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Cape Buffalo. Photo courtesy of Charles Hamm	Elephants at play in Loliondo Photo courtesy of Mike Hagen, Out- There Images Inc.

Migration and Weather

Northern Serengeti and/or Loliondo
It is quite lush with vegetation in Lobo Valley however most of the big herds have already moved on leaving behind small groups of zebras, wildebeests, elephants and elands in the valley. Hardly any predators are visible although raptors, reedbucks and buffalos still have quite a presence.

The great herds are also absent in Loliondo although antelope families and herds of elephants are roaming the woodlands near Buffalo Camp and Kleins Gate. Jackals, giraffes, buffalos, a few genets, hares and even bush babies have been spotted.

During the first half of December there weren’t a lot of herd animals yet in the Central Plains except for a few wildebeest groups coming from the west and heading towards Rongai Mountains or Moru Kopjes. But as green grass is starting to grow in most of the central region due to the rain, including the Massai Kopjes and Makoma Hills, there are many Thomson gazelles leisurely grazing when they aren’t being hunted by the resident lions, leopards, cheetahs and hyenas. One mother Thompson gazelle was licking her newborn baby. A few moments later, the newborn gazelle was killed by a mother cheetah. Because the newborn was so tender, the cheetah ate everything including the bones, leaving only its skin and head.

While exploring the Sametu Kopjes, a lion pride was seen bathing in the warmth of the summer sun while one old elephant bull was browsing in the bushes nearby. Several clients observed leopard mothers grooming, feeding and playing with their young cubs. One lucky client was able to spot the elusive serval cat.

During the second half of December, Naabi Hill was the location for thousands of migrating wildebeests and zebras. For two days the Hill was completely surrounded. For the few clients staying at the Serengeti Luxury Camp, it was an exceptional sight to see.

Photo courtesy of Judy Steeble

Early December most of the southern plains were quite dry specifically the Gol Kopjes, Moru Plains, and Kusini Plains so there is little wildlife to see beyond the occasional zebra and gazelle or the predatory lion and cheetah. However a little north there are larger herds of wildebeests and zebras grazing between Simba Kopjes and Moru Kopjes. By the second week in December, the herds were moving out of the Simba and Moru Kopjes cradle and heading towards Hidden Valley, following the rain clouds.

Crossing the Ndutu woodlands heading towards Kusini Camp, there is a smattering of elands, gazelles, wildebeests and gnus while hyenas and jackals are seen scavenging for carcasses. Because of the modest amount of animals that are scattered throughout the region, the African dung beetle is scrambling and fighting for what little dung these migratory animals are making.

By late December many migratory birds including the white storks and European rollers, terns and Abdims Stork have approached the plains looking for beetles and other insects. There is now some migration on the Kusini and Ndutu Plains.

Tarangire
It is lush in southern Tarangire and large herds of giraffes along with thousands of gnus, zebras and buffalo are grazing in the woodlands and along the Tarangire River. The short green grass in Silale Swamp has attracted herds of buffalos and waterbucks. The area has also become a sanctuary for many birds such as the glossy and sacred ibis, jacanas, goliath and grey herons. There are hundreds of elephants around Silale Swamp engaging in many activities from play fighting to mud bathing. Even the baby elephants are enjoying their time among the soft grasses and watering holes.

Safari Highlights

Northern Serengeti
At Lobo Hill, a lone leopard was up in a tree pacing anxiously among its branches uncertain as to what to do while three lions lay lounging underneath that very tree. The leopard was obviously in an awkward predicament and the three lions appeared to be mildly amused by the leopard’s dilemma (right picture).

Photo courtesy of Boyd Norton	Photo courtesy of Julie Gennaro

A mother zebra was seen walking slowly among the grassed with a dead calf hanging from her body. She appeared to be in a lot of pain as she did not stop to graze. It was a somber sight to see.

Central Serengeti
A female cheetah, obviously a seasoned hunter, gracefully took down a mature reedbuck. But while attempting to suffocate her kill, two undeserving hyenas appeared from a nearby bush and chased the poor cheetah away. However, the joke was on them for when the two hyenas turned around they realized that they had interrupted the cheetah too soon. Utterly surprised the pair stood for a moment watching the reedbuck jump up and run away. But, as the reedbuck had been wounded by the cheetah, she was no match for them. Too quickly, the hyenas overcame her and tore her to pieces. Meanwhile, the poor cheetah looked on grief-stricken and in total disbelief.

Photo courtesy of Barbara Flemming

From 30 meters away, clients observing a mother leopard hunt and capture a Thomson gazelle within ten minutes of spotting her. After killing the gazelle, she dragged it passed the vehicle to a nearby Kopje and struggled to carry it up in a nearby tree. Thinking she had found the perfect spot to place her kill, she let go only to watch it drop to the ground. Leaping from the tree, she tried again and managed to find the right spot on the branch to drop the gazelle. But before feasting, she jumped down and disappeared into a nearby den bringing out two cubs by the scruff of their necks. Laying down she let the two suckle for a few minutes before hiding them in the den again. She then returned to the tree for her recent kill and began eating her lunch.

While staying at Bilila Lodge an American couple got to meet the current President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete who was leaving for Dar after taking a short rest at Bilila. President Kikwete chatted with the couple for a short while and was kind enough to take pictures with them.

Southern Plains
In the early morning hours, some clients came upon an Aardwolf (the smallest hyena) hovering around a termite mound. Extremely shy and strictly nocturnal an Aardwolf’s diet almost completely consists of termites and other insects and larvae making it very different from other hyenas. Using its long, sticky tongue to collect insects, it can eat more than 200,000 termites in a single night. Ensuring a continuous food supply, the Aardwolf is very careful not to destroy a termite mound nor eat the entire colony.

Photo courtesy of Sharon Lyon -Mama Simba	Photo courtesy of Cathleen Burnham

Clients had the unique opportunity to observe a hunting tutorial from a mother cheetah to her three cubs. Spotting a small herd of Thomson gazelle off on the distance, the mother cheetah jogged closer to the herd with her three cubs following close behind. When she came to an attacking distance, the mother cheetah stopped, turned around and looked at her cubs. The cubs crouched low under some brush where they could stay hidden and yet watch their mother hunt. The mother then turned around and spotted her prey. Launching herself into attack speed she picked up a small gazelle and destabilized it. She then called for her cubs, which came running towards the gazelle, and she had them finish the kill.

Tarangire and Silale Swamp
On the way to Silale Swamp, clients witnessed two hyenas mating on the road. Not wanting to disturb the encounter, the vehicle stopped. It wasn’t long before a new male hyena came in and chased away the first male. The new male then followed the female in heat leaving the scorned male watching in utter disbelief.

A male elephant in musth came to a large herd of elephants to examine many of the females. The Matriarch was not very happy and trumpeted loudly at the impudent male.

Featured Animal - Bat-Eared Fox

Photos courtesy of McDonald Wildlife Photography

The bat-eared fox named for its large ears, is a canid of the Serengeti. Its coat is tawny with black fur on its ears, legs and parts of its elongated face. Measuring roughly 22 inches from head to body, its ears are quite large, nearly 5 inches long, in proportion to its small head. Weighing up to nine pounds they can fall victim to other predators such as the blackbacked jackal, slender mongoose and brown hyena. If they can avoid becoming prey and if the food conditions are adequate, they can live up to 12 years.

The bat-eared fox's diet consists mainly of insects, making up 80% of its food intake, however its staple is the harvester termite. It will frequently visit termite hills as well as follow locust swarms. It is not uncommon for it to stay close to herds of zebras or antelopes to feed on the insects landing in their excrement. In addition to insects, it will also eat small rodents, reptiles, birds, eggs and even fruit. In the summer, the bat eared fox will sleep during the day to escape the unforgiving sun and sweltering heat; preferring to do most of their foraging during the cooler hours of night. The winter months in turn are much too cold for them and their prey, causing them to forage during the daylight hours.

Locating insects can be an especially daunting task on dark summer nights. To do so, the bat-eared fox has developed exceptional hearing that allows them to use their large dish-shaped ears to pick up insect movement up to one foot beneath the soil surface. It will move about in the dark with an ear trained to the ground listening for vibrations. Once its picks up any sound, it digs furiously to expose its prey then quickly snatches it up with its sharply pointed jaws.

The bat-eared fox is a relatively social animal and is often found in small groups consisting of mated pairs and their young. The pair forms a strong bond that could be a lifelong commitment and raise their two to six pups together in a den.

Much of the communication among the bat-eared fox is non-vocal, instead relying on a variety of body and tail postures in combination with different facial expressions as well as some olfactory signals. During the winter months, vocal communication increases due to the mating which takes place at this time of year.

We welcome you to submit your images for our next Bush Report. If you have a photograph you are particularly proud of or want to share with others, please email images to meg@uniquesafaris.biz and we will be happy to include them in the next reports and credit you for the image. It is wonderful to share your pictures and experiences and we would love to include them in our future reports.

Photo courtesy of Frank Walsh

Large herds of wildebeests are crossing the Mara River heading towards Ikorongo Game Reserve.

Zebra Pair – photo courtesy of Barbara Fleming	Lioness on kopje - photo courtesy of Ellen McCoy

Fighting hippos – photo courtesy of Waymar Enterprises	Giraffes – photo courtesy of Frank Walsh

White-browed coucoul	Yellow necked spur fowl – photo courtesy of Frank Walsh	Ground Hornbills - Tarangire

Photo courtesy of Barbara Fleming

Photo courtesy of Marcio

Vulture dinner party - photo courtesy of Frank Walsh

Leopard with reedbuck in tree – photo courtesy of Tony Czarnecki

Caracal (African Lynx) – photo courtesy of Mike Hagen-Out There Images

October 2010 - Wildlife and activities experienced in the month of October

Leopard with reedbuck in his tree - photo courtesy of Tony Czarnecki

Migration and Weather in the Serengeti
In early October it is raining slightly in the north especially in the evening hours making the mornings cool. Fresh green grass is sprouting throughout the region enticing herds of wildebeest and zebras which always attract the predators.

