Ngorongoro Crater

This ancient caldera holds some of Tanzania’s greatest animal life within it‘s walls.  It was one of the many gigantic volcanoes in the area in ancient times, but collapsed to form a self-contained eco system supporting an abundance of wild animals.  Although these animals can move freely in and out of the crater, they don’t.  They have all they need there….plenty of food, and water.  This was another highlight of our Tanzania stay and here are some of our favorite pictures from our two descents into the crater.

This is the lodge where we stayed on the rim of the crater.  v

A very full…..or pregnant spotted hyena.

Many lions…..close enough to touch…..but, we didn’t!

Who would have guessed that ostriches live here?

We saw lots of newborns……within hours of their birth already walking.  Were you aware that vultures love placentas?  

Black rhino….our very first look at this prehistoric looking beast.

Masai warriors have permission to graze their cattle in Ngorongoro, but must leave every night for their homes just outside the crater.  They walk amongst cape buffalo, rhino, lion, elephant, hippo with only a large stick as protection.

Eland are part of the bovine family and are very shy and difficult to see.  We were out very early one morning and had a few minutes with this beauty.

This guy had the largest tusks of any of the elephants we saw while in Africa.  They went all the way to the ground.  Unfortunately, this is very rare as the elephants with the DNA that produce mammoth tusks have been hunted to near extinction.  Why do people want so much ivory?  Even today.   

Better get up little one………hungry lions are close by. Look closely….there are Hippos in the water ……(many more pics of the #1 dangerous animal to come)

Even a baby Cape Buffalo is cute.  Ngorongoro Crater - An amazing place!

The Great Migration

It’s the natural world’s last massive movement of animals and one of the most amazing spectacles to see in person. Two to 3 million Wildebeest, Zebras, Thompson Gazelles, and Elands have been migrating from the Southern Serengeti grasslands of Tanzania, to the Northern Masai Mara of Kenya for eons.  They move as the rains come and go and provided the backdrop for another awe inspiring adventure for us.

 

Many visitors only want to see the river crossings (and the crocs eating the wildebeest and zebra) but the true sight is when all the animals fill the entire stretch of landscape.  We had been reading and hearing about this phenomenon our whole lives, and suddenly we were where we wanted to be - in the middle of it.  360 degrees around our vehicle, as far as we could see in all directions there were literally 10s of thousands of animals in our view.  And no people.  Looks like the zebras and wildebeest are extremely comfortable with each other’s company……what do you think?

 

The timing and location of this never ending journey can’t be determined exactly and it changes depending on the rains and grass growth.  Year after year the animals let mother nature tell them when and where to go.  They follow their most basic instincts.  We were very fortunate to have picked a fantastic base to witness this natural calling.  Will this annual trek continue for time eternal?  No one knows for sure, and the struggle between the humans and animals continues, but the animals seemed very healthy to us and we even saw some brand new babies being born.

   

Of course, the predators take advantage of the influx and abundance of animals.  It’s harsh, but it’s part of this natural cycle.

It is an amazing show that we would recommend for anyone wanting to see if for themselves. 

  

Hakuna Matata

Remember the movie The Lion King?  The animated film from the 90s?  We couldn’t help think of it as we safaried through the Serengeti.  When we saw the rocky outcroppings some of the scenes came to mind.  There is no doubt that the animators thoroughly studied the Serengeti’s topography and wildlife.  It was a perfect match. 

Remember the phrase and the song Hakuna Matata from the same movie?  Hakuna Matata is Swahili for No Problem.  When we first caught glimpse of the lions lounging on the rocks, it was easy to think that they live the life of hakuna matata.  Up close and in personal these wild kings and queens of the jungle exude strength and power.  To say that we were in awe only begins to describe our experiences with these super sized kitties.   

It was due to our expert driver/guide that we were able to observe loads of lions and several different prides.  In Tanzania, alone, we had 6 completely different encounters watching the big cats.  We felt so fortunate to have the time to relax and really take them in as well as to discuss the lion’s plight.

  These massive beauties don’t have any natural predators, they sleep for 21 hours a day and when mating they do it every hour or so for a week.  Looks and sounds like hakuna matata doesn’t it?  That‘s not the whole story, not by a long shot.  Their existence is hanging by a thread.  We weren’t surprised, but saddened, to learn that they are on the Red List of Threatened Species of the World.  Most of the lions living in the wild have been reintroduced.  Humans decimated the free ranging lion by killing 80-90% of their population in the last 50 years.  And Africans have wiped out their habitat by converting it to farm land.  

Cub survival rate is low due to availability of food and competition amongst males.  After battling it out for superiority in a pride, a male lion will kill any cubs in the pride that aren’t his.  Until recently, the Maasi tribe of Tanzania  practiced killing a lion as a rite of passage to manhood.  Hakuna matata for the life of a lion?  Hardly.   

It was an honor to have spent so much time with them.  We watched them hanging out and digesting after their meal, also playing and even mating.  We even had a very close encounter with a few of them where we were tempted to reach out and pet them, but we didn‘t!  And to top it all off, we heard roaring in the middle of the night on two separate occasions.  Meow….