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We were on safari in Kenya this year (ref. trip report: senior safari in Kenya), when something unusual happened.
I have to back up a bit here and tell you that before we went I had read trip reports about animal harassment and the nuisance of too many vehicles on the road etc.
The first evening in the Mara, when we came up against a lion and 2 lionesses a few feet from the track, the latter sleeping and the former staring at us as if he knew us from another life, I recalled the remarks about concern for the animals and told myself if they were feeling harassed they would run away not hold their position.
Besides the loud chatter from one of the vans was disturbing me with it's pitch... but not the animals. I guessed the animals are multi-lingual by now and accustomed to the noise and the vehicles.
I asked Matu, if we were disturbing them.
"They are used to the vehicles," he said. "If you get down they would immediately sense a threat and attack but otherwise they are not bothered."
To prove his point further on we saw a lioness on the track who took her own time moving off into the grass, while we just waited and watched.
Now, on with my story.
Our second morning in the Mara, we spotted a cheetah kill and our driver took off looking for the cheetah/cheetahs. We drove in the Mara for what must have been forty five minutes when he saw a line of vehicles at the side of the track...the usual sign that there were animals nearby. A warden passed us in a vehicle filled with ( I assumed ) young wardens in training and our driver stopped to talk with him before moving on.
"What did he say?" I asked Matu.
"There's something in those bushes but he's not sure what."
We drove along the road looking at the isolated bushes which are six to ten feet high when suddenly all Matu's training of the last five days paid off, and I spotted a flicker of a tail.
"That bush!" I said.
There was a moment's deal silence as he digested the fact and then Matu said, "Very good! Very, very, good!"
He took off and drove around the bush. Three cheetahs sat under the bush seeking respite from the noon heat. I took a quick picture from two angles while he said, "I can't stop for more than a couple of seconds", and we drove back to the road.
As we got back on the track, a lady int he next vehicle looked at us.
"Three cheetahs there," said Bob, jubilantly sharing.
Her mouth turned down and she lifted her hand and gave us the thumbs down sign.
"You're harassing the animals," she said.
I was crushed. A born worrier, I fretted while Bob repeated the remark to Matu, who was incensed. Right from the outset I had been firm about one thing: it wasn't the amount of animals we saw that mattered to us but the quality of the trip.
"Did we do something wrong? Did you break the law?" I asked Matu point blank.
"No," he said. "The warden said I could take a quick look at the bush. I wouldn't dare to do it otherwise. There is a stiff fine in the Parks for getting off the track."
"If she's so worried about the animals, why is she here?" asked Bob.
I wasn't re-assured by their remarks. I worried and worried and worried all afternoon, turning the hurtful remark over in my mind, trying to examine it in the light of truth which doesn't let anything get by.
Out on our evening game drive Matu started getting messages on the radio towards 5:30. He drove us to an area of long grass bordering a gully lined with trees.
"Look!" his usual remark was by now a test of our observation skills.
I scanned both sides of the road and made out three shapes moving in the grass.
"Cheetahs!"
One snapped at a jackal too close, chasing it off.
"They're hungry and bad tempered." I said.
"Yes."
Even from the distance I could see through my binoculars, when their gait changed from walking to stalking. They were stiff, their muscles tensing as they walked to the bushes.
"Have they spotted something? ?" I wondered aloud.
The one in the rear turned and I thought another jackal had gotten too close.
To my amazement, this third cheetah started walking straight at the vehicles, which must have numbered about 15 by now.
She got closer to us and we must have collectively head our breaths as she slid between two vans parked really close together, got on the other side of us, went fifteen feet away then stood and posed for us so we got her in her full glory, before sitting on her haunches to give us more shots. From time to time she would look in the direction of her cubs and call, sounding like a little cat.
We were in awe. (The only thing that bothered me at this point and was remarkable was that some people will not stop talking at the top of their voices no matter what!)
Our heads swiveled from her to the cubs in training (I had decided that's what the group was...Mother and two young adults). The two had crossed the gully and were on the far side and as we watched they started running...in a second we saw the young gazelle they were chasing. There was grace and beauty in the sudden speed all three put on. Thankfully for me, they disappeared in the bushes bordering the gully to make the final kill and we saw nothing more of them.
Humbled by all we had seen, on both sides, I turned back to the Mother who occasionally called out to the other two but hadn't moved or changed her position.
"How lucky we are to have seen this! It's like a scene from a movie."
