Tanzania Redux, March 2008 Trip Report

Cat lucky right from the start. How wonderful. Looking forward to your next chapter--and perhaps photos?

What did you smear under your vehicle before departing? I wonder if the leopard could smell the cheetah cubs that had been there.

How lucky to be back again.

The next morning, we met at 6:00 again, but this time took a picnic breakfast with us. Tesha thought we might be able to see one of the cheetahs hunt, but said we’d have to be prepared to wait. Quite soon, we found the mother and six cubs. There were four or five other vehicles there and the cubs were playing on and around them. I got a cute picture of one of the cubs on a tire - it seemed to be just another object to climb as far as the cub was concerned. Eventually, the mother called the cubs to her and started off across the plain. So as not to interfere with a possible hunt, none of the vehicles moved. I was watching through my telephoto lens and could follow them mostly by the cubs’ movements - they were frolicsome and jumping and running. When the cheetahs were out of sight, the vehicles started up and we all moved closer, but still a distance away from the cheetahs.

Watching them now, I could see a change in the way they were moving. The mother would move stealthily a short distance, then stop, sit and look around. The cubs followed her, but they weren’t playing now - they were also moving stealthily and when they got up to her, would sit and look around too. The mother kept this up until she got within striking distance of her prey, which was a gazelle. We stayed in place and although I couldn’t get a good shot of it, I could see what was happening through the lens. She knocked down a gazelle and then strangled it. Once it was down, all the vehicles moved forward again.

The mother dragged the body towards the cubs as they went towards her. They gathered around and started to eat. The cubs are cute, but make no mistake, they are carnivores. It was a little disconcerting to see them with bright red mouths, since they went first for the blood. It looked like the mother was ripping open the carcass for them, but she did not eat herself - she was keeping watch. After several minutes, she did approach the body and that’s when I realized the gazelle might not be completely dead because it kicked at her. I thought it was just the body being moved by the eating motions of the cheetahs, but the mother grabbed the gazelle by the throat and held on for a few minutes.

Over the next 40 minutes, the mother and cubs ate, the mother rested and kept watch and the cubs played or went over to the mother at which point she would clean them. Eventually, she started to get uneasy because zebras were passing through. They weren’t close to her or the cubs, but I heard from Laura, the Cheetah Watch researcher, that a zebra stallion had chased her and the cubs some time previously. The mother dragged the carcass over to the wheel of the vehicle at the end of the semicircle. She continued to keep watch, but didn’t seem to worry about what was behind her since the vehicles formed a barrier. The cubs played and ate and ate and played, and she also ate occasionally.

We had our own breakfast and maybe it was just because of where we were, but it tasted great. The kitchen staff had included a thermos of hot water and tea bags, so I was able to have a cup of hot tea (essential in the morning) and watch the cheetahs too. How perfect!

About 30 minutes later, the zebras had moved on and the guides passed the word to the guide at the wheel of the end vehicle to move so that people could get pictures without the vehicle in them. The cubs took the opportunity to explore the undersides of a couple of the vehicles. The pattern of eating and playing continued for another hour. All the other vehicles left and we changed position so that I could get some pictures of the cheetahs eating. By this time, the carcass was disemboweled and there wasn’t much meat left. I came away impressed by the competence of the mother cheetah. I also felt good about how we humans as a group behaved - we didn’t interfere with the hunt. I had heard at the lodge that this cheetah mother had not been able to hunt for two or three days in February because she was being followed by so many vehicles.

Our evening game drive was quiet, but that was okay - I don’t know if I could have taken any more excitement! I did get pictures of a juvenile Verreaux’s eagle-owl, the first owl I’d seen in Africa. We also saw hordes of wildebeests moving on the horizon.

Overnight, it poured rain from 1:30 - 5:30. When I met Tesha at 6:00, he told me the guides had been discussing what to do because the roads would still be wet and the animals would not be out and about. We agreed to meet again at 8:00, but a few people went out anyway in search of the cheetahs. Tesha told me later that one couple went out because they wanted to get a picture like mine of the cub on the tire. I said I had shown it on my PSD only to the couple with whom I ate dinner and two filmmakers I was talking to at the bar after dinner. Apparently, they had seen it from a table away in the dining room. I don’t know if they realized how much of that was luck - not just being there when it happened, but being in a position to get the shot. Up until the leopard went under our vehicle my second night there, it was the people in the other two vehicles who were getting the good shots of him in the brush.

