Masai Mara Safari Nov. 2013

I have started sorting through my photos of my trip to Kenya where I stayed at Offbeat Safaris' Mara Camp in the Mara North Conservancy adjacent to the Masai Mara. These are just a few miscellaneous shots that I have sorted, a much more comprehensive selection will be posted later with stories and hopefully some videos when I get round to editing and sorting everything!! I will keep all my posts under this one thread but with different headings so the thread may end up quite long!!!



My tented home at Offbeat Safaris' Camp



A small herd of zebras in a hurry



One of the Marsh Pride 4 Musketeers. (Not sure which one. Can Doogs help out?)



A rare sighting of 3 Aardwolf cubs at the entrance to their underground den



A Cape Buffalo bull wallowing in Musiara Marsh



Yellow-throated Longclaw



One of three 8 week old cubs belonging to an outcast female in the Mara North Conservancy



Young male leopard yawning



Male Eland, the largest of the African antelopes



4 of the Offbeat Pride cubs playing with an adult female



A herd of elephants crossing the parched savannah of the Mara



Male cub of the Marsh Pride



Sub-adult female cheetah



Sunset Mara style


Safariman

  Safariman.  As ever I love the fact you get stuck in straight away and we get to see a selection of your wonderful photos.

I'm thrilled to see your tent at Offbeat Mara, now Pete and I know what to expect  it looks perfect    How fantastic to see the aardwolf cubs, I've never seen them before so that's a real treat.  Also great to get a good shot of an Eland, they are normally so shy and flighty and turn and run before I ever get a decent shot.  A really great selection and with all the big cats as well.  

Perfect to end on a lovely Mara sunset, I hope you enjoyed many wonderful sundowners too  

Thanks for sharing.

Lai  

   Those phtos have really made my day Safariman, thanks so much for getting them on so soon after coming back. They really are fantastic, I especialy love that sunset shot. I' now have it as my screen saver. Looking at the Marsh Pride Male I wanted to put Atisshhoo  and the Aardwolf Cubs shot is brilliant such a rare glimpse to see them, you did really well to get that one. Great shots of the Yellow Throated Longclaw, and the Leopard yawning. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your photos, and video, thanks once again for sharing you trip with us

WS

   

Very humble Safariman to call this a mere "preview"! Wonderful images, so clear that they almost put us in the Mara too. Great variety of selection here. I really like the zebras, yawning leopard (no surprises there  ), Eland (that's a really good find), cheetah & sunset, a breathtaking way to conclude this pride of photos. May I call them that? There are a lot of lions in it  

Good move WS to highlight this thread on the forum home page  

GR  

Its a very chilly evening here, quite icy but those pictures have just warmed everything up, they are fantastic Safariman and such a wonderful selection and if thats just a random selection I cant wait to see the rest when you have time.
I am not sure if I have heard of an Aardwolf before and it seems as if they are a little elusive and thats a lovely photo. Im also pleased you got a Buff Boy in there and also those gorgeous Zebras and I must say, thats one heck of a yawn.......Mahoosive!

Thanks so much for that taster to the rest Safariman  

littlewid-x-

Thanks for the lovely comments everyone. I am still busy sorting my photos and have started trying to edit some of the video footage. What I thought I would do is to include an animal specific video with each of the photo posts and stories and also do a general video with short clips of everything I filmed in a separate post but under this thread.
I have managed to edit a short video of the Aardwolf cubs which I will know try to post under a separate thread!! ( change of plan, the video will hopefully now appear under this thread!!!!)

Safariman

This post has been moved to this thread on behalf of Safariman

This is just a very short, one minute video of the Aardwolf cubs. They were filmed under a spotlight which has a special filter to avoid disturbing and blinding the animals too much.
Aardwolfs are part of the hyena family although they look more like the striped hyena rather than the more common spotted one. They are not related to the Aardvark which has a similar name but like the Aardvark their diet consists entirely of termites, specifically Harvester Termites and they can consume something like 200,000 in an evening. The adults (which I have never seen) leave the den when it becomes dark to forage until dawn. The cubs were left to there own devices but never strayed much from the entrance to their den which was only about 400 metres from camp!!




Safariman

Thats a great Video of the Cubs Safariman. I knew they were Hyena related, but did'nt know that their main food was termites.It was really good that a special lamp was used so not to frighten, or blind them. I'm not sure what the numbers of Aardwolves are, but it must be rare to get a chance to see them. I've increased the video screen size, hope thats OK with you

WS

Moved to this thread on behalf of Lai

.That's a great clip Safariman, and a first for me. Really exciting to see the aardwolf cubs so clearly. I do hope they'll still be around in February

Thanks for sharing, another wonderful clip.

Lai.

