Tag: Elephants

Exploring Maasai Mara: Wildlife Encounters and Natural Wonders

by Leela Gopinath, posted in African Safari

Maasai Mara or The Mara as it is popularly known is a land of breathtaking vistas, exotic wildlife and endless grasslands extending to the horizon with lone acacia trees that stand tall and add beauty. A game reserve in Kenya contiguous with Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, it is named in honour of the Maasai people who migrated from the Nile basin and settled in here.

The Mara plays host to The Great Migration which is one of the ten Wonders of the World. Originally established as a wildlife sanctuary in 1961, its area was extended and converted into a Game Reserve . Parts of the area were later returned to local communities explaining why we see local community setups very close to the park boundaries and locals herding their cattle close to park environs.

The Mara river and its tributaries, the Sand and the Talek drain the region where the vegetation is primarily open grassland with acacia trees in some areas.

All members of the “Big Five”…lion, leopard, African elephant, African buffalo and rhinos are found all year round here.

But what is so special about Mara is The Great Migration where some estimated 13 lakh Wildebeest, 5 lakh Thomson’s Gazelles ,97000 Topis and over 2 lakh Zebras migrate north from Serengeti plains in search of pastures in July and return in October. This is one of the most impressive natural events worldwide. The Great Migration is such an event that I will be dedicating the next episode to it. For now, let us look at the other wonders of Mara.

Our Mara encounters

From Lake Naivasha, we were headed to Maasai Mara but the riots in Kenya put a spoke in the wheel for our trip. But our local travel partners efficiently overcame this with an early morning departure from Lake Naivasha. Though we all would have loved to spend more time at the resort at Naivasha, we left early to avoid any disruption in our itinerary.

Starting the drive early morning and after a couple of convenience halts we reached Masai Mara around noon. Enroute we passed the town of Narok which is the main town next to Mara and we did see evidence of potential riots.

Narok getting ready for some trouble!

Reaching Masai Mara ,the resort checked us in earlier and so we managed to get some rest before our first Mara safari.

Here again the resort was beautiful with views of the Talek river from our rooms.

Our cottage and the view of Talek river from our balcony

After some rest, we again got into our safari vehicles and headed to the heart of Mara. We did three safaris over the two days we were there. The sum total of our experiences follows…

Enjoy the virtual safari…..

Thomson’s Gazelles

Gazelles are nimble antelopes, with a variety of stripes and markings that accentuate their tan buff coats and white rumps. They also boast impressive, ringed horns. These attributes make many gazelles attractive as game animals.

Gazelles shying away from us

Topis

Much larger and less nimble antelopes are the Topis who also were in herds scattered all over Mara.

Topis (a variety of antelope)

African Elephants

Elephants crisscrossed our path multiple times. African elephants differ from the Asian elephants in that they are larger and have long tusks and large fan like ears.

Elephants are social creatures and they sometimes show affection by wrapping their trunks together .

An elephant herd with two baby elephants

Whispering sweet nothings?

A herd of elephants trudges along

Giraffes

It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Found chewing all the time, we saw quite a few of them.

A male and a female giraffe stood still as we passed by

Lions

Getting a tip off from another vehicle about lion sightings Elvis , our driver took us to the designated spot. And we found them…

The king was resting after a meal when we disturbed him and….

He decided to get up and walk away…

And his consort continued to sit by the roadside…

Warthogs or wild boars

A lone warthog was scampering away ….probably running away from a predator…

A lone warthog

Wildebeest

Wildebeest, also called gnu, are antelopes native to Eastern and Southern Africa. Wildebeests are herd animals and move from place to place, in search of food and water. They feed on grass and due to their large numbers can empty out the grass in vast grasslands very quickly.

They are the heroes of the Great Migration and we saw herds of Wildebeest everywhere , some feeding calmly while others were running and jumping around in panic as our vehicle approached them.

Herds of wildebeest crossing the road

Millions of Wildebeest scattered all over…part of the Great Migration

After a tip off on a leopard sighting, we rushed to the designated location to find a large number of safari vehicles lined up to watch it. A warden was seen regulating the vehicles and finally we got our turn after considerable wait…

Leopard

A leopard rests after a kill

And the carcass of his prey hangs from a tree nearby

A group of hippos were having their siesta by the Mara river

Hippos resting by the Mara river

Cheetahs

And last but not the least, there was a group of Cheetahs feasting on their kill….