However, by midday in the southern Serengeti, the sun is beating down across the plains transforming the entire landscape into a large brown carpet of dust. It is hot and dry. Only a few resident herds of Grant and Thompson gazelle, ostriches and warthogs remain along with some very skinny lions and hyenas. The herds are not yet arriving on the southern plains.

Towards the end of October it is beginning to rain in earnest in the northern plains and rain is just beginning to hit the central plains. Water levels are very high at the Mara River and wildebeests, especially the young, are having difficulty crossing it, but river crossings are abundant and the northern Serengeti is filled with zebra and wildebeest in addition to resident animals. Some smaller groups of zebra and pregnant female wildebeest are making their way to the central Serengeti. In the central Serengeti there are currently large numbers of Cape buffalo, leopard, giraffes, Grants and Thompson gazelle and of course the famous large prides of lions. Hyenas are hunting for their pups and serval cats are busy looking for mice under the night sky. The large herds of zebra, pregnant female wildebeest and dominant males will be making their way in the Seronera River Valley by mid to the end of November, based on the current rain patterns.

Zebra pair – photo courtesy of Barbara Fleming

Migration and Weather- Tarangire National Park
It is very dry and dusty during the second half of October here in Tarangire, which is actually what makes for peak times inside Tarangire, as herd animals seek water in the Tarangire River. There are few leaves left on the baobab and acacia trees. Large herds of elephants, zebras, waterbuck, and wildebeests are slowly making their way towards the Tarangire River. When the elephants arrive many are digging down into the sand, looking for cold water. Many species of birds are already at the river including fish eagle, open-bill stork, saddle-bill stork and martial eagle.

Sightings in Northern Serengeti
Driving on the road to Lobo, clients slowed down, eventually stopping to let a family of elephants, including two calves, cross the road. The matriarch stood in the middle of the road protectively and with some hostility as if she would charge at the vehicle with the slightest provocation. But like most mothers, she was only ensuring her family’s safety as they crossed the road. After the elephants disappeared into the woods, the clients continued down the road where moments later they found a pride of lions (one male and seven females) lounging in the shade. An elephant came sauntering through the trees and spotted the lions. He took chase and scattered the lions from their lazy reverie, then returned to his business. One client commented that the elephant was probably chuckling to himself as he headed toward the creek for a cool drink of water. Good sport for the day! Fact: Elephants are either right or left-tusked, using their preferred tusk more often. This is why you will often see elephants with one shorter tusk.

Along the Mara River, thousands of wildebeests and hundreds of zebra crossed the river attracting more than 40 crocodiles. Many crocodiles feasted that day. Eventually the herds surrounded one of the campsite areas near the Mara River. As far as the eye could see, hundreds of birds of prey circled the herds and scavenged on the carcasses of those wildebeests who succumbed to death, either from age or predators.

River crossing and waiting vultures – photo courtesy of Tony Czarnecki

Near the conflux of the Mara and Sand Rivers, five species of vultures (lap-faced, hooded, white-backed, white-headed and Ruppels Griffon) fought for a piece of a spotted hyena carcass. As you can see from the image above, vultures are resting along the river banks, waiting for their opportunities to feed at this peak time predation. These clients watched for hours as groups as large as 10,000 individuals swam across the river. They witnessed 4 successful kills from crocodiles. There is an abundance of migratory herds in northern Serengeti including thousands of wildebeests, zebras, and Thompson gazelles. Impalas are grazing along the river as well as herds of giraffes and Grant gazelle.

Sightings in the Western Corridor
Herds are slowing entering some areas of the Western Corridor. Rain has not yet begun in October in this location but at the Grumeti River, a pride of lions took down an adult wildebeest. While feasting on the carcass at the river's edge, three crocodiles emerged and approached the lions. They retreated and the crocodiles devoured the wildebeest while the lions looked on in defeat.

Nile crocodile along the Grumeti River – photo courtesy of Marcio Silberberg

Along the Grumeti River, in the western Serengeti, there are giant hippos cooling off in the waters, as well as elephants, Maasai giraffe, Bohor reed buck, topi, hartebeest, buffaloes and warthogs. Predators such as Nile crocodiles, lions, sidestriped jackals, black-backed jackals, cheetahs and leopards are waiting for a chance to make a kill. And secretary birds are feeding their hatchlings. One group of clients observed hundreds of vultures congregating at a single spot.

Sightings from Central Serengeti
From the distance, one group of clients watched as a female lion crouched low in the grass to stalk a herd of grazing zebras. Slowly she approached the herd, eyeing the weakest prey. Aware of the potential threat, the zebras nervously continued grazing when suddenly the young lion sprang from the grass and gave chase to her prey. Fleeing in all directions, the lioness took a spectacular vault onto the back of one zebra. Unfortunately for the lion, the zebra kicked up his hind legs at the very moment her jaws made contact with his back hurling her backwards quite a few feet. Stunned, she slowly rose from the ground and limped away badly injured. Narrowly escaping his own death, the zebra galloped back to his herd.

Wildebeest herd hunted by female cheetah and three sub-adult cubs – photo courtesy of Tony Czarnecki

This fascinating interaction was documented by a recent client. It is unusual for cheetahs to hunt full grown wildebeest, due to the size of such prey, the danger and the not-so-strong cheetah. All we can say is the clients and driver guide were treated to an extraordinary interaction as they spotted a female and three sub-adult cubs working collaboratively to stalk and then chase the wildebeest towards the mother, who then sprinted and grabbed the wildebeest by the throat. Cheetah will wait until their prey is fully suffocated before they will begin to feed.

Male ostrich in breeding display – photo courtesy of Tony Czarnecki

Male ostriches are fighting for the attention and admiration of female ostriches during peak breeding time. The winner will court the female by dancing and if he's lucky, mate with her. The ostrich seen in Tanzania are referred to as Maasai Ostrich and the male of this subspecies has slightly pink neck and thighs which turn a bright pink when they are in mating season. Males create harems of 2-7 females that they mate with, but they essentially live in nomadic groups of between 5-50 birds. Males will fight fiercely for their harems and fights can end in the death of one male as a result of slamming their heads into each other with great force. Most clients seem to know that the ostrich is the heaviest living bird species and the largest of the flightless birds (such as emu and kiwi). They can weigh between 140 and 290 pounds and extremely large males have been recorded as heavy as 340 pounds. They are flightless, not because of their weight, but because they have a flat sternum as opposed to a sternum with a keel which the wing muscles attach to in all other birds. The wing span is generally 6 feet and while wings are not used for flight, they are used for breeding displays and shading the chicks from the hot African sun. The ostrich can be a formidable prey, able to reach and sustain speeds of 45 miles per hour. A predator unlucky enough to catch in ostrich is vulnerable to their powerful kick, able to mortally wound even the largest of cats. However, their eggs, which are the largest egg of any living bird, are prized and often scavenged.

Sightings from Tarangire
On the road to Swala Camp, a Martial Eagle took flight from a nearby tree and caught a guineafowl in midair. Tumbling to the ground, it pinned down the pray with its enormous talons, killing it quickly. He refused to abandon his kill despite the unwelcomed audience and began plucking the fowl’s feathers with his powerful peak then feasted on the sweet meat. Fact: As the largest and most powerful eagle in Africa, the martial eagle can dive well over 100 mph. It feeds on a variety of birds as well as other animal species including impalas, warthogs, mongooses, monkeys, snakes and large lizards. This fearless warrior can knock a man off his feet and break his arm with only one huge talon.

Bird wildlife is abundant at Silale and Gurusi Swamp. There are innumerable flocks of white crested helmet shrikes, open billed stork, glossy, sacred and Hadada ibises, spur wing goose, and spur wing lapwing, goliath heron, cattle egrets and many other bird species. We are approaching the beginning of the European bird migration and bird species will accelerate in the next month.

One group of fortunate clients had two rare animal sightings. The first was of an African pangolin and this is the second sighting of this rare species this year with Unique Safaris. This nocturnal animal remains in their burrows during the day. As a defense, all pangolins are able to roll themselves into a ball and it takes considerable force to unroll them. The cutting action of their armor-plated scales also protects them by inflicting serious wounds on anything inserted between them. In addition, pangolins have anal scent glands that emit strong, foul smelling secretions.

The second was a civet. The civet looks very much like a large cat if you are lucky enough to see one, but that is fairly rare. Between hunters reducing their numbers and the fact that they stay hidden during the day, the civet is not a very easy animal to locate in the bush. Civet cats can sometimes be heard at various bush lodges at night, but are not often seen in the bush during the day.

Sightings at Ngorongoro Crater
Clients witnessed what seemed like one hundred hyenas fighting two young male lions near a hippo pool. A herd of zebras watched nearby while the battle raged between these mortal enemies. Moving like a trained battalion, groups of ten hyenas would flank and attack the two lions while the rest looked on, eager to jump in at any moment. Although there were no winners, it proved to be an interesting spectacle. Ngorongoro Crater boasts the densest population of hyena in all of Africa. The animosity between hyenas and lions is well documented and the potential for these interactions in such a small area adds to the allure and interest of Ngorongoro Crater.

