Masai Mara Kitties

Sunset in Masai Mara

We made it to Masai Mara on New Year’s Eve. Our resort is one of several that is actually in the game park. We bought tickets for the rest of that day. The price changed for the new year, so, true to form, we had to go back the next day to buy tickets for the remaining days.

Our driver is Thomas. Claudia and I worked with him on the last trip. He also included in the trip a Maasai friend, Daniel, to go along as spotter and provide directions. This proved beneficial. The drivers communicate by what is basically a CB radio. They report where they see things so other drivers can come too. Daniel not only knew all the roads—even tiny two-rut roads—but also had a second line of communication via cell phone with other Maasai guides.

You may note that I’ve used two spellings of Maasai/Masai. The actual tribe’s name is “Maasai.” Of course, the British colonialists couldn’t work so hard as to spell someone’s name right, so they changed it to “Masai.” The British named the park.

Without bothering to drop our stuff at the hotel, we started hunting. Just to be clear, our most lethal weapon is posting photos of the animals on social media without blurring their faces or getting their consent.

Above is Daniel. He is married with, I believe, 5 kids from his first wife and 2 from his second. Note his right ear. The Maasai regularly have stretched earlobes, particularly the men. The hole is stretched gradually over time. A larger hole is a sign of age, which also stands for wisdom.

And looking at the picture, I’m sure you’ve been wondering, “What does a Maasai man wear under his ‘kilt’?” Boxers.

Below are kitty pictures from our day and a half at the park.

First up, cheetahs. I think these are my favorite cats. They come across as very elegant.

Next, our leopard sighting. At least feigning sleep, as a long line of safari trucks paraded by and snapped pictures.

It was hot during parts of both days, so in the afternoon, the cats napped. This can be fairly entertaining. They remind one of overgrown housecats. Below are 3 females under some bushes. Note the lady on the right with her leg up. Combining the position with her belly size, we are guessing she is pregnant and struggling to get comfortable.

You can see a bit of the landscape above the lions: wide open spaces, dotted with bushes and some trees. It is beautiful. More pix later of that. “Mara” means “spotted,” so the name describes the landscape, which still, by history, belongs to the Maasai people.

Below is one of the males we saw, also sound asleep as the safari trucks paraded by.

A second male. This one walked up to a safari truck and plopped down in the shade of the truck for a nap. The truck had just left when we took this pic.

Below was our most interesting lion encounter. We were looking for a lunch picnic spot. There was a lion spotting about a quarter mile away. We could see the trucks. We crossed the road and ate. Meanwhile, the lions had continued up their side of the road closer to us, also in search of lunch. We finished, packed up our stuff, and joined the viewing of the lions on the hunt.

There were two. (The females do most of the hunting.) They were working as a team to sneak up on a herd of topi. The lioness below was right next to the road. You can see the ridge of dirt left by road graders. She didn’t care that we were there at all. They’re conditioned to know that the tourists and trucks are not a threat.

It was really interesting to see her slink along so low to the ground to avoid being seen, watching her muscles ripple.

Below, she got into position. Her sister was off to the right. The plan is for one to break and chase the topi towards the other lion. Ideally, she can just grab one as it goes by. It didn’t happen here. The first lion broke for the topi. The one in front of us stayed under cover. The chaser let up quickly.

The topi weren’t overly concerned. After the first lioness broke cover and gave up the chase, she wandered off to look for the other. The topi came right back.

The lioness in front of us then broke for them, also to no avail. They tried to isolate one and work together, but the topi got away.

The two lionesses met up and greeted each other, nuzzling. Then they wandered off in search of a nap spot. They actually went into some bushes right next to a public bathroom. That could get interesting.