Our morning started with seeing a lion and three lionesses. Two of the lionesses were grooming each other - licking each other’s faces and biting at each other’s ears. It looked like one of the lioness’ eyes was clouded, but when I enlarged the photo later, it appeared that there were huge ticks right at the lash line. We then found the mother cheetah with two young cubs - there had been three cubs 24 hours earlier, but circumstantial evidence was that a lion killed one. These cubs were younger than the group of six and still very fuzzy. Tesha told me that they look like honey badgers at that age and having seen Bill H’s pictures of a honey badger, I see what he means. Theoretically, this protects the cubs to some extent since other animals are intimidated by honey badgers. These cubs stayed close to their mother or under cover - either in the vegetation or between the mother’s legs. They were extremely cute.

Back at the lodge that afternoon, I was fortunate to meet and talk with Laura, one of the Cheetah Watch researchers. After my trip in January, I had sent photos to the Cheetah Watch Campaign of the two cheetah groups I had seen. Meeting Laura gave me an opportunity to find out what kind of photo was best suited to their purposes (the side of the cheetah and ideally, both sides). Good to know! I would probably discard that kind of photo as not interesting enough to keep.

When we went out in the evening, we saw a beautiful black-chested snake eagle perched in a tree. When it took flight, I amazingly got a couple of pictures (I say ‘amazingly’ because my reaction times aren’t that quick). Then we saw a jackal whose behavior reminded me of a domestic dog - it was curled up to sleep with its nose tucked into its rear legs. It occasionally lifted its head partway and opened its eyes, then went back to sleep.

As we drove, I noticed that plain looked very different than it had when we arrived. Due to the rain, the wildebeests and zebra had moved back into the area. There were sections that were literally black with wildebeests. Before we had to turn back towards the lodge, we encountered another group of cheetahs - a mother and three almost-grown cubs. They were beautiful, basking in the setting sun. We thought this might be a group we had spent time with in January, consisting of a mother and four cubs, which would have meant a cub had been killed. However, we found out later that group was still intact. In between taking pictures of the cheetahs, I continued my quest to get a decent picture of guinea fowl. They look so pretty when the sun hits their head feathers, but they move so fast, I have not been able to get the kind of shot I want (obsessive compulsive people like me should probably not take up photography as a hobby!).

Star, we are really enjoying reading your report, it brings back fond memories for us since we saw these same three cheetah families a week before your trip

Thanks for the detailed write-up.

Bill & Carolyn

Wow, you were certainly lucky with under the vehicle cat encounters!

Such cheetah action. You made a comment about the mother cheetah not seeming to worry about what was behind her because the vehicles formed a barrier. For all the intrusiveness of vehicles, this was one incident where the opposite was true.

Star55:

I am just loving your report on cheetahs. I'm "seeing" them vicariously through your eyes. We searched and searched and searched when in the Ndutu area one day in March with no success. I'm so glad so many other folks were successful.

Keep up your reporting!

-doo

I too am loving all the cheetah news here and on the board in general. They are stunning! Thanks, star.

Doo, it's cold and rainy where I am, so I'm enjoying your report on Zanzibar! More to come on cheetahs and Leely, I will post link to pictures soon.

After the positive reaction to the cheetah stories, I almost hate to write this next section. However, it wouldn’t be an honest trip report if I didn’t and maybe it’s in the best interests of the cheetahs to talk about what happened on Day 4.

This was my last full day in the Ndutu area and we again took a picnic breakfast with us. We were on a ridge overlooking the lake, watching the sunrise, when we saw cheetahs below us. This was a mother and four almost full-size cubs, the ones we had seen in January (yeah!). Within minutes, four or five other vehicles joined us and we watched the slow approach of the mother to a group of gazelles. These older cubs had the stealth approach down - they were all slinking across the plain behind the mother. As they got closer to the gazelles, one of the cubs started a flanking maneuver - Tesha told me they were old enough to participate in the hunt. The mother accelerated into her run, but missed the gazelle.