Cheetahs with their kill

Cheetahs feasting…(click on video) (PC Mr Arun Nathan)

And you soon come to realise how the cycle of life and death goes on endlessly in nature as you see scavengers feasting on carcasses…

Vultures feast on a carcass as wildebeest graze in the backdrop

I hope you all had a great virtual safari.

See you all next week with one of the wonders of nature…The Great Migration.

Till then, do subscribe, comment and give your feedback…

{P.S Some of these spectacular pictures and videos are courtesy Mr Arun Nathan, my co traveller on the Kenya trip.}

Discover the Enchanting Amboseli National Park in Kenya

by Leela Gopinath, posted in African Safari

Amboseli National park is one of the most scenic parks in Kenya with Mt. Kilimanjaro , the highest free standing mountain overlooking it. Spreading across the Kenya Tanzania border is a 8000 sq km core area eco system including Tsavo and other national parks. Amboseli occupies a 392 sq km area within this eco system.

A map showing the location of Amboseli in the African continent.

The uniqueness of this park are its views of the snow capped Mt. Kilimanjaro, also called Africa’s watchtower.

Mt Kilimanjaro with animals grazing below

At the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro amid the dusty landscape lies an ecological masterpiece at a height of 1150 metres above sea level which the Maasai called “Embosel” meaning salty dusty plain. This is what we refer to now as Amboseli National Park.

And true to its name, Amboseli is very dusty due to the loose volcanic soil that gets kicked up with the march of the animals and the safari vehicles that follow them. Very often you find a vortex of dust spinning around in the horizon like a small local tornado.

The dust swirls like a localised tornado

The Amboseli ecosystem is home to the Maasai people and their cattle whose cultural heritage and pastoral practices have shaped their co existence with wildlife leading to Amboseli being recognised as a “UNESCO Man and Biosphere reserve” . Locals are involved in conservation and the idea is sustainable development with conservation.

Amboseli…Man and Biosphere Reserve

The Maasai with their cattle, a common sight as you drive through Kenya

Uninhibited visibility till the horizon

This is what struck me here. Both in Amboseli and Masai Mara, there is uninhibited visibility all around till the horizon. I have never seen such vast expanses of land with no manmade structure extending for miles on end. This makes it so easy to spot wildlife that even in the horizon if a giraffe raises it’s head, you can see it miles away.

This picture will help illustrate my point.

Unfettered visibility…The landscape is so open that you can spot an elephant and three giraffes miles away with a few gazelles close by.

The dry season at Amboseli

It offers one of the best wildlife viewing opportunities in the world with sparse vegetation due to the long dry months between June and October . During this period the grasses are short and scotched making wildlife viewing easy. Besides, the dry season results in drying up of waterbodies resulting in the animals moving in herds over long distances in search of water .

This is the most fascinating time to visit Amboseli which is home to over 80 species including the African elephant, impalas, gazelles, lions, cheetahs, hyenas, giraffes, zebras , wildebeest and over 400 species of birds including the massive ostriches, bustards and various water birds.

The dry season, also results in low insect population particularly mosquitoes making one’s stay more comfortable.

Amboseli is recognised more for its elephant sightings as it has more than 1800 of them ,the largest population of African elephants .You can get close to free ranging elephant herds and enjoy their group interactions at close quarters. In fact , it is referred to as the “Land of Giants” due to it’s huge elephant herds, most of them with large impressive tusks.

An elephant herd at Amboseli

Our Amboseli experience

Landing at Nairobi one evening, and staying overnight we left for Amboseli early morning by a Toyota Land cruiser vehicle used for these safaris. The roof of the vehicle can be opened for free viewing and photography. There were six of us in a vehicle. The drive was comfortable and we reached Amboseli around noon. After lunch and check in at the jungle lodge, we were off on the safari. The next day too, we did a day long drive through Amboseli National park. What follows from now on are those memories relived. This trip will have more pictures and videos for obvious reasons .