Hyena – photo courtesy of Barbara Fleming

Meanwhile another group of clients observed a big herd of wildebeests attempting to climb out of the crater along some of the steeper areas of the rim. The cliffs were so steep that many wildebeests lost their footing and tumbled back down to the crater floor. It was curious to see so many wildebeests leaving the crater and one guide thought that perhaps this was their way of avoiding too much inbreeding. It might also indicate a poor quality of grass or the presence of noxious weeds, so the short rains are likely very needed in the Crater during November.

The dry weather makes it more difficult to spot black rhino, especially close to the vehicles, as they head for the higher forested areas to feed during dry season.

We welcome you to submit your images for our next Bush Report. If you have a photograph you are particularly proud of or want to share with others, please email images to meg@uniquesafaris.biz and we will be happy to include them in the next reports and credit you for the image. It is wonderful to share your pictures and experiences and we would love to include them in our future reports.

» Back to Bush Report Archive

September 2010 - Wildlife and activities experienced in the month of September

Young elephant – victim of a crocodile near the Mara River – courtesy of Deb Emerson	Silale Swamp in Southern Tarangire National Park - courtesy of Deb Emerson

Migration and Weather- Tarangire National Park

September remains peak season in Tarangire National Park, the third largest national park in Tanzania. At this time of the year, elephants can be seen all along the Tarangire River, as well as in the Silale Swamp. Ungulates are abundant all along the Tarangire River and the baboon troops are numbering well over 200 individuals in one location. Tarangire remains very dry in the month of September.

Safari Highlights

In northern Serengeti and Loliondo, there were huge numbers of zebra and wildebeest covering the land. There were also large numbers of giraffe throughout Loliondo and the Lobo area. A few clients were even lucky enough to witness the start of a birth (see picture below). The giraffe displayed nervous behavior, so the clients left allowing her to give birth in peace.

Giraffe giving birth in the Serengeti – photo courtesy of Deb Emerson

The wildebeest and zebra crossings over the Sand and Mara River were numerous and clients on multiple occasions witnessed giant crocodile successfully pulling down wildebeest. Elephants also cross the Mara River and the photograph above shows that even elephants can fall prey to the giant Nile crocodile (notice the short trunk).

Stories from the Mara River

In the distance, crocodiles were watching great herds of zebra and wildebeest crossing the Mara River while one nearby hippo kept a watchful eye on the trespassers. Without warning, the giant hippo burst from the water and with its powerful jaws extended clamped down on a passing zebra’s neck, pulling it into the water. In vein, the zebra struggled to escape. The water’s surface quickly became stained with blood, a warning to other animals that were passing too close to the hippo’s territory.

Hippos in the Crater – photo courtesy of Deb Emerson

While exploring the great migration of wildebeests during a night-game drive in Loliondo, clients came upon a troop of baboons killing a female impala. Although it is not uncommon for baboons to prey on small animals, it is less common to see them catch and eat larger prey such as impalas.

A few miles down the Mara River, a Nile crocodile managed to wrap his ferocious jaws around a passing male wildebeest. The male tried desperately to pull himself free but the crocodile only tightened his grip. After almost ten minutes of tugging and pulling, the crocodile was joined by two other crocs. The wildebeest’s battle for life intensified while the powerful river carried the fight from one side of the river bank to the other. The third crocodile released his grip and waited for the wildebeest give in. Suddenly the tired beast freed himself from the crocs teeth and facing his attackers for some seconds, launched his own attack and thrust his horn on the neck of one of the crocs. All three crocodiles scattered and the wearybattled beast scrambled for nearly a half hour to get out of the treacherous waters and onto the steep banks of the river. After some time all three crocs returned and it seemed as if the wildebeest was doomed. Instead he turned to threaten his attackers one last time. The crocodiles cautiously retreated and he finally managed to climb the banks and return to his waiting herd. Applause and laughter exploded from the clients who witnessed this courageous display of events from their vehicles. It was an unbelievable event and the whole experience took more than one hour to watch.

Also in the northern areas, it appeared to be calving season for warthogs. Warthog babies were seen on many occasions. One group of clients witnessed a black-chested snake eagle descend from the skies and pluck a piglet from its mother’s side. Reacting quickly the mother warthog launched at the eagle making it release his talons and drop the baby. The entire family then ran into the tall grass for cover.

Stories from Central Serengeti

In central Serengeti, near Mbuzi Mawe, clients watched a pride of 10 lions on a zebra kill actually sharing their spoils with a pack of hyenas. This is extremely rare and one client referred to this as a “coalition of government”. Lions and hyenas are mortal enemies and lions will often attack and kill hyena even when unprovoked, to protect their food and territories. Lions will not eat hyenas though and this is the only time lions will kill without feeding. On the other hand, a lion outnumbered by a larger pack of hyena will often retreat and be chased away or be killed and eaten by the hyena pack.

At Seronera Valley, clients were drawn to what sounded like a saw cutting wood. This sound was in fact a female leopard advertising her willingness to mate. This became an extremely rare photo opportunity to see two leopards mating in the shadows of the acacia tree, not only because leopards blend amidst the light and shade of its branches but because adult leopards are solitary animals, only coming together during the week that the female is in heat.

Putting things in perspective -- elephant thigh bone	Leopard tortoise -- photos courtesy of Deb Emerson

Stories from Tarangire

In Tarangire, the Silale pride was very active near the swamp, with a number of kills that were seen in the month of September. A lone leopard had his sights on an ostrich, but the speed of the ostrich left the leopard far behind (an ostrich can run up to 70 kph/45 mph). Although prey for cats, they can be a dangerous kill, due to their powerful kick, which can be fatal to a predator.

Huge herds of cape buffalo were also seen along the swamp, sometimes numbering more than one thousand.

Stories from Manyara

In Manyara, three different species of primates were observed; the large savannah baboon, blue monkey and velvet monkey. One peculiar savannah baboon was seen walking upright like the Homo erectus. According to the park ranger, this particular baboon has been walking this way since birth.

The beautiful lilac-breasted roller – photo courtesy of Elaine Goldstein

Manyara also granted the best opportunity to see a number of birds including flocks of breeding yellow stocks, pink backed and great white pelicans, silvery-cheeked hornbill and green pigeons to name a few.

Stories from Ngorongoro Crater

While visiting the crater, one group of clients observed a pair of Maasai ostrich courting. Although generally a silent bird, clients are sometimes privy to hearing the male’s reverberating call during the courting ritual.

Ngorongoro Crater Ascent Road

Two rare black rhinos were seen up close grazing in an open area, several herds of elephants and two cheetas were spotted playing on the road. There were various birds including flamingoes, crested cranes, ibis, Egyptian geese, kori and white bellied burstards.

We welcome you to submit your images for our next Bush Report. If you have a photograph you are particularly proud of or want to share with others, please email images to meg@uniquesafaris.biz and we will be happy to include them in the next reports and credit you for the image. It is wonderful to share your pictures and experiences and we would love to include them in our future reports.

» Back to Bush Report Archive

Cheetah clubs with the 'leftovers' - photo courtesy of Marcio Silberberg

Bull elephants fighting in the Tarangire River - to the death unfortunately. - Photo courtesy of Mark Donahoe

Elephants by the banks of the Mara River - photo courtesy of Marcio Silberberg

Photo courtesy of Steve Morello

Rare pangolin sighting!

Migration and Weather in the Serengeti

Weather in general is dry, which is typical for July. Early July tends to be cooler temperatures and by the end of July, the weather is usually in the 80s again. However, typical for the Serengeti, the weather patterns vary by area. Central Serengeti is very dry and dusty in July; the Mara River is dry but cloudy and the Lobo area is cloudy with thunder. Western Corridor usually still has residents and some cross the Grumeti River, through the Fort Ikoma area and up to the Mara River, joining the rest of the big groups of herds. In general the wildebeest herds are north and large groups are crossing the Mara River. However, herds also cross back into the Tanzania side for continued food and water. For the next few months, herds will repeatedly cross back and forth over the river and even move back toward Bologonja and northern Loliondo. Burning is being done by the national park and if rain falls, the new growth of grass appears and attracts various grazers. Zebra and gazelles are abundant in the Lobo Valley.

Migration and Weather in Tarangire National Park

July is part of the peak season in Tarangire National Park. Migratory elephants have moved into the park to join the resident herds, swelling the numbers of individuals beyond 6,000. Large prides of lion, leopard and even the rare wild dog are being seen inside the park in this month. At the end of June and early July, herds start coming into the park from the south and southeast areas of the Conservation Land. Ungulates also move more northerly in the park during the dry season.

As one guest said, "I thought I had seen it all in the Serengeti, but Tarangire proved me wrong! The number of elephants, wildebeest and zebra, as well as baboons along the Tarangire River was unbelievable."

Huge herds of elephants are also in the Silale and Gurusi Swamps. The park is extraordinary at this time of the year, yet clients should also be prepared for tste-tste flies. Remember our "tip" to use Skeeterbeater (www.naturesgift.com/skeeter.htm ) to help against the flies.