Now the cheetahs started up the hill, skirting a belt of trees. Everyone moved to a new position, although it took some maneuvering to keep our distance. The cheetahs headed towards three gazelles near the trees. The mother was in the lead, but two cubs were coming up parallel with her, one on the right and one on the left. Before the mother could make her move, the cubs started running. They were too far away and the gazelles escaped. The cheetahs disappeared into the belt of trees.

Now everyone moved around to the other side of the trees. We couldn’t see the cheetahs but we knew roughly where they were. It seemed likely they would head our way since open plain was to our right. I figured the group of gazelles between us and the cheetahs was probably going to be the source of the cheetahs’ next meal. All of a sudden, five or six vehicles - all but one from the same company - that had joined the original group drove towards the trees and positioned themselves close to the thicket where the cheetahs had last been seen. We wondered what they were doing and we found out. As the cheetahs stalked out of the thicket, three of the vehicles drove towards us on our left, scattering the gazelles. I was appalled, but I thought that at least the gazelles were running in a line that would intersect that of the cheetahs. There was one gazelle that was limping and I thought it was probably a goner. Then the remaining three vehicles started up and drove alongside the mother cheetah as she ran. Not only did that alert the gazelle, it was able to run in front of the lead vehicle, which by virtue of its position cut off the cheetahs from the gazelle.

The vehicles then positioned themselves in such a way that the cubs were cut off from the mother and they blocked the view of almost all the other safari-goers. My view, however, was not blocked, and at this point I remembered that I had a camera and started taking pictures of the offending vehicles as well as writing down license plate numbers. The mother cheetah was pacing back and forth and finally gathered up the cubs and started towards another belt of trees. The vehicles started to follow her. When one was close to us, I shouted over to the clients to ask if they spoke English. When a woman replied ‘yes’, I told her that they had already interfered with the hunt, were now harassing the cheetahs and would they please stop. I know I shouldn’t have been shouting, but I just wanted them to stop what they were doing. The woman gave me a ‘huh’ look, but the group departed.

The rest of us settled down again to watch the cheetahs. The mother was moving slowly from bush to bush towards a couple of gazelles. I don’t want to anthropomorphize here, but it looked like the cubs had been given a message to stay out of the way! They were in brush near the mother, but they did not move when she did. Eventually, the gazelles moved into the trees and the quest for a meal seemed to be over for a time.

By this time, we had eaten breakfast and we left the cheetahs to see what else was happening. We came across a pride of lions. I'm not sure if this was the same group we saw the first day, but there was a male and four females. The male and a couple of other females were on top of a small hill. We drove to the top of the hill and so were in a position to see one of the females climb a tree. She looked very unsteady and she didn’t stay there long. I got a kick out of this because on one of the first evenings of my January trip, I had discussed with Tesha my expectations for the trip (e.g., not interested in ticking off animals, willing to spend time to get a good photo, etc.). He told me that he had a client once who said to him ‘my friend saw a lion climbing a tree so I want to see a lion climbing a tree’. That story had amused me then and when I reminded him of it now, we both had a good laugh.

When I went out to join Tesha for the evening game drive, the parking area was full of vehicles and guides. Tesha came over to our vehicle and told me they were all talking about what had happened that morning. The guides who had participated in what I term the bad behavior had heard from another guide that I was a photographer, had taken license plate numbers and was going to report them to the rangers. They were worried because (and this is hearsay) a client had once posted a similar photo that included a guide on the internet, his company found out about it, saw the photo and fired him. I told Tesha I did not want him to speak for me and would talk to the guides directly if they wanted. He went over and came back with a guide representing the offending company. This person started off by saying that I hadn’t really seen what I thought I saw. When I refused to accept that, he changed tack and started apologizing, saying it would not happen again. I kept saying I wasn’t in charge and he shouldn’t apologize to me, if anything he should apologize to the cheetahs and talk to the Cheetah Watch people. Okay, I know an apology to the cheetahs wouldn’t mean anything to them, but I was uncomfortable with this idea that by apologizing to me, it made it all better for the cheetahs. It came down to they did not want me to report them to the rangers. The conversation was fairly polite and ended with me saying I would think about what to do next.