Join me on this incredible journey through the heart of Africa….

The safari vehicle

We entered Amboseli at the Kimana gate . After a short halt and some formalities, we were in to the park…

Amboseli Kimana gate entrance

The drive through the park was on mud paths between the savannah grasslands. At many places, the road was bad and a good driver …our Elvis and his well maintained vehicle helped us a lot.

The most common species we found were the gazelles. Herds of them grazing along…

A pair of Thomson’s Gazelle

Amboseli is Elephant land and so, we were treated to views of multiple elephant herds engaged in various daily activities like feeding, mud bathing , protecting the young, romancing, fighting and many of them crossed the road in front of our vehicle.

A loner…

A herd of elephants

The wide outstretched ears….

A mild altercation

Elephants cross the road in front of our vehicle

Soon we came across some giraffes walking along with graceful strides…

The majestic walk of the giraffe (click on video) PC… Mr Arun Nathan

As we drove along, our driver Elvis was in radio contact with other safari vehicles. Every now and then, he would be alerted on some sightings and we would head there. Lions were our next alert and off we went. A pride of lionesses lay in wait…

Lionesses on prowl

Some interesting bird sightings….

Grey crested Crane

It is found in nearly all of Africa, especially in eastern and southern Africa, and it is the national bird of Uganda.

Grey Crested Crane

Kori Bustard

The Kori Bustard is the heaviest flying bird native to Africa.

Great Bustard

Ostrich

The common Ostrich , is a species of flightless bird native to certain large areas of Africa.

An Ostrich trudges along…

As one drives through this national park , what strikes us is the distinctly different vegetation at various places within. What is predominantly savannah grasslands and open plains suddenly gives way to swamps and wetlands and includes a dried Pleistocene lake.

Palm tree clusters

Swamps and a lake

Lake Amboseli , a lake located within the National park is dry in most parts during the dry season but floods up with the rains. Driving close to the lake gives great opportunities to view waterbirds and hippos.

As we drove close to the lake we were pleasantly surprised by a pink haze in the horizon. Little did we know that a flock of flamingoes had decided to give us a surprise. Flamingoes are not normally seen here very commonly. But we were lucky!!

Flamingoes for you….

More Waterbirds….

Pelicans

A herd of zebras were seen grazing by the swamp…

Zebras grazing peacefully

An observation hill located close to the lake gives a bird’s eye view of the National park and its environs.

As we arrived there, we were greeted by flocks of Superb starlings with their vibrant blue coloured backs. Making a real cacophony, they hopped around near our vehicle.

Superb starlings

The observation point on the hillock

View of Amboseli lake from observation point with some resting hippos

Apart from this we did see wildebeest grazing around. But the number of wildebeest we saw in Masai Mara was something extraordinary and so I will cover wildebeest under Masai Mara.

This sums up our Amboseli experience. This is how it looks in the dry season.

The wet season between April and June sees the parks roads becoming a challenge to move on. But with new vegetation springing up, the views are totally different with gazelles and zebras trying to hide behind the tall grass to elude predators, the migratory birds moving in from Europe and fresh little wildlife appearing as the old ones give birth.

Hence, a visit in the two seasons can leave one with entirely different perspectives of this natural wonder.

Hope you enjoyed your safari through Amboseli.

Next week, we are at Lake Naivasha where an opportunity to walk with the zebras and giraffes awaited us. So wait for that, but do not forget to subscribe, comment and give your feedback.

Thekkady

by Leela Gopinath, posted in Kerala

Elephant land….that’s our destination today! Am sure you all enjoy watching these graceful giants walking along majestically with a little baby trying to snuggle in between…..well that’s what we were looking for when we headed to Thekkady.

We were at Kochi for some work and decided to head to Thekkady for a break. So we drove down from Kochi and as we reached Thekkady, saw some awesome scenery including some waterfalls. Some pictures from the drive..

Scenery as we reached Thekkady

Thekkady

Thekkady , is a small town in Idukki district close to the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary ; which is a famous jumbo habitat. “Thekku” in Malayalam is “teak” and Thekkady got its name from the teak trees you find in abundance here. Wonder why no one decided to associate the elephants to its name?….something like “Anathottam” or “Anakkadu”. ( Ana in malayalam is elephant).