Photo courtesy of Barbara Fleming

Safari Highlights

» In northern Serengeti, Wogakuria area, a mother cheetah with very young cubs, less than 1.5 months, just killed in Oribi. While she was ready to eat, she called to her cubs to introduce them to eating fresh kill, by having them lick the blood and present them with the softest tenderest pieces of meat.
» Many clients enjoyed the area of northern Loliondo staying at the new property Buffalo Luxury Camp. Some clients had a fantastic night drive at Buffalo Luxury Camp, hearing some lions roaring nearby. The open night drive vehicle pursued 7 lions, including 2 juvenile males and from nowhere a large male lion appeared in front of the vehicle. This male was clearly not belonging to this particular pride. Three of the females aggressively chased the intruder away with a great deal of noise. Everyone in the vehicle remained very silent and mesmerized. The lions had a fresh kill of a buffalo and the smell of the kill was overwhelming, but it was difficult to actually see the kill in the dark. The pride was obviously fiercely protecting their kill.
» On another night drive at Buffalo Luxury Camp, clients saw a pack of hyena just starting to feed on a wildebeest they had just killed.
» These same clients, honeymooners, were treated to a special visit with the local Maasai in Loliondo and were adorned as bride and groom with the small boma celebrating and wishing them well in their marriage.
» Listening to the warming call of the black-faced monkey, the driver guide was able to spot a leopard in the Lobo Valley moving on the ground close to the vehicle.
» Many clients in the month of July witnessed herds crossing the Mara River. There were "successful" crossing with no kills by crocodiles and there were crossing in deeper water with drowning and many carcasses visible in the river.

» One group of clients took the advice of the driver guide and exhibited great patience, waiting four hours for a very large group (1000 wildebeest) to cross the river. The group started out with only a few individuals crossing one at a time, but after four hours, the entire group crossed the river. One wildebeest jumped onto a large rock, but fell backwards, clearly breaking his leg. He just sat on the river bank and could not get back up.

Photo courtesy of Lloyd Webbe – Crossing the Mara River

» The northern Serengeti is an excellent location not only for seeing the herds migrate, but also for large herds of eland, elephant, topi, baboons, ostrich, Grant's gazelle, Klipspringer, huge herds of buffalo, large prides of lion, Oribi and great vultures and other raptors. The rock formations of the northern Serengeti are excellent nesting areas.
» The cats of central Serengeti did not disappoint clients at all during the month of July! Clients were incredibly excited to view a pride of lions successfully hunting a group of gazelle that were coming to the Seronera River to drink. This was a ‘family affair' as one male killed a Thomson gazelle and allowed one of the females to start to feed on the hind legs as the male finished strangling the gazelle. Two young cubs about 2 months old tried to join the kill, but there was no chance this small prey was going to be shared. Another female was hiding in the tall grass and killed another gazelle. During this time of the year, when the larger prey is moving north, lions need to kill smaller prey and also take great risks to hunt much larger and stronger prey too (giraffe, buffalo, elephant)., This can be an exciting time of the year to watch cats hunt. Eating smaller prey also means more frequent hunting to keep fully satisfied.
» The Retima Hippo pool is always a great location for observing hippo. There can be hundreds of hippos
in the pool and the sight and smell is always something memorable. Hippos are joined by crocodiles
along the river banks.
» Central Serengeti is also a prime habitat for elephants. Clients enjoyed watching a cow/calf herd with one incredibly young calf which was not more than 1-2 days old. The calf was still having a hard time being steady on its feet and knowing how to carry its trunk, so the mother was constantly helping the baby to walk by using its trunk to help guide and keep the young calf steady.

Superb starling – photo courtesy of Frank Walsh

Photo courtesy of Caroline Selman

Breaking News!

The translocation and release of five black rhinos from South Africa to the Serengeti was a huge success on May 21st. Please visit http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/176985/Rhino-Relocation to view a short presentation from the Frankfurt Zoological Society. From Dr. Markus Borner - "I visited the rhinos in their boma last week and they are great, in good condition and chattering with each-other in their strange high pitch fieping voices. Spoiled rotten by the two rhino whisperers. Good little group!" The next release will be in November of this year. The five rhino will be released into the northern eco-system in about another month and we are all hoping to see them in their new home.

More breaking news- there are now two packs of wild dogs near the village of Ololosokwan in northern Loliondo. The second and new pack is currently denning (they have puppies) and were just observed a few weeks ago and the Frankfurt Zoological Society is attempting to collar, track and protect this new pack. Both packs are located near Buffalo Luxury Camp. Unique Safaris is asking for donations to help raise $10,000 to allow a researcher to go up to the area to collar and track the dogs, as well as to being working with the local villagers to educate them to protect their goats from predation. Anyone interested in contributing can contact me directly and I will provide information for making a tax deductable donation to the Frankfurt Zoo. Buffalo Luxury Camp has already provided the first gift.

Photo courtesy of Caroline Selman

Migration and Weather in the Serengeti

I was personally in the Serengeti for the last 10 days in May. The migration is about 6 weeks ahead of schedule so far, most likely a result of the strange weather in February, March and April. The herds had split due to the lack of heavy rain and they appear to still be divided and moving ahead of schedule. There were huge herds of wildebeest in Lobo, with wildebeest starting to follow. But, at the same time, there are still some large herds of both species in the Central Serengeti and Barafu Kopjes. The wildebeest rut is in full swing in May. The odd pattern of movement has meant that there are few herds in the Western Corridor, at a time when the area is usually bursting with wildebeest. There were only small numbers of herds even in the middle of May - again highly unusual. Earlier in May, herds were traveling between the Moru Kopjes and the Niaroboru Hills and then up to the area of Mbuzi Mawe, with high concentrations at the beginning of the month in the prime areas of the central Serengeti. There were large herds of zebra by Turner's Springs in central Serengeti. There was good water and green grass by Kubu Kubu and the Banagi Hills, near the Retima Hippo Pool and crossing the Orangi River (part of the Grumeti River) with waiting crocodiles at the beginning of the month. Rain has been good (but short rains instead of long rains) in the central Serengeti in the middle of May. The northern Serengeti and Loliondo are starting to fill up with animals and there is periodic short rain, also causing more animals to move in that direction earlier than normal.

Migration and Weather in Tarangire National Park

There were very few clients that visited Tarangire during May. Rain has been more abundant in this area of Tanzania and the grass is high, making it hard to view predators. However, elephants are excellent and are being seen along the Tarangire River and near the Silale and Gurusi Swamps. It is too early for the other herd animals to migrate into the park.

Photo courtesy of Barbara Fleming - leopards were all over in May!

Safari Highlights

» Leopards were more easily seen in the month of May and clients came back with great photos. Leopards were also seen in the Lobo area. After hearing a particular bird call that is normally emitted after seeing a predator, the driver guide looked around carefully and found a leopard in a tree with a fresh kill of a zebra foal. Surprisingly, there were many zebras and wildebeest grazing and resting under that same tree, oblivious to the leopard above them. When the vehicle stopped to watch, the zebra were alerted and one zebra kept looking at the vehicle and then finally looked up into the tree and saw the leopard. The stallion gave a signal to the others in the herd and they moved away from the area.
» One very unusual sight was a small group of lions resting in the branches of an acacia tree with a well camouflaged leopard in a tree very nearby. The leopard would not normally be this close to the lions, but the lions came up into the tree without seeing the leopard and the big male remained very quiet without moving at all.
» Huge herds of elephants with very young calves were seen all over the Seronera River Valley in May. Herds ranged up to 300-400 individuals moving towards the area of Makoma Hill with many bulls mating with cows.
» Although there were not huge herds in the Western Corridor, the area remains excellent for big troops of baboon eating the leaves of the fichus trees, western black and white colobus monkey, giraffe and crocodiles. The crocodiles were numerous at the Grumeti River, waiting for herds to cross and spending their time fishing. Crocodiles fish by opening their mandibles, letting water flow through and then closing only when a fish, mostly catfish, passes through.
» Crocodiles and leopard were not the only predators hunting. Cheetah hunts were abundant during May and there were successful kills witnessed in the Serengeti and down in the Crater. One set of clients were lucky enough to watch the hunting strategy unfold for one solitary female. She was watching some Thomson gazelles in the Gol Kopjes and trying to decide which to pursue and when to begin her chase, when abruptly a cape hare popped out from a thicket where she was crouched. The cheetah rushed rapidly, with immediate reflexes and grabbed the hare by the neck. While waiting for her bigger prey, she spent less than 5 minutes to have her appetizer of cape hare.
» Clients also watched a coalition of two cheetah brothers that just brought down a wildebeest calf. The dominant brother started to open the soft belly of the calf, while the subordinate brother waited and rested after the tough kill. Cheetahs are "nervous" eaters, and they are always on the watch for other predators (lions, hyena, even jackals) that might smell the kill and steal it away. You will notice that cheetah often pop their heads up and look around as they are feeding. The dominant male needed to rest after a while and gave his subordinate brother a chance to eat, while they traded roles and were on the look-out for predators that might be approaching.

Photo courtesy of Cathleen Burnham

» The Makoma Hill lion pride is one of the largest prides in the Serengeti. Clients camping at this location are often treated to either the sights or sounds of the pride at night. Campers saw three lionesses with tiny little cubs of less than two weeks. The three were watching the nearby herd of wildebeest when two of the females began stalking and the third lioness remained with the cubs, most likely the biological mother. The "babysitter" moved the cubs by their neck, one by one, to the shelter of the vehicle, while her pride mates hunted the wildebeest. They were not successful, but it is rare for clients to see such young cubs and have them so close to the vehicle, which the mother obviously felt provided some additional protection.
» And of course, clients saw the huge concentrations of wildebeest as the herds were coming together for the rut. One client commented that it was one of the most special things she has ever seen in her life and the sense of life and nature was overwhelming to her.
» Many people are afraid they might encounter snakes on their safari, but the truth is that snakes are very hard to find, since they often move away from the vibration of the vehicles and sighting some of the reptiles of Tanzania can be very exciting. Some clients were lucky to find a 4-meter rock python resting under a tree. The driver guide turned off the engine and the snake made its way across the small road. Amazing! These same clients, who luckily did want to see snakes, also later found a black mamba in Lake Manyara National Park. The snake was crossing the road, but felt the vehicle approaching and stopped by a small bush to hide. The driver turned off the engine and waited so the clients could get photos when the snake began to move again.
» An interesting lion kill near the Moru Kopjes in the middle of May - two lions with a very fresh eland kill, most likely early morning, just before sunrise. It was 6:30 am when the driver guide found the lions with the kill and they were just beginning to open the belly and feed. What made this interesting to watch, was the two lions were surrounded by a pack of six hyenas, curiously watching the lions feed and waiting their turn. Hyena can often challenge lions for their kill, so it was curious to the driver guide that the hyenas were not challenging the lions, even outnumbering them to this extent.
» Lions can be so entertaining, despite the fact that they often sleep 20 hours a day! In the Seronera Valley, five lions (1 male and 4 female) were resting next to a waterhole when a solitary buffalo approached to drink. The buffalo spotted the lions and instead of changing directions, he charged all five of them away from the water, and continued to chase them until they were a comfortable distance away. Five lions should be able to intimate a solitary buffalo, but this must have been a combination of a very ornery bull and five cowardly lions!

