating season.

Tueaday July 31

Tuesday, July 31

My alarm did not go off at 6 AM because my phone was on NY time.
It is Tuesday evening.  I am trying to call home but the phone in my room is broken.  I called maintenance and they said they will fix it tomorrow.  So....tomorrow it is!
Today was pretty amazing.   After a fun evening at Mountain View Lodge near Arusha and the airport, we had time for breakfast (even after oversleeping) and got into our stretch Land Rover with one of our tour leaders and a local guide.  We drove through the city and markets then on to the countryside where the Masai herd cattle and sell goods at markets.   Young men lined the sides of the road at some places, covered in white painted masks and decorated with ostrich feathers.  They had just gone through a ceremony for manhood which includes circumcision at an age between 12 and 20, and they spend 6 weeks away from their home.  They wanted money for us to take a picture, but we didn’t stop.  Poor guys.... The Masai are cattle farmers and they were bringing their animals to market today.  Everyone walks everywhere.
On to the Great African Rift Valley and up the escarpment – a ridge of land high up overlooking the valley.  This is where our hotel is for tonight.  The rift valley is where Africa is splitting apart....and hot volcanic material is erupting occasionally.  But I think we are safe for now.
Today we saw many birds – some pretty unusual.
We also saw a lot of baboons – lots of tiny babies and adults.  I saw my first ZEBRA and typically, the zebras were hanging out with wildebeest.  We saw Impala (antelope with very long curved horns), blue and vervet monkeys.  It was a great introduction in the Lake Manyara National Park. 
After the tour, we returned to our hotel to relax....then a rekaxubg outdoor dining experience on the porch of our beautiful lodge.  Food is good – lots on the buffet, and entrees to order.  We are told we can eat anything fresh at the lodges without fear of getting ill.  I sincerely hope they are right.
Tomorrow we head out to Ngorongoro Crater Lodge (lunch) and Olduvai Gorge where some of the oldest human fossils have been found.  We will spend the next 3 days at Ndutu Lodge and there is very limited internet and no phones in the room.  I do not know about cell phones.  The lodge does have a main phone though. It is on the side of a mountainous escarpment overlooking the rift
Today some saw a giraffe (even in my car but I did not see it) and others saw elephants in the park.    We spent a lot of time looking at birds and baboons so we may have missed the larger mammals.
Some photos are attached. 

Monday, July 30th, 2012

Happy Birthday Erika!  I will miss you and hope you had a great week end and birthday!

Day 1 Mountain View Lodge    7/30

I left JFK on Sunday, July 29th, at 6:00 PM.  I arrived the next day, July 30th, at 7:30 PM at Kilamanjaro International Airport, Arusha, Africa.  The trip was ridiculously long but I suvived.  I had some nice seat-row mates and that helped. In Amsterdam, I met some of my group. It was a huge plane and just about full.  When we arrived at Kilamanjaro, it was chaos.  There were hundreds of peoplle all converging into a small building to customs where there only about 3 windows opened up.  As time went on, more and more opened but it was a long wait.  Then the luggage wasn't even in yet....very slow.  We got a van ride to our first lodge and it was so very pretty.  I was sad I wouldn't be there longer.  My room mate and I decided to go to the main building and get a drink and some late night food.  Airplane food just didn't do it....I set my alarm for the next morning but my phone did not update an was on NY time which is 7 hours behind us here.  so I was late for my first day out....but it all worked out.

I slept really well!

My World: Tanzania 2012

Joan Horn July 29th 2012
Follow along with my trip to Tanzania that starts today.
My old blog ID is "Hornblende" so that will probably appear as the author; and emails may be sent out in that name.  (hornblende is a shiny black mineral that is found in common rocks

I hope to post photos each day and track my travels. 
But right now, I have to repack my bulging suitcase with only the essentials....and run errands and make phone calls and make it to the airport by 3:00 PM.