Matu laughed, pleased by my description and tone.
"Who's harassing the animals now?" he said quietly.
The wheel had come full circle.
I couldn't have asked for a better farewell present than the ones the cheetahs, especially that Mother, had given us.
My mind at peace finally, I said goodbye to the Mara, praying there would be plenty of rain to sustain life and livelihoods everywhere it was needed.
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Harassment of animals on safari? You tell me...
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Thank you for sharing your Mara experiences! Wonderful encounters.
To the harassment: Of course you are considered an "intruder" into their privacy when you leave the tracks in order to get close or follow.
It's wonderful that the Mara now has at least invented rules and obviously fines if guides do not follow these rules.
Regarding the information that the guide got permission to leave by the warden: I heavily doubt that!
In the Mara cheetahs have shifted their hunting habits as to hunt in the heat of the day now - normally they hunt in the early morning hours or late afternoon. But because these poor animals where so penetrated by vehicles and these did interfere with their hunts they adapted the tourist lunch break for better hunting results.
Finally - yes, your feelings regarding having harassed the cheetahs were reasonable.
Glad you had such a good trip and so wonderful memories!
SV
In areas of the Mara Triangle you're allowed to leave the road/track for certain sightings.
http://www.maratriangle.org/park-rules/
Outside of the High Use Zone you are not allowed to off-road in the Mara Triangle unless you have a confirmed sighting of a cheetah, lion, leopard or rhino. Only in this instance can you leave the road or track at the nearest point to the sighting, and then approach no more than 25 metres (five vehicle lengths) to the animals. Always return to the track by the way that you came.
Not sure what the rules are on the Narok side.
SV,
I don't think hunting in the middle of the day by the cheetahs is to avoid the tourists - I've routinely seen hunting both in the heat of the day, and at cooler times by Cheetahs in Bots. This includes, the heat of suicide month - October. I would think, they hunt anytime the opportunity is at it's best.
But, I do understand your point about tourists harassing the cheetah and they probably try to get away from crowded areas. For example., I do remember reading a recent report on safaritalk of cheetahs not really being seen on a regular basis in the Mara Triangle compared to other areas like those around Rekero.
Regards
Hari
I think if you want to avoid crowds and crowded sightings, it's best to tell your guide that you wish to Track or spot your own animals and that you don't wish to run around and do the "radio controlled" game drives. This also encourages better guiding, not to forget a quality experience.
I have seen cheetah using vehicles as a vantage point: By climbing onto the bonnet or even the roof they substitute stationary vans for termite mounds. I have also seen cheetah taking advantage of the shade offered by a vehicle out on the sunny plains.
So from what I have seen the cheetah has adapated, positively, to the presence of vehicles. As to hunting when the tourists take a lunch break...mmmm what science has satisfied that hypothesis? Surely not general observation as all those who observe are technically out-to-lunch....!
Gnbob, did you harass the animals? Who knows you were there and traffic in the mara is as sure as the migration, so whether that is a harassment or not only the game will know. What is for sure, your presence has contributed toward the conservation of the area while your comments perhaps to tightening & enforcing of regulations within the park.
mkhonzo
Cheetahs using the vehicles as a vantage point was started by kike in the Mara and all her offspring and their offspring now have got that habit.
I have never seen that in any other area - TAZ, BOT, SA....
HariS
We were told that cheetah have never hunted during mid day heat in the earlier days - means until the mid 90ies. Since the penetration increased dramatically they are told to have shifted their hunting habits/times toward mid days as well.
As we always do full day drives the traffic reduction between noon and 15 hrs is significant.
It was a generalisation on my side which doesn't mean cheetahs DON'T hunt in the mornings or afternoon anymore.
SV
Spassvogel - I have always understood that cheetahs do hunt mid-day to avoid lions, leopards and hyena stealing their kill. Mid-day the other predators are napping so the cheetah have a much better chance of killing and eating without being disturbed. I certainly am no expert, but that is what Simon King said on big cat diary re-runs last week.
In the high use zone of the Mara Triangle, you are not allowed to off-road for any reason - not even for a kill. "Never" is the word used. The rangers patrol the Triangle constantly for infractions and we never saw a guide abuse this rule. As self-drivers, we were handed a list of rules when we entered the park and it was made very clear to us that there were stiff fines for any infraction. Here is an illustration of how closely the rangers enforce the rules.