Speke's Weaver

Birds seen in May

Grey backed shrike, Fischer's love birds, black headed oriole, white headed buffalo weaver, dark chanting goshawk, brown snake, eagle, crowned eagle, fish eagle, tawny eagle, wattled starling, long-crested eagle, bataleur, ostrich, migrating European stork, hammerkop, little bee-eater.

We welcome you to submit your images for our next Bush Report. If you have a photograph you are particularly proud of or want to share with others, please email images to meg@uniquesafaris.biz and we will be happy to include them in the next reports and credit you for the image. It is wonderful to share your pictures and experiences and we would love to include them in our future reports.

» Back to Bush Report Archive

Photo courtesy of Jamie and Matt

Superb starling Crowned crane

Photo courtesy of Charles Hamm

Photo courtesy of Steve Morello

Hadzapi man stringing his bow

Photos courtesy of Frank Walsh

Photos courtesy of Cathleen Burnham

Migration and Weather in the Serengeti

Short rains were good in December and early January and the male wildebeest herds have arrived on the southern plains. I saw many males in the Gol Kopjes and areas of the Ngorongoro Conservation Land between Olduvai Gorge and the entrance to the Serengeti National Park. The females spent most of December in the Seronera area and have now been moving between Naabi, Ndutu, Gol and Kusini. The large zebra herds were enjoying the long grass near the Moru Kopjes in December, due to the good rains. The last few weeks of January have been quite dry on the southern plains and the majority of the females were moving back and forth to Kusini and the nearby woodlands. Toward the end of January clients were witnessing masses of the huge herds near the triangle of the southern plains, but in just a few days the females were in the Kusini area with calving having begun. Everyone is hoping for a good dose of rain, to bring the females back to Naabi and Ndutu for the remainder of the calving period. Calving was just beginning the first week in February, although calving in the Crater is in full swing. Rain has been good in the northern Serengeti and the grass is green and high, especially near Lobo and Loliondo. I counted 32 giraffe just outside of the Klein's Gate on the way to Buffalo Luxury Camp. Good locations for accommodations have been Unique Safaris' private mobile camps, Kusini Camp, the new Lake Masek Tented Camp and Ndutu Lodge. The road between the Crater and Serengeti is in good condition, in fact one of the best road conditions I have seen in a long time. The drive only took about 1.5 hours.

Migration and Weather in Tarangire National Park

Clients have been visiting Tarangire, mostly to enjoy birding and elephants. There are few herd animals in the park with the exception of the resident elephants and the few remaining resident zebra and antelopes. Grass is high, but the park is stunningly beautiful and the European migration of birds is in full swing.

Update on Buffalo Luxury Camp, Black Rhinos and Wild Dogs

We are excited to announce that Buffalo Luxury Camp, a new permanent tented lodge in northern Loliondo, will be opening the beginning of March. For the past year, Unique Safaris has been booking this property as a semi-permanent mobile camp until the main lodge and tents have been completed. I conducted a site visit the first week in February and was impressed with the surroundings, the staff and the activities, not to mention the unique design of the main lodge nestled beneath one of the hills of northern Loliondo with stunning views of the Serengeti. While most people might not have heard much about northern Serengeti and Loliondo, the area has resident game (wildebeest, zebra, elephants, buffalo, impala, tons of giraffe, hyena, a large pride of lion and a resident male leopard up on the hill). A pack of 18 wild dogs is being tracked near Ololosokwan. There are 12 adults and 6 young puppies, but the pack is moving the den frequently, so it is still unpredictable if the trackers can locate them on any given day. If you do sight the dogs, we are working cooperatively with the Frankfurt Zoological Society to provide documentation about the day, time and location of the sightings. Any photos of wild dogs should be taken from the side so that identification can be made. It is the pattern of the spotting that allows researchers to identify each individual. Northern Serengeti and Loliondo will be even more exciting in 2010 as the Tanzania National Parks gets ready to release 32 black rhino into the area. This will be the largest rhino release ever in Africa with all 32 individuals being flown in from South Africa. The first six rhino will be released near the Lobo airstrip on May 21st. The rhino will be released into a large man-made enclosure for a short period of time before they are fully released. We will keep you posted on potential future release dates and encourage you to try to plan a safari to coordinate with these dates.

Sundowner over the Serengeti at Buffalo Suite tents at Buffalo Luxury Camp

Safari Highlights
» Lions, lions and lions galore! Lazy lions and full-bellied lions are being seen everywhere. Pride of 8 females and 6 cubs were seen playing on the open southern plains near Naabi Hill. It is hard to find hungry lions during this time of the year and it is more likely to see lions lying around, cubs playing and individuals relaxing or sleeping for almost 20 hours a day.
» Near Ndutu Lodge a leopard was seen in a tree nearby four hyenas that were finishing a kill. It appeared the leopard had made the kill but could not get the carcass into the tree before the hyena appeared and stole the kill away.
» A highlight for one client was finding a cheetah near Lake Masek. The cheetah was lying down but when she heard the vehicle approaching she woke up and came straight toward the car, jumping on the hood to be able to have a taller vantage point for scanning for gazelles. The cheetah spent about 5 minutes looking for animals and of course, this was thrilling for the clients.
» Toward the end of January, there were many wildebeest that had crossed Lake Masek (near Lake Ndutu) and became stuck in the mud. It was quite the sight with many carcasses and many vultures feeding on the wildebeest.
» There is always time to stop and enjoy the smaller species that play important roles in the eco-system. One client was fascinated by the many dung beetles and the many butterflies that were emerging. I was also impressed with how many butterflies I saw on this recent safari – blue pansy, brown pansy, diadem and African monarch butterflies were easily seen.
» There were enormous numbers of European and Abdim's storks throughout the area between the Crater and Serengeti. The past few years, there have not been as many European (or White) storks due to the lack of good rains. Guides are hoping this is a sign that the rain will continue to be abundant this year.

Cheetah kill of a wildebeest calf

» Leopards were seen significant times in central Serengeti. Leopards were spotted in Seronera Valley, the Moru Kopjes, the Maasai Kopjes and the Boma Kopjes.
» One of the leopard highlights was actually witnessing a leopard kill of a reedbuck from stalking to bringing the kill up into a tree in the Seronera River Valley. The driver guide noticed the leopard in the tree, but also noticed he was scanning the area where a reedbuck was hiding. The leopard came down from the tree quickly, stalked the reedbuck which was foraging, and then jumped suddenly to strangulate the buck. The leopard plucked some of the fur before he started to open the belly to begin feeding. The leopard is the only big cat who is known to remove fur before eating.
» Elephants were also abundant in the central Serengeti and clients was able to watch a bull in musth mating with an adolescent female.
» Rhino were seen along the Sand River in northern Serengeti near Bologonja.
» Other sightings in northern Serengeti and Loliondo included large herds of elephants, huge herds of eland, buffalo, many giraffe, large numbers of topi and big prides of lion.
» In December and early January the wildlife near the Klein's airstrip was quite exciting. Planes were flying over large herds of elephants and big groupings of giraffe. It is quite a sight to fly into the Serengeti area for the first time in your life and see so much as you land.
» Clients being accommodated at Buffalo Luxury Camp enjoyed going into the town of Ololosokwan for the Maasai market, which is held every Saturday. This was quite a highlight for a number of guests at Buffalo Luxury Camp.
» The night drives at Buffalo Luxury Camp included sightings of hyena, large herds of impala, black backed jackal, elephant, white-tailed mongoose, lions and one aarkvark! The lion was especially exciting because the guide heard lions roaring and asked the spotter to shine the light in a particular direction, catching the eyes of a lioness. She passed right in front of the vehicle and they followed her for a bit as another two females approached her and greeted each other. The guide continued to follow the three females across the river and heard more calling and they managed to find the rest of the pride consisting of another 22 individuals, feeding on a very recent buffalo kill. There were two males, eight females, four sub-adults, five cubs around 5 months old and three more very young cubs of not more than 2 months old. Now, that was a great night drive.
» In the Crater, it is babies, babies and babies. Wildebeest are calving and zebra are foaling. Clients observed a zebra giving birth, watching for over 20 minutes, until the mother began to clean the foal and the foal began to suckle. The Crater boasts the densest population of hyena and given the small size of Ngorongoro Crater, births are often detected by hyena due to their amazing sense of smell and ability to detect afterbirth. This particular zebra was quite lucky because a hyena approached in the distance, but the mother and foal were able to move closer to a larger section of the herd.


» Due to the good rain, rhino were easily spotted during this time period. In fact, clients were treated to baby rhino only 200 meters away from the vehicle. At the end of December, clients were regularly seeing the three young calves that are down in the Crater and one clients saw 8 different rhino in two days.