Needless to say, I was very upset. I certainly didn’t want to be self-righteous about this - I was a visitor, I didn’t want anyone to lose their job and as an American, I wouldn’t hold up the US as a shining example of how to manage natural resources. I also felt that it was not entirely the guides’ fault - I think the clients were probably as much, if not more, to blame. I heard from a couple of people that this behavior is often tip-driven - the client saying I’ll give you a better tip if I get close to the animal during the hunt. On the other hand, where does the line get drawn? I still don’t know if I did the right thing, but for the record, I reported the behavior to the rangers the next day, but without naming names. I don’t know how much good that did.

After this, I didn’t want to be around other humans, so I requested that we take our drive away from everyone else. I was still thinking about what had happened when Tesha stopped the vehicle and pointed out a giraffe. I had mentioned to him earlier in the week that I had not been satisfied with my January giraffe pictures because so many of them had been taken against the sky, which had often whited-out in the picture. This giraffe was standing against a background of trees and sky and what’s more, remained facing me for several minutes. She couldn’t have ‘posed’ better and she was lovely. After this, we saw more giraffes, Cape buffalo including a calf, lots of birds, and a small herd of impala. Our drive finished at the lake, which was beautiful in the twilight.

This was my last night in Ndutu, but we still had time for one more game drive the next morning before driving into the Serengeti. We took our breakfast as we wanted to stay out as long as possible before check-out time. Driving across the plain, we saw a large group of bat-eared foxes. They were under cover before I could get a picture, but it was exciting nevertheless to see so many of them. Our next sighting was a serval cat. We had seen one a couple of nights previously but it had disappeared. This serval walked towards us, looking glamorous (odd word for an animal, but it fit) in the morning light. It came surprisingly close before turning and walking into the brush. A little further on, we saw another one! Actually, I thought it was the same one and it had just covered a lot of ground quickly! However, when I looked behind me, I could see that another vehicle was where we had been and was watching the first cat.

Shortly thereafter, we found a cheetah with a dead gazelle. Tesha was fairly sure, based on last known location, that this was the mother of the six cubs, but the cubs were nowhere in sight. The mother started walking away from us, chirping as she went. I was following her through my lens and starting to worry that there was no response to her calls when I saw the cubs running and jumping out of the grass. They came frolicking towards us and it wasn’t until they were quite close that I could see that all six were there. Whew! It took the mother a few minutes to find the gazelle, during which time the cubs explored the vehicle next to ours. When the mother located the gazelle carcass, she dragged it a little way away and everyone started to eat. Seeing this family was a great way to end my time in Ndutu.

OMG!!!! Such terrible breaches of safari etiquette and endangerment of wildlife. It never occurred to me until several days into my own safari last month that some people would BRIBE their driver to break the rules just for their own satisfaction.

My husband asked our guide what the fine was at Ngorongoro if a driver didn't get out of the gate in time. He said the first time the driver gets a warning. The second time the guide's license gets pulled. The rangers know that charging a fine wouldn't do any good because so many clients will pay the fine for the driver just so they can stay in late.

-doo

I'm really appreciating your trip report. I'm sad to hear about the apalling behaviour from those guides - on one hand I understand why you might not name the company but on the other hand, it's frustrating for those of us reading such reports (similar to what Bill posted) without knowing which company we should avoid if we wish not to endorse this kind of behaviour...

If you prefer not to post but would be willing to email me about it I'd be grateful.

Thanks again,
Kavita

Star: great report! I came on hoping to add to my own report having been in the area about 2 weeks before you but instead I got caught up reading yours late in the night. Very interesting to read about many of the same animals I saw as well as some new animals in the area.

I do know the cheetah mother with the 4 large cubs and was sad to read what transpired. I had my own cheetah vehicle issues and like Kavey I would like to know who is causing issues so I hope you feel comfortable sharing. My issues will be fully described in my own report rather than hijack yours and I'm going to start a thread now to name names.