At dawn, on our third day in the Triangle, we found two lionesses on a wildebeest kill that were about 20m off the road. We parked on the road and had the lions to ourselves for about an hour, but then other vehicles began to arrive. The rules state that once there are 5 vehicles around lions, leopards or cheetahs, viewing time is restricted to 10 minutes. Vehicles waiting must do so from a distance of 100m. When the 6th vehicle arrived, we knew we had to leave, but we were rather boxed in by the vehicles that had arrived after us. In order to leave, we had to go around two vehicles that were parked on the road facing us. Given the narrow track, two of our tires went off the track as we drove around the vehicles, but there was nothing we could do to avoid this - we literally went perhaps half a metre off the track. When we reached the other side of the vehicles, we were waved over by a ranger, who told us that we had violated the no off-road rule. He threatened to impose the Ksh10,000 fine. We pointed out that we had no choice and that we were trying to respect the 10-minute rule but he was very difficult and stubborn. In the end, he let us off with a warning. Ridiculous really - taking the rules too far in our opinion. No doubt had we not left because we couldn't do so without going slightly off the track they would have fined us for staying more than 10 minutes.
From what I witnessed and from our conversations with the rangers, I would be amazed if the rangers gave your guide permission to go off-road. I think it far more likely that your guide told you that he couldn't stop for more than a couple of seconds because he knew he was breaking the rules and risking a fine. However, we have no way of knowing for certain, so we must give him the benefit of the doubt. Whichever, you are not responsible for the behaviour of your guide, and you should not feel badly even if he did break the rules to get you a good sighting of a cheetah. The ranger who stopped us carefully recorded our vehicle information so, if your guide is breaking the rules, he won't last very long.
It is unfortunate that the hurtful comment was directed at you. It would have been more appropriately directed to your guide. Robin
Little story, but not about Kenya. At Kirkmans Kamp with ranger Grant we had just come upon a sleeping lion (flat cat). After a few moments one of the guests said "Why don't we just move over to him and get him up. Nobody cares do they??) Grant said - "I care, he's my friend". I wanted to stand up and clap BRAVO!!!! But didn't, we moved away. I told Grant that later that I'd always remember his perfect reply.
regards - tom
Tom, very nice story.
SV... Kike wasn't the first. Learned from Mum, I think. And there are instances of this in Tanzania too. Not important, and I'm the last person fir to be a "fact checker".... but I thought you'd find it interesting. Also, I have seen/heard your explanation about cheetahs hunting more in the middle of the day in the Mara multiple times from sources that I would expect to fact check fairly thoroughly. I beleieve there are stats from scientific studies to back it up.... certainly comparison with Serengeti habits, and I think with Mara - but I find it difficult to trust anything I read nowadays.
Gnbob..... For whatever its worth, I find it quite credible that a ranger said your guide could have a quick look, even if it is not normally allowed in that area. Unless there are other reasons to disbeleive your guide I would sleep easy on that. There would, however, be good reasons for not looking even with permission - or rather, not even asking in the first place.... but that's another story - and there are these different and quite specific rules for each area (see Patty's comment) and cheetahs sometimes seem to have their own set of rules too, on top of/instead of the general predator ones. I'm not the person to clarify this - although I think those who could do probably read this forum - but hopefully my confusion adds to the clarity of how you should feel. And good on you for posting, by the way.
"I care. He's my friend." is a good one. I will remember that one.
When I asked Grant if he had been taught that phrase in "ranger school", he chuckled and said nope. He said all the animals are his friends and he respects them. They give us permission to be with them and he does not willing abuse their trust.
regards - tom
What a perfect answer! I LOVE it!!!!
I think the cheetahs in the Mara are well adapted to vehicles and there is one in particular who loves using cars for vantage. We had this great encounter in the Mara:
http://waynehazle.com/eastafrica/Masai_Mara/roll13/index001.html
http://waynehazle.com/eastafrica/Masai_Mara/kodak/index004.html
Hi kimburu
We never forget that occasion.
As you say you are suspicious regarding what you read these days..........but unfortunately we are either depending on these sources or must do our own "research".
As we do whole day drives when in the Mara we observed that behaviour and for the rest of it we have to trust the guides (who are there 24/7/365) who are telling us about their observations.
BTW - one of Kike's offspring jumped on to our car while we were there. AND she "stole" our beanbag
SV
Checking out a landi....
http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/extra/egallery/pcat/67104/display/10276340
another pic is shown under the "profile". That pic was taken by a lady from South Africa while the Cheetah was "visiting" us.
SV