» A few of our clients planned to visit different villages, NGO projects and the Children for Children's Future Orphanage in Arusha. One mother and daughter purchased food for a special Christmas meal for the kids at CCF and they had an incredible time helping to cook, serve and eat with the children, who enjoyed a holiday pilau, chicken, roasted goat and a cake!

We welcome you to submit your images for our next Bush Report. If you have a photograph you are particularly proud of or want to share with others, please email images to meg@uniquesafaris.biz and we will be happy to include them in the next reports and credit you for the image. It is wonderful to share your pictures and experiences and we would love to include them in our future reports.

» Back to Bush Report Archive

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Elephants near the Klein's airstrip in northern Loliondo

Giraffe in the Serengeti - courtesy of Frank Walsh

Migration and Weather in Tarangire National Park

Tarangire has not had significant rain until just this past week. The weather was warm during the day and cloudy at night and in the early morning, hopefully signaling rain was coming soon. Unfortunately, tste tste flies were quite annoying in the southern part of the park in the acacia woodlands. Large herds of elephants continue to gather all along the Tarangire River in the north and central areas of the park, as well as the Gurusi Swamp in the southwest and the Silale Swamps near the eastern perimeter. Cats have been very prolific all over Tarangire, with excellent sightings of lion and leopards in particular. Once the rain falls more steadily, herds will scatter throughout the surrounding Conservation Land, grass will grow high and predators are harder to see. However, the resident elephants (about half of the elephants seen in Tarangire are residents), giraffe, baboons, and smaller number of antelopes always remain. When the green season approaches, the birdlife becomes even more prolific and the European migrants join the amazing diversity of birds that already exist in Tarangire.

A Word about Ngorongoro Crater

Despite the fact that the southern Serengeti and approaching plains of the Ngorongoro Conservation Land have not seen rain, there has been rain at the higher altitudes of Ngorongoro Crater itself. Wildlife does not vary much on the Crater floor so ungulates, antelopes and predators are usually easily seen. The ascent road on the western rim remains slow and hard-going, taking about one hour to reach the rim from the Crater floor by the Lerai Forest.

Update on Buffalo Luxury Camp and Wild Dogs

We are excited to announce that Buffalo Luxury Camp, a new permanent tented lodge in northern Loliondo, is just about ready to open. For the past year, we have been booking this property as a semi-permanent mobile camp until the main lodge and suite tents have been completed. The property is in the final stages of completion, literally waiting for the varnish to dry so the interior design and all furniture can be installed. We believe this property will provide unique opportunities for off-road unrestricted driving in northern Loliondo, night drives, game walking and meaningful interaction with local Maasai. The property is located only 4 kms from the Klein's Gate in northern Serengeti and game drives can also be conducted inside Serengeti National Park. One of the exciting possibilities at Buffalo Luxury Camp, will be the opportunity to find wild dogs. Below you will find a map that identifies the recent locations of various packs of wild dogs in both northern and southern Loliondo. There is a pack of 40 individuals back in northern Loliondo, near Ololosokwan and Buffalo Luxury Camp. However, if the dogs do not have puppies, they travel great distances (can travel 40-50 miles overnight) while they are hunting. So, until the dogs have puppies, it is still difficult to locate them. If they have bred, the puppies remain in a den, with adult dogs to protect them, while the rest of the herd hunts, but must return each day to feed the puppies. There is another pack that is in the southern Loliondo area, called Piaya, and these dogs have been hunting near Nasera Rock and have even been sighted on the eastern rim of Ngorongoro Crater. Unique Safaris offers private mobile camping in the area of Nasera Rock (Lemuta Hills campsite), for those clients who might want to venture further off the beaten track. In all instances, sighting wild dogs has to be considered an extremely rare find! The map below indicates the larger packs of the north and south and locations that individual dogs have been seen in the past year.

Safari Highlights

» Animals seen in the northern Serengeti included herds of wildebeest and zebra crossing the Mara River, tons of elephants, hippo, crocodiles, oribi, giraffe, impala, reedbuck, topi, hartebeest, waterbuck, cape buffalo, olive baboon, lions, leopard, cheetah, hyena, serval cat.
» There were many giraffe babies at this time of the year, especially in northern Serengeti
» A highlight for one family was watching a pride of 24 lions (12 cubs, 12 lionesses) near the Klein's gate, feasting on a recent buffalo kill. The mothers had all eaten their fill and the cubs were working on their feast, pulling meat from the soft parts of the buffalo. The lionesses were on the lookout as their cubs fed and they noticed three elephants approaching to drink at the river nearby. All of the lions ran very quickly from the kill site because as soon as the elephants saw the lions, the older female began to run toward them, frightening the lions. But, as soon as the elephants finished drinking and moved on, all of the lions returned to continue feeding.
» In the Lobo Valley, clients spotted a large male leopard dozing on the lower branch of a tree, occasionally picking up his head to look at the vehicle. Further up in the tree, the driver guide spotted his kill of a zebra foal, as yet uneaten. Clients decided to stay for awhile to see if the leopard would begin feeding, so they took out their own box lunches and waited until the male did indeed start to enjoy his feast.
» Cheetah will almost always relinquish their kill to other predators, as they seem unable to fend off the more powerful predators. One male cheetah was feeding on a recent gazelle kill, eating nervously as most cheetah do. He would eat and then quickly pick up his head to look around for any other predators who might have smelled or sighted the kill. A few minutes later, 4 hyena were seen moving quickly in his direction. The cheetah quickly abandoned his kill to the approaching hyena.
» Clients observed 4 lions near Mbuzi Mawe stalking a herd of zebras. Their chase, which looked like it would be successfully, was cut abruptly short when they in turn were chased by five solitary male buffaloes.
» Patience is probably one of the most important qualities you can contribute to having a
successful safari. A driver guide spotted lioness lying next to a large waterhole, watching some nearby zebra approach for a drink of water. The driver guide told the clients, if they were patient, they might be able to see a hunt. After about one hour, as the zebra approached the water, the lion pounced out of the grass and successfully caught the zebra. Adding to this experience was the fact that the lioness fed only about 3 meters from the vehicle.
» Here is something you don't often see! The driver guide spotted a leopard with a very fresh kill, dragging it to a nearby acacia tree. The tree was quite small and did not have very thick branches. So, once the leopard started to feed, the prey fell off the tree to the ground. The leopard went down the tree to drag it back up, but this time employed a new technique. She placed the reedbuck on the same branch, but this time she placed the horns in such a way that they hooked onto an upper branch, keeping the kill in place!
» Other clients were treated to watching eight lions feeding on a very recent buffalo kill. The kill must have happened just minutes before they spotted the site because all of the lions were snarling and fighting to get their portion of the feast. Surprisingly, the kill was very close to one of the main tracks, but early enough in the morning that there were no other vehicles nearby to them.
» In the Seronera area, clients watched as a crocodile lunged at a zebra coming to the river to drink. The croc was not successful, but did inflict a big wound. Amazingly, this small group of zebras was forced by their thirst to try to approach the river again, despite the presence of the crocodiles.
» In the Crater, the Munge River pride was seen frequently, with as many as 16 individuals with the large male coming beside the vehicle scent marking in front and back of the vehicle. The pride had obviously had a recent kill and two young males were playing with the head of a warthog carcass.
» One set of clients observed 12 individuals from the Munge River pride in the Crater successfully kill a mother buffalo and her newborn calf. The pride was hunting a herd of about 40 buffalo unsuccessfully for awhile, but in their third attempt, they were able to isolate the mother and newborn. Initially the mother/calf were being defended by two bulls, but as the number of lions increased in the hunt, it became more dangerous for the bulls to continue to chase them away.
» Lake Manyara National Park is also quite dry, consistent with the typical pattern for rain to
fall late in the Tarangire Conservation Areas. However, Manyara NP always is enjoyable especially for the many baboon troops seen all over the park. Clients were observing one especially large troop, totally enjoying the wide range of behavior. One female was obviously in season and she had two males that were "guarding" her. She did not want to mate with either one. But then a third male approached her, who she must have found a bit more attractive and all three males broke out into a noisy fight that lasted for about 5 minutes. There were young babies hanging upside down on nearby trees and a herd of impala soon joined the troop of baboons. It seemed this was the day for males to have a hard time because the male impala could not seem to keep his harem together and had to chase away two other bachelor males who were dispersing the dominant male's harem. Manyara is also always good for close sightings of hippos and there were many out of the water on this particular day.
» In Tarangire, there were huge herds of elephants at the Silale Swamp and clients watched in wonder as a female leopard wanted to climb out of her nearby tree. But every time she attempted to climb down, more elephants would walk by and she was forced to go higher in the tree. They were amazed that the elephants cold clearly smell the leopard as their trunks were raised toward the tree, but they never seemed to actually see her and she was forced to remain in the tree until the herd moved on. Elephants have a heightened sense of smell and hearing, but relatively poor eyesight.

We welcome you to submit your images for our next Bush Report. If you have a photograph you are particularly proud of or want to share with others, please email images to meg@uniquesafaris.biz and we will be happy to include them in the next reports and credit you for the image. It is wonderful to share your pictures and experiences and we would love to include them in our future reports.

