Our luck continues in the morning with both Lions and Cheetah.
The Lions proved more tricky, however mother and cub were out and about and most certainly not feeling shy!
Read on to see what they got up too!
Also, our 2015 Big Cat workshops are open for bookings and we still have some places left. CHECK OUT THE DETAILS for a chance to photograph the Masai Mara and it’s amazing cats for yourself!
Hello! As seems to be the case of late I will start this entry for an apology for the huge delay in the blog’s continuation.
Lots of happenings here at RCWP and unfortunately the blog sometimes is the first thing to buckle under the pressure.
Well here I am and am back to blog the last few entries from our adventures last February. This entry is a (comparatively!) short one as we continue in the conservancy. Our morning started in the shadow of the hills nearby to camp, two cars positioned waiting for the potential of warm morning light to bath the local pride in an early glow.
After we found the pride we settled in for a wait and the nearby (White) Stork flocks who we had seen the last few days hanging around kept us entertained as they failed to settle on the plains..
As you can see, the sky behind the hills was that colour only morning can bring
The light slowly arriving from behind the hills
Unfortunately as often happens in this line of business, the light decided to hide behind some large cloud cover at just the wrong moment. This, coupled with news over the radio that the mother and cub Cheetah were out and about led us to hi-tail it a little closer to camp where they were on the move…
We found them, and clearly mum was on the look out for breakfast.
Our little champion was clearly in an energetic mood, running circles around mum
A brief, but lucky break with the light
A little while later the pair came upon a large gazelle herd and the cub instinctively knew to lay low and mum began to stalk.
My two vehicles as well as several others from the nearby camps made a long detour around the herd and took up position well ahead. Out of the way and where we hoped the chase would lead. I often get asked in these situations why we are so far away and not moving in closer (sometimes with a hint of frustration which is understandable!). The reason is simple; for these animals this is life and death, no food and that can be it. Cheetahs have at best a one in four success rate per hunt and with a young mouth to feed we will not risk disturbing the hunt (one way or another). One reason I love working in the conservancies vs the main reserve is not only are Kicheche’s guides thinking of and putting the animals first, the other camps here do as well. I was very impressed and pleased that all of the six vehicles following the hunt behaved impeccably and that always brings a smile to my face.
As luck would have it (for the Gazelles at least), the hunt was a complete failure and she didn’t make it close enough for a successful charge and we had to make do with a brief run at a fair distance.
After the failed hunt, the two continued to play and relax together for a little while before settling down..
Trying to make mum feel better or goad her into another try??
And with that we made our way slowly away from the area. As you can see below, we caught a glimpse of Jr. practising hunting on some unsuspecting, but too fast Warthog!
Mum watches over as Jr tries his luck.
Later that day, all was quiet in the reserve.
Eagle eyed Patrick and Charles of course spotted cats and we briefly caught up with the pride before they, and the light sunk into the Bush and we made our way back for a well earned dinner.
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On the move to meet up with the rest of the pride
As always, thanks again for checking out the blog! More to come this Thursday!
We also have announced our 2015 Big Cat tours, so if you would like to join us and see these amazing sights for yourself, check out the details and get in touch!
Until next time!
Rich.
If you have been enjoying these posts please drop me a line on Facebook or twitter as I love getting your messages and it spurs me on to do more. Questions on any aspect of the trip welcome too! We also have ONE LAST tent on our September 2014 Safari if you fancy seeing it all for yourself and improving your own photography.
Below you can see all the current blog entries followed by an archive of past diaries made when running my photography workshops out in the bush!
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