Look forward to the rest of the report and especially the pictures!

Kavey, I'll email you.

After breakfast, we drove into the Serengeti. The plains were almost empty except for gazelles and topis here and there. We stopped for lunch at the gate, then continued on towards the Serengeti Serena, where I was staying for two nights. Mid-afternoon, there was a terrifc cloudburst. It let up within minutes, but in the meantime, I was able to get a photo of an impala male and his harem. Because of the rain, they were bunched together under trees, instead of being spread out as I had seen them at other times.

About twenty minutes later, the most wonderful thing happened. We came upon elephants crossing the road. At first, it looked like a small herd, but all of a sudden, elephants were all around us - on the road in front of us and in the grass on both sides of us. I was so overwhelmed, I could almost not take pictures. I had tears in my eyes at seeing all these elephants and I just kept saying ‘omigod, omigod, omigod’. There were young of all sizes, including babies that were barely higher than the grass. I was trying to look everywhere at once. Since I couldn’t, I was thankful that Tesha pointed out a baby nursing - I love scenes like that.

We were near the intersection where we had to make a turn towards the lodge, so when the elephants were clear of the road, we drove on and turned before stopping again. Still elephants everywhere! Tesha told me the next day that he and the other guides estimated the herd at over 200. I could hear them breaking down trees and see them pulling up grass and small bushes. Seeing the babies run was hysterical - they looked like badly animated cartoon characters. Even now, I get breathless thinking about all those elephants.

The next day, we started at the hippo pool, which I remembered from my first visit in 2003. I also remembered that the crocodiles blend in quite well with the rocks! It’s scary how hard they are to see. Our next sighting was giraffes, which included one nursing. I now have photos of a zebra, wildebeest, elephant and giraffe nursing - I like those signs of life.

After that, I think we visited every kopje in that area in search of lions, without much luck. Our only sighting was a group of three females high up on a kopje. I didn’t care - I was happy just to be in the Serengeti. After lunch, we saw a small herd of elephants. These were different in color from the ones we had seen the night before - grey whereas the ones the night before were reddish from the soil in their usual area.

Just before we started to head back to the lodge, Tesha spotted a leopard. I could not believe I was seeing two in a week. We were the first ones on the scene and this time, I had an unobstructed view. I find the way the leopard drapes itself over the tree interesting - you’d think it would be uncomfortable to rest its belly flat on the branch. But heck, I’m not a leopard, so what do I know?! We were quickly joined by several other vehicles, one of which was a bus filled with quite noisy people. I don’t know if it was the noise, but the leopard left the tree within minutes of the arrival of the vehicles and crossed the road in front of our vehicle. He went into the tall grass on the other side of the road, but just before he disappeared into thick brush, he turned around and looked back at the vehicles. I thought that might be my ‘farewell’ animal (thanks, MyDogKyle, for that term).

I got to do a good deed before the day was over - another guide stopped his vehicle to talk to Tesha. His clients were a family of four, one of whom had a Nikon D70 with a very dirty sensor. They had seen my D80 and wondered if I had any cleaning material. I had only a blower, which didn’t work, but I did have swabs and cleaning fluid back at the lodge. The lodge was a distance from where they were camping, but they decided to follow us back since the camera was basically unusable. It was when we were on our way back that I saw my ‘real’ farewell animal - a small group of elephants. It was great ending with a big cat AND elephants.

This was my third trip and I think I can say that I have now been truly bitten by the safari bug. Already thinking about next year!

And finally, here is the link to the album/slideshow from this trip. It’s heavy on cheetahs, but that is appropriate.
http://picasaweb.google.com/corcoran.melissa/TanzaniaMarch2008/photo?authkey=wwGDw38wEm8#s5184266170692500722

Towards the end, there is a picture of a starling. As I note in the caption, the guides debated on this one. If anyone has a better idea on the identification, please let me know.

Wonderful pictures and not just of cheetahs. Great owl, starling (?), elephants, serval!!!, leopard close up, lions and so much more.

You did the right thing about the offending guide. What a mess.

Thanks for sharing all this.

This is a wonderful trip report and great pictures.