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October 20, 2009 - Wildlife and activities experienced mid-September to mid-October

Courtesy of Frank Walsh - early morning game drive near Ndutu woodlands

Migration and Weather in the Serengeti

Dry conditions have prevailed in the last four week period of time. The last two weeks in September, most areas of the Serengeti (southern, central, western corridor and northern areas) have been brown and dusty, with the exception of the Seronera River Valley which has provided water for the cats and smaller number of ungulates in the area at this time of the year. The central Serengeti remains wonderful for viewing cats, who maintain their territories and need to hunt the ungulates and gazelles that remain in the area for water in the Seronera River. In fact, cat viewing can be at a peak during dry season, because the prey is smaller and cats need to hunt more frequently to feed adequately during the dry season. There were signs that short rains might begin soon and indeed rains have started for the first two weeks in October with short rains located in northern Serengeti and the western corridor. These are short bursts of rain and very localized, so the movement is still to follow these rain clouds rather than start the full movement of the typical migration. During this time period, we plan for clients to be accommodated in 2-3 areas of this very large park - northern, central and sometimes western corridor as well. The large herds are being seen near the Mara River and it is anticipated that the full migration across the river should start soon. The mornings are sunny and the days are hot, ranging from 78-90 degrees during the day.

Migration and Weather in Tarangire National Park

Tarangire is extremely hot and dusty, which is normal for this time of the year prior to the start of short rains. During this four week period of time, there are large numbers of wildebeest, zebra, eland, gazelles and other antelopes along the Tarangire River in the northern-eastern area of the park easily accessed from the main gate and on the game drive going toward Kikoti Safari Camp. Large families of baboons are also enjoying themselves along the river. Wherever the ungulates are, the predators will be seen shortly. The elephants can be found along the Tarangire River, but also have been congregating in very large numbers with many babies in the Silale Swamp on the eastern side of the national park. Even Silale Swamp appears brown surrounding the area, but elephants are feeding well on the swamp grasses and the rock pythons can be more easily seen outside of the swamp as they avoid the footfalls of the elephants. Temperatures have ranged from 80-95 degrees during the daytime. The heat motivates the lions to climb trees to get off of the hot ground and have a little bit of breeze. All of our clients enjoyed multiple sightings of lions in the trees in Tarangire National Park.

A Word about Ngorongoro Crater

The Crater has also remained very dry and dusty. Most of the animals have been located near Ngoitokitok Springs, where there is an underground spring and close to the Lerai forest for shade. Animals have also been congregating along the Munge River on the eastern side of the Crater floor. The soda lake is quite small and there are no flamingos on the lake at this time with the majority likely having gone to Lake Nakuru in Kenya. Lions and other predators have been very visible, due to the dry conditions and the need to more actively hunt for food. There has been controlled burning of areas of the Crater, so that when the short rains begin, the new growth will be stimulated.

During this time period, our clients have focused on northern and central Serengeti, as well as Loliondo. The weather has remained hot and dry; dryer than usual for this time of the year, which has been difficult for wildlife. Wildebeest and zebra herds have been concentrated north in Lobo, Bologonja and Kogatende areas, with occasional river crossings that have been observed. There are many hippos and crocodiles in the Mara River, where it borders Tanzania and Kenya. There have also been large concentrations of elephants, buffalo, eland and baboons. Although also very dry, the central Serengeti remains outstanding for cats of all kinds and the dry conditions have in fact made the cats more active during the day as they search for food. Much of their food source is reduced to smaller gazelles, which means the large cats must hunt even more frequently. During this time lions and cheetah have been seen hunting and marking territory very often. There is a decent supply of water in the Seronera River Valley, attracting elephants, gazelles, zebra buffalo, reedbuck and of course, all the cats that are hunting. We anticipate larger amounts of the big herds will begin crossing more frequently in October and starting their movement to the central and southern Serengeti plains. Road conditions are good, but very dry and dusty. The road between Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater is being graded, but at the moment is in very bad condition. Driving between these two areas can take 2-3 hours until the grading is completed.

Migration and Weather in Tarangire National Park

Tarangire is at its peak at the moment and animals are concentrated near the Silale Swamp, but are also found in abundance all along the Tarangire River. During the dry season, herd animals from the surrounding Tarangire Conservation Area and Great Rift Valley migrate into the park to join the resident animals, all in search of good water from the swamps and river. The dry conditions make it easier to see the large numbers of predators that inhabit the park (large lion prides, many leopards and increasing numbers of cheetah at this time of the year), since the grass is short and does not obstruct viewing. It is estimated that there are more than 6,000 individual elephants in the park right now and they are spread out through the entire park. Road conditions inside Tarangire remain good and tse-tse flies are less prolific with the dry weather. Tse-tse flies are found in areas that have small acacia trees and brush and ore more abundant in wet weather. There is nothing that effectively repels these flies, but people are now experimenting with Bounce dryer sheets. Try it and let us know if it works!

Safari Highlights

Here are some of the more interesting, exciting or unusual things that were experienced in this time period.

We welcome you to submit your images for our next Bush Report. If you have a photograph you are particularly proud of or want to share with others, please email images to meg@uniquesafaris.biz and we will be happy to include them in the next reports and credit you for the image. It is wonderful to share your pictures and experiences and we would love to include them in our future reports.

» Back to Bush Report Archive

Serengeti National Park and Loliondo Game Controlled Area

The pattern of the migration in the Serengeti this year has been quite interesting. Lately, I keep telling clients "ignore what is written in the books", because the migration is solely guided by the search for food and water, which in turn is determined by the weather patterns. The process is dynamic and is constantly changing. This is one of the reasons why Unique Safaris recommends at least two locations in the Serengeti, to maximize the wildlife viewing. Earlier this year, during the green season, the rains were not normal. So, the herd was very much on the move; first to try to find safe birthing areas, then to find water and food up until now. The Serengeti is currently very dry and the dust is abundant. In February of 2009, the wildebeest herd split with most of the females moving to the area near Maswa Game Reserve, on the southern border of the Serengeti.

The males, along with many of the zebras, moved into the central Serengeti and then the Lobo area as early as March. This part of the herd moved rather quickly to northern Serengeti and began crossing the Mara River as early as June. This was very unusual as the entire male herd usually stays for the rut which occurs in May and June. The second part of the herd moved out of the Maswa area in late March, when rains began to fall. The herd followed rain clouds and moved to Kusini, Ndutu, Naabi, Gol and Barafu on a moment's notice. They congregated in the central Serengeti and Moru Kopjes in May and June for the rut. These parts of the herd then moved to the Western Corridor and have remained in the west for the month of July and still are there in early August. There are always resident herds in the Western Corridor, but there appears to be more animals remaining here at the moment. We will continue to report if/when this part of the herd begins to move north and might be crossing the Mara River. One of the benefits of a dry season is that the cats are more visible during the daytime. Lions, cheetah and even leopard have to look harder for prey and remain more active during the day. The prey that is available tends to be smaller animals (such as gazelle), requiring lions to hunt even more frequently. The past few months, clients have reported wonderful cat sightings and have seen successful hunts with greater ease than usual.

» Perhaps some of the most exciting news for Loliondo is that the wild dogs are back. They were spotted in May and June near Buffalo Luxury Camp. They have been difficult to continue to track because they do not have puppies yet, so they are moving over vast distances for their hunting. The pack that was sighted consisted of 15 individuals. It is a good sign that they have returned and now we hope they will breed, which will allow them to remain in one area and increase our chances of spotting them again.
» Clients watched six lions trying to hunt giraffe in central Serengeti. These more unusual hunts occur with more frequency in the dry season, when the cats have dwindling prey. The giraffe were able to see the lions approaching and avoid the hunt.
» Clients watched a large herd of elephants along the Seronera River chasing four lions away. The lions had a zebra kill nearby and were enjoying the shade by the river, but the elephants would not tolerate their presence.
» Some kills are relatively easy for lions, due to an existing injury of the prey. Clients came upon a zebra with an obvious broken leg, unable to put any weight on one of its front legs. While the clients did not witness the hunt or kill, when they returned to the vicinity the next day, lions from the Makoma pride were feasting on the same zebra.
» Northern Loliondo has been exceptional at the moment. Night drives have included such animals as honey badger, aardvark, elephants (galore), buffalo, giraffe, zebra, hyena and jackal.

Sean and Daniel getting ready for a game drive

» Sean and Daniel had a "unique" experience visiting one of the Maasai villages while in Loliondo. Their driver guide had them wake up and leave Buffalo Luxury Camp by 5:30 am to drive to the village and be there just as the Maasai were waking up. Being able to see the children their own age come outside of their huts rubbing their eyes awake just as they were also doing, was a meaningful experience. They helped to milk the cows and goats before they were led to graze and then accompanied the boys into the bush to herd the animals. They spent almost 6 hours with the herd and chasing many of the goats all over the land. We are not sure who was more tired, the boys or the goats!
» All of our clients who are in northern Serengeti or Loliondo are enjoying their game drives to the Mara River. The drive to the River is quite beautiful landscape and elephants, eland, giraffe, wildebeest, zebra, hartebeest, and cats are always abundant. Often, when we arrive at the River, clients are able to walk along the River with an armed ranger. There usually are hippos and Nile crocodiles that can easily be seen on the banks of the river.
» Patient guests are often dutifully rewarded. While visiting the Maasai Kopjes, clients spotted four cheetahs looking as if they wanted to hunt. The driver guide suggested that they be very patient and they observed the cheetah for two hours. Finally, the cheetahs spotted a bushbuck and one of them started their sprint when he was about 50 meters from the bushbuck. The kill was incredibly close to the vehicle, which was parked patiently for two hours, so not a threat to the bushbuck or the cheetah.
» Mating crocodiles? Yes indeed, seen in Kirawira area. The driver guide was aware of a mating call in the water (vibrating) and soon saw a responsive female
» One of the more rare sightings occurred at the end of July, when the driver guide spotted two female leopards in the same tree in the Maasai Kopjes. Leopards are solitary animals, except at breeding or with cubs. The two females began to fight, lasting about 10 minutes with each leopard trying to force the other from the tree. The driver guide thought it was prudent to move on, since this was not a common sight and the two leopards seemed to increase their aggression with the vehicle nearby.
» There was an interesting interaction between lions and cheetahs in central Serengeti. The driver guide spotted a mother cheetah with four young cubs only three meters from the track. The driver saw a solitary lioness in the distance coming toward the cheetahs. He started to prepare them for a sad experience, as the cheetah would most likely not be able to defend all of her cubs. But, just before the lion reached the cheetahs, the cubs ran into the bush but the mother waited for the lioness to get closer. It would have been amazing to see a cheetah try to defend her cubs against a strong lion. But, when the lion was close, the cheetah actually jumped over the lion and turned to face her. Obviously, the cheetah was trying to draw the lion's attention in the opposite direction of the cubs. The lion followed the mother but soon became tired and lay under a tree for shade. The adult cheetah is not prey for the lion and the mother's strategy worked as she made her way back into the bush to call for her cubs.
» In the Western Corridor in mid-June, clients spotted two very large nomadic male lions obviously in the process of taking over a pride. One male was killing a cub and was extremely aggressive even towards the vehicle. When a new male takes over a pride, he will kill all existing cubs, which allows the females to come into estrus quickly. The new male will then mate to produce his own cubs.
» There was an extremely rare sighting at the Seronera airstrip. In July, clients spotted the President of Tanzania - The Honorable Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete! The President was touring the national parks and was receptive to the guests taking a picture with him. Pretty amazing!
» For those of you who love reptiles, there was a rather rare sighting of a flapnapped chameleon, crossing the road.

