We were in the Serengeti in time to see the wildebeast migration.
Thousands and thousands of wildebeast and zebras dotted the plains.
The word 'Serengeti' means vast space in Swahili.
Wildebeast and a
zebra
The wildebeast and zebra complement each other in that the wildebeast
has poor eyesight and an excellent sense of smell and the zebra has good
eyesight and relatively poor sense of smell. Together, they have
a better chance of detecting predators.
The wildebeast are very skittish and awkward. They jumped around
like they were being attacked by a hornet but for no apparent reason.
Sometimes they would bolt and follow each other, running for no apparent
reason. They packed in close together but then pushed each other
as if annoyed that they were so close. The zebras were docile
and social in comparison.
Zebras on the
Serengeti
We stayed at the Ndutu Lodge at the southern end of the Serengeti, near where Hugo Van Sant had a camp while he filmed some of his famous documentaries such as Leopard Son. Genets frequent the rafters of the dining room.
On safari, I was surprised at how some animals differed in size from
what I had expected. Hyenas were larger than I expected. Gazelles
were smaller than I expected. Jackels were smaller than expected.
Warthogs were spritelier than expected.
Spotted Hyena
too full to move
We were very fortunate to get close to a cheetah. This one crossed
the road behind us to join up with two other cheetahs hiding in the grass
ahead. At one point she stopped and called to the others with
a chirping meow.
Cheetah
We saw many different types of antelope. From the tiny
dik-dik and steenbok to the numerous impala and gazelle to the much larger
hartebeast and eland. The waterbuck looked more like a shaggy deer.
Waterbuck
on the Serengeti
The landscape was wonderful....wide grasslands, graceful acacias, distant
hills. The brown mound to the left of the waterbuck is a termite
mound. I mistook a termite mound for a lion about a hundred times
-- wishful thinking.
Waterbuck