I agree with Leely; you did the right thing. I'm trying to think of a way to help, as something has to be be done.

Thanks for a great report and fabulous photos, I hope mine turn out half as good.

Melissa, really enjoyed your photos, you have many talents The cheetah cub photos were especially good.

Sorry to hear about the continuing cheetah harassment during hunts, we saw this once two weeks before your trip but drivers stopped doing this once Laura came by where the mom + 6 cubs was located and talked to drivers. But then there is a new group of drivers every few days.

I think the problems this year were due to two things, a) the uniqueness of all those cheetah moms with cubs, which every one HAD to see or their trip was ruined and b) overcrowding, as the number of tented camps continues to grow and more tourists are crowded in.

I think there has been a 300% increase in tented campsites in the past few years, the equivalent of adding two more Ndutu lodges ... in a couple of years I wouldn't be surprised if the over-crowding leads to stoppage of off-road driving, similar to what has happened in the crater and most of Serengeti, which will seriously degrade the area as a destination for wildlife photography. Get in while you can!

Bill

Wonderful photos! Thanks for sharing. I especially love the serval. I'd be very conflicted about how to best handle the guide behavior too.

Star55,
You and your vehicle certainly were cat magnets. You had such wonderful cheetah sightings, especially with them so close when they were under the vehicle. That must have been exciting watching the cubs mimic the mother’s behavior while hunting. How gruesome that the gazelle was still alive. Leopards and lions, too. Great cats the whole trip.

The behavior of the guides and guests in the other vehicles is appalling. I am glad you not only called it to their attention, but also had them realizing there could be repercussions.

Great photos. You really captured the playfulness of the cheetah cubs and got a lot of other great shots as well.

Your reaction to the disturbing and aggressive behavior by the other vehicles was measured and appropriate. You really conveyed the tone of the whole encounter and your reaction to it. Glad you got to see mom and the brood again under less stressful conditions.

Maybe some of the hippos at the pool remembered you.

How nice you could do a good deed. So will we know the farewell animal?

"As we park several yards away the cheetahs..."


Is it just me, or does anyone else think this is to close to approach to a mother cheetah with six cubs?

Thanks for emailing me and thanks again for the report. Being surrounded by that huge herd of eles must have been incredible.

Y'all, my computer's hard drive died earlier this week, before I could say glad you liked the photos. There are so many great photographers that post to this board that it can be intimidating!

Hi Star,

I just got back into town and finally caught up with your wonderful report. What incredible cat sightings you had! And I completely understand the way the elephants made you feel.

I think you handled the cheetah fiasco as well as could be expected. Not sure I would have had the presence of mind to record license numbers -- I probably would have just been seething mad and complaining about it later. I think it's really worthwhile to post stories like that (re: guides' and guests' bad behavior with the animals) on a travel board, since there is such a range of experience and understanding about animal behavior with people going on safari. Not that it excuses the behavior (the guides should know better, even if their guests don't!), but there probably really are people out there who don't realize the damage they're doing by, say, chasing alongside a cheetah. So in addition to entertaining us, you've hopefully brought attention to this problem for some people going on their first safaris. Thanks! Off to look at your pictures now...

Hi-
Thanks so much for your report. Your photos are spectacular!

Could you tell me what length lenses you brought with you and which ones you used most?
I just got my first DSLR (Nikon D40x) and I know that my 200mm lens will not be enough.

Hi Kristina,

I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. I took two lenses: a 70-200 mm which I used with a 2x teleconverter and a 17-55 mm. I used the 70-200 with the TC the most, but was glad to have the other lens for landscape shots. The longer lens gets heavy after awhile, so I also used a beanbag when I was shooting a lot.

Hope this helps.

Hi-I didn't even know about the teleconverter (I'm new to the DSLR).
Can you tell me why you chose that over a longer lens? I assumed I would need to get a 300 or 400mm lens. What's the downside to a teleconverter vs. longer lens?

Hi Kristina,

The downside to the TC is that when I add it to my f/2.8 lens, the maximum aperature becomes f/5.6. On the other hand, when I'm not using the TC, I have a fast lens, which is what I wanted when I was buying this lens. It is a compromise. Hope this helps.