It is 145 km from Kochi or Madurai which are the two nearest airports.

115 km from Kottayam, the nearest rail head.

Thekkady is also known for a variety of spices like pepper, cardamom, cloves ,cinnamon and nutmeg which are grown abundantly in the estates here.

Cardamom Estate

Cardamom flowers and pods at the base of the plant

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is famous for its dense evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests and grasslands. Spread over an area of over 700 sq kms, it is home to herds of elephants, sambar, tigers, gaur, lion tailed macaques, and langurs. It is a designated Tiger Reserve too. A beautiful lake called the Periyar lake lies here…a result of the Mullaperiyar dam built across the Periyar river. The lake acts like a watering hole to the herds of elephants and deer that live here and the lakeside is a great animal viewing point. Boat rides on the Periyar lake are the best way to catch a glimpse of the animals. The Sanctuary can be accessed by boat, trekking or by a jeep safari.

The Essence of Thekkady

Accommodation is available at Kumily town which is 4 kms away and is just a short drive. Outside the reserve area also private hotels and homestays are available . Apart from that, there are some good accommodation options available within the reserve area itself run by the Kerala government.

Periyar House

A budget jungle lodge located in the sanctuary ; about 500 metres from the lake. Since it is located in the sanctuary, it is not safe to venture out after dark .

There are lot of monkeys and one has to be careful with the room windows and any food items being carried.

The staff at the hotel said that elephants even visit the garden around the hotel. Initially we were not very convinced about this. We were just taking a walk just outside the reception area one evening and we did hear elephants trampling the bamboo bushes around. The sounds were both thrilling and scary. Since it was dark , we could not sight the jumbos.

Periyar House

Aranya Nivas

This is a luxury hotel situated close to the lake. The interiors look like the old English bungalows and since the lake is close by, animal viewing is also easy.

Aranya Niva

Lake Palace

The former summer palace of the Maharaja of Travancore, this is a luxury hotel on an island in the Periyar lake. This can only be accessed by a 20 minute boat ride from ashore. Offering amazing views of the lake, it offers opportunities to view the animals as they walk on the lake shores. No wonder the Viceroys and Governor Generals used this for their holidays.

The Lake Palace Thekkady

Some animal sightings from the resort…

We did not go looking for him…..he came looking for us!!!

And this Malabar giant squirrel was disturbed by our presence!

And this guy quickly scampered into the bushes as we drove by….

Periyar Lake

Also commonly known as the Thekkady lake, it was formed when the Mullaperiyar dam was built across the Periyar river in 1895. The lake is located inside the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary and acts like a watering hole for the animals. Needless to say, most activities in Thekkady are centred around this lake.

What is striking here is the tree stumps sticking out of the water. These are the trees which got submerged when the lake was formed. These tree stumps provide resting places for the waterbirds that frequent this lake.

Don’t forget to take a pair of binoculars during the boat ride. Bird watching and animal spotting will be facilitated.

But I have a sad story to share. I have visited this lake many times and noticed that the water levels are sometimes abysmally low . We can only hope that it does not totally disappear one day!

The picturesque Periyar lake with the anchored boats

The steps leading to the lake and boating jetty

The tree stumps that are so peculiar to this lake

Boating on the Periyar Lake

Now, imagine you are boating on the Periyar Lake. Look carefully at the picture below. Do you see some animals in the picture ?

Well….these are rocks that can be very deceptive . I am putting up this picture particularly to show how deceptive these can look to the eyes eagerly searching for animals!!!!

Now for some actual sightings…

Some animal sightings during the boat ride on a bright and sunny day

One lucky day!…note the baby jumbo

Deer

Sightings on a less favourable day….

A herd of Bison ( the cloudy weather hampered visibility)

And some birds

After spending a couple of days among these amazing creatures , we returned back with beautiful memories to cherish. Wonder if the jumbos will remember us????

As I say goodbye today, I leave you with this message that I saw at the reserve…

A message to humanity….

Till I meet you next week at a new destination, do not forget to subscribe, comment and give me your feedback…