Ngorongoro Crater

The Crater has been magic lately. Although the mornings have been chilly in Tanzanian winter, animals have been active and interesting. We often talk about the old bull elephants that inhabit the Crater, as it is the best location for seeing some of the longest tusks in Tanzania. There are no cow/calf herds on the Crater floor for a number of reasons. Not only is there not enough food to support the larger number of individuals in the female herds, but there is also not enough shade for the babies. The very young often need to rest and cool off and without abundant shade, the habitat of the Crater is not conducive for the young. So, what do the old bulls eat? This is another reason why you will find them preferring the Crater floor to the forest above. As elephants age, they lose teeth and the older bulls need to eat a softer diet. The grasses in the marshes on the Crater floor are excellent for their aging dentition and you will often find the big bulls walking and grazing through the marshes and lowland. We also talk about the high density of hyena found in the Crater and this is one of the best locations for observing hyenas hunting and interacting with lions.

» A client recently observed a pack of 8 hyenas just finishing a carcass. When the vehicle came closer, they were all surprised to see that the hyena had been eating a lion. There was very little left other than the skull, as the hyena were even eating the bones and crunching loudly. It is unknown if the hyena were responsible for the death of the lion, or were simply feeding on a previous death from unknown causes.

» There are about six different prides in the Crater, in an area that is only 100 square miles. There are challenges from young males which can result in death and there are injuries sustained during hunts. Clients came upon a large male, which was dribbling blood from its mouth and with fresh wounds on his hind quarters. The type of injuries he had indicated he had probably been in a fight with another male. Shortly after this sighting, clients heard other lions roaring and moving quickly in the direction of the vehicle. One male was walking very quickly in the road and he also had a big wound on his hindquarters and breathing heavily. Within 10 minutes, three big males appeared sniffing the air and then stopping to look around. They discovered that these were the new males that had fought with the two other resident males and were continuing to chase them away in the hopes of taking over the pride. The females of this pride saw the rivals, heard them roar
and ran quickly aware from the area.

» Six lions had a successful kill of warthog, one of their favorite meats. Nearby was a pack of hyena gathering in numbers in an effort to steal the kill away from the lions, which they were able to do. The lions were still hungry and continued to walk along the road looking for additional food. Two warthog crossed the road completely unaware of the lions' presence. One lion started to chase too far away from the warthogs so they were able to run away. The clients decided they wanted to follow these hungry lions for a few hours, watching as they walked to the hippo pool when they saw a baby hippo out of the water. The baby quickly went back into the pool and the lions retreated to a rock to continue to look for something to eat.

» Other clients decided to spend a few hours watching a very recent lion kill of wildebeest. There were 7 lions (3 young males, 1 big black-maned male and 4 females) and the clients were interested in the hierarchy of who gets to eat first, etc. Typical behavior is that the big male eats first and by himself, usually not tolerating any other individuals to share when he eats. The other members of the pride watch as he eats and get ready for their turn. At various times, the females would approach to "test the waters" and see if the male would allow them to access some of the feast, but he fiercely chased them back. Only when he was completely full, did he allow the others to approach to feed.

Lake Manyara

Lake Manyara is currently pink with flamingos on the soda lake, which always makes for a beautiful sight. Hippos have been abundant at the pools and one client was determined to count all 42 hippos that day. Lake Manyara is a good park for watching primates, whether they are baboon, vervet monkey or the Sykes (blue) monkey. Many clients feel rewarded and entertained to watch the primates being busy eating fruits or leaves, socializing, playing, grooming or just climbing and chasing each other.

Tarangire National Park

Tarangire is often referred to as the "baobab capital of the world" and these old, huge trees make the scenery of Tarangire very special. This is peak season in Tarangire and the park is bursting with elephants and ungulates, as well as large prides of lion, leopard and cheetah all taking advantage of the dry season migration into the park for the water in the Tarangire River. Many of the elephants have congregated in the Silali Swamp and it is not unusual to see herds of 300-500 individuals feeding on the grasses in the swamp. During the dry season, when the elephants and other herd animals feed in the swamp, the large rock pythons leave the swamp and live in the nearby trees, to avoid being stepped on. There is actually a migration in Tarangire National Park, but on a smaller scale than in the Serengeti and in opposite times of the year. During the green season, there is abundant food and water for herd animals in the surrounding Conservation Land and Great Rift Valley. As dry season approaches, herds begin to enter Tarangire in greater numbers. Often, herd animals (wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, eland, buffalo, giraffe, kudu, and elephant) begin to migrate into the southern part of the park, near the Silali Swamp. As time progresses and the park becomes even more dry, the smaller herd animals migrate to the northern area of the park and search for water in the Tarangire River. Often, as dry season progresses, the lion prides in the southern part of the park have a harder time hunting because they are left with some of the larger and more difficult prey to hunt such as buffalo, elephants, giraffe and hartebeests.

» There are many very young elephant calves during this time of the year and calves as young as 2-4 months were seen multiple times each day. The large herds of elephants also gather at various points along the Tarangire River, using their front legs to dig for water in the sand and blowing sand away at the same time.

» While clients were watching and photographing elephants at the river, the matriarch came towards the vehicle and behaved threateningly with her ears flapping and trumpeting towards the vehicle. It soon became clear that she was attempting to clear a path between the vehicle and the rest of the herd because they had many very tiny calves.

» Zebra and wildebeest are throughout the entire park at this time of the year and often there are herds of lesser kudu that are also seen in the park at this time of the year.

» Two male lions had a fairly fresh buffalo kill and they had dragged the kill to the shade after they had eaten a large portion, but they still wanted to guard their kill further. Almost out of nowhere, vultures started landing close to the kill and the two lions had a very difficult time chasing all of them away. Eventually all of the vultures went up into a nearby baobab tree, watching from above, but none daring to descend to the kill until the lions were ready to walk away.

Birds!

Here are some of the birds that have been recorded in the last three months. One of the more exciting bird experiences was watching two tawny eagles kill and eat a Thomson gazelle fawn and another tawny eagle eating a dead puff adder.

Paradise flycatcher, fork-tailed drongo, hammerkop, fish eagle, tawny eagle, long-crested eagle, Martial eagle, Bataleur eagle, dark chanting goshawk, black chested snake eagle, long-crested snake eagle, brown snake eagle, pied crow, white-browed coucal, emerald coucal, red-eyed dove, ring-necked dove, bearded woodpecker, Goliath heron, black-headed heron, grey heron, yellowbilled stork, Marabou stork, saddle-billed stork, African jacana, great cormorant, white-faced whistling duck, Egyptian geese, crowned crane, silver-cheeked hornbill, crowned hornbill, pelican, slate-colored boubou, pied kingfisher, gray headed kingfisher, ashy starling, lilac breasted roller, superb starling, yellow-necked spurfowl, yellow-necked love bird, Fisher's lovebird

Andrew's University visits the Arusha mosque Dr. Frank Artress, his wife Susan, and local doctors/nurses

Some extra special things

Unique Safaris prides itself on exposing clients not only to wildlife in more remote areas, but also introducing our clients to the people and projects in Tanzania. During these past few months, we took people to Poli village in Usa River to plant trees, construct classrooms and play soccer with villagers. We took clients to the Children for Children's Future Orphanage to paint the dormitories and plant the vegetable garden. We took clients to Tumaini Primary School in Karatu to learn about education in rural Tanzania. We took clients to visit the big market in Karatu (held the 7th and 8th day of every month) so clients could see the cattle being brought for sale, crops being sold and business deals being made. We took clients to visit Dr. Frank, the founder of FAME (Foundation for African Medicine and Education) to learn about the medical needs in remote areas. We took clients to Lake Eyasi to visit the Hadzapi (Tanzania's Bushmen) and DaToga tribes to learn more about the tribal diversity and harmony of Tanzania. And we took students from Andrews University to a mosque and Islamic school to learn about the Muslim religion in a meaningful way.

We welcome you to submit your images for our next Bush Report. If you have a photograph you are particularly proud of or want to share with others, please email images to meg@uniquesafaris.biz and we will be happy to include them in the next reports and credit you for the image. It is wonderful to share your pictures and experiences and we would love to include them in our future reports.

» Back to Bush Report Archive