Moved to this thread on behalf of Littlewid

What a gorgeous clip Safariman, they are so lovely arent they and those ears are just spectacular   I had never heard of the Aardwolf before, so its a new one to me and I really like them. That must have been an amazing experience for you and to have them so close to your camp must have been thrilling. What a lot of termits they eat in one evening, thats some meal isnt it.
Thanks so much for sharing with us.

littlewid-x-

  WS

Lai

I have now managed to compile a short (4 minute) video of my trip. As you will see the visit was dominated by big cats and big herds of wildebeast and zebra deciding whether to cross the river and go back to Tanzania or not. I spent a couple days at the river crossing sites and although they gathered in vast quantities did not cross only putting their feet in the water and then turning away; it was probably too cold to go swimming!!!
I will be doing posts on the various encounters with the big cats with additional videos and photos.

  Safariman.  A truly wonderful 4 minutes, which I wish I could have seen on a huge screen to appreciate the amazing wildlife you have captured.

All those lovely big cats looking so fit and healthy and for me the favourite has to be the leopard always, and all those wildies were great to see you really get a feel for life in the Mara watching that fabulous clip.

Oh yes the ele with no tail had lovely tusks so I hope he keeps them.

Thanks for sharing and can't wait for more ..................

Lai

Thanks.
Yes Doogs the elephant was tailless, probably lost it as a youngster to a lion or hyena. I was fortunate to see 3 different leopards, the two males in the video and a female Nelangu who is Zawadi's daughter who I also saw on my trip last December. Nearly all the lions I saw seemed to have young cubs and so I have lots of photos and videos to post. I have an Apple Mac which has its own video editing software which makes life quite easy for me, I am not sure what you need for a PC.
The music was Enya, Storms in Africa which I thought was rather appropriate considering the weather we both experienced.

Safariman

Safariman I am naving a bit of trouble with my connection tonight, well my screen keeps freezing, so I will nave to check out your video tomorrow........it will give me something to look forward to tomorrow evening  

littlewid-x-

I recognised the music as being Enya but I didn't know it was Storms in Africa, very good choice Safariman  

Lai

 for the video shares Safariman! When my connection is working a little better I will try to watch them.

Amazing fact about the aardwolf only eating termites!!

Oh    Safariman That was brilliant to watch, and I'm not just saying that I really mean it. Such a beautiful selection of clips put together in a fantastic video, and the music really compliments it. Too many different species to comment on individualy, because they were all so great. Thankyou so much for putting that on for us Safariman

WS

Safariman I've shared you Videos with the Guys on Ustream chat at Petes Pond, and they think they are brilliant, one Guy thought compilation was that good it was a TV production. You've had 36 views on the Aardwolf Cubs, and 37 on the compilation

WS

Thanks for the compliments WS very much appreciated. I am always willing to share my safari experiences particularly with people who have never had the chance to see things first hand.

Safariman

As previously mentioned wherever I went on this safari I came across lions often with small cubs. These are just a couple of those encounters.
The first was on a bright and sunny morning heading north in the Conservancy and having just crossed the Olare Orok River (more of a stream really) we were confronted by 3 small cubs in the middle of the track enjoying the early morning sun while mum kept a watchful eye on them about 20 metres away. David my guide explained that she was an outcast female who had been part of the Chelli Pride but had moved out to try and set up her own small territory. She had chosen a sort of no man's land between the Offbeat Pride to the south and the Chelli Pride to the north. Being on her own with 3 small cubs about 8 weeks old and with no help or back-up from a pride was going to make life very difficult for her although she looked in very good condition and well fed. Soon after our arrival she summoned the cubs and moved off but not before I had managed some lovely photos!!
The second encounter was on my last morning on my way to the airstrip for my flight back to Nairobi. David and Kapeen noticed that some of the gazelles and zebras in the distance were standing to attention and alert rather than grazing which can be a sign of predators around. And sure enough as we went to investigate we saw 3 lions approaching, walking quite quickly. These were 3 members of the River Pride, the third pride in the Conservancy who spend most of their time on the other side of the Mara River away from the Conservancy. There were 2 males and a female, a male of about 4/5 years old almost an adult, a younger male about 3 years old and an adult female. They did not appear interested in any of the game around which nevertheless scattered but had some mission in mind and seemed very focused on whatever it was. Sadly we could not follow them as we had to get to the airstrip but it made a fitting end to my safari.
I have included some photos and a short video (no music) of the two encounters.

The first encounter
















The second encounter













Safariman

Another great selection of wonderful photos Safariman. Those lion cubs really look so adorable and I hope that being a single mother the lioness is able to support them. All your photos are fantastic and the clip really gives a great flavour of what the Mara is like.

Thanks for sharing.

Lai