Monthly Archives: March 2015

Hunting we shall go….

It was fascinating to see how lionesses teach young cubs to hunt!

The mothers led the cubs to an area where several warthog families were grazing. They then separated some young warthog from the family groups and proceeded to lead their cubs in a hunting lesson. In this image a lioness can be clearly seen supervising two cubs (one from last Spring’s breed and a larger one from the previous year) the capture of a young warthog. The tenacity exhibited by the smaller cub is amazing. He was definitely not going to let his elder brother get away with his catch!!!

This image was captured in the Masai Mara conservancy, south west Kenya, East Africa.

View this and similar images on my Flickr site — Duncan’s Flickr Page

Wet, wet, wet….

After a night of heavy rain, this majestic male lion views us with some disdain!

Lion Panthera leo

The lion is one of the five big cats in the genus Panthera and a member of the family Felidae. The commonly used term African lion collectively denotes the several subspecies found in Africa. With some males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions currently exist in sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia.

This image was captured in the Masai Mara conservancy, south west Kenya, East Africa.

View this and similar images on my Flickr site — Duncan’s Flickr Page

On top of the world….

On top of the world….

A further illustration of the clean and clear backgrounds that are possible in the Masai Mara.

This young African Elephant was taking a drink from a small pool situated on the crest of one of the many ridges in this part of the world.

This image was captured in the Masai Mara conservancy, south west Kenya, East Africa.

View this and similar images on my Flickr site — Duncan’s Flickr Page

The end of the day….

The Masai Mara is situated to the east of Lake Victoria in the so-called East African Rift of the Great Rift Valley.

There are many geological, climatic and other environmental consequences of being situated on this geographic fault line. From a photographic point of view the many ridges and sharp escarpments in the area provide opportunities for silhouette images and images with clear and uniform backgrounds. This image, showing the silhouetted outlines of giraffes against the setting sun, is a typical example.

This image was captured in the Masai Mara conservancy, south west Kenya, East Africa.

View this and similar images on my Flickr site — Duncan’s Flickr Page

The Winner!

To the victor the spoils!

This is a follow up image to those in the last two posts. After all the fuss, fighting and commotion, along came this Spotted Hyena and claimed the remains for himself!

Spotted Hyena Crocuta crocuta

The Spotted Hyena, also known as the laughing hyena, is a species of hyena, currently classed as the sole member of the genus Crocuta, native to Sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN on account of its widespread range and large numbers estimated between 27,000 and 47,000 individuals. The species is however experiencing declines outside of protected areas due to habitat loss and poaching.

This image was captured in the Masai Mara conservancy, south west Kenya, East Africa.

View this and similar images on my Flickr site — Duncan’s Flickr Page

The more the merrier!

This image is the companion image to that in the previous post.

No sooner had the Lappet-faced Vulture and Black-backed Jackal begun to size each other up, when out of the sky came a White-headed Vulture! The competition for the remains of the hippo calf just became more intense!

White-headed Vulture Trigonoceps occipitalis

The white-headed vulture (Trigonoceps occipitalis) is an Old World vulture endemic to Africa. It has a pink beak and a white crest, and the featherless areas on its head are pale. Its has dark brown upper parts and black tail feathers. The feathers on its lower parts and legs are white. It has a wing span of 2 m and spends a lot of time soaring looking for food. It roosts in tall trees near to water at night.

This image was captured in the Masai Mara conservancy, south west Kenya, East Africa.

View this and similar images on my Flickr site — Duncan’s Flickr Page

Stand off!

Shortly after arriving in the Masai Mara we learnt that some lions had killed a hippo calf. We went in search of the kill site only to find a stand-off between a Lappet-faced Vulture and a Black-backed Jackal!

Lappet-faced Vulture Torgos tracheliotos

This is an Old World vulture belonging to the bird order Accipitriformes, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is the only member of the genus Torgos. It is not closely related to the superficially similar New World vultures, and does not share the good sense of smell of some members of that group. The Lappet-faced Vulture is a huge species, ranking as the longest and largest winged vulture.

Black-backed Jackal Canis mesomelas

The Black-backed Jackal is a canid native to Africa. Compared to other members of the genus Canis, the black-backed jackal is a very ancient species, and has changed little since the Pleistocene, being the most basal canine alongside the closely related side-striped jackal. It is a fox-like canid with a reddish coat and a black saddle that extends from the shoulders to the base of the tail. It is a monogamous animal, whose young may remain with the family to help raise new generations of pups. The black-backed jackal is not a fussy eater, and will feed on small to medium sized animals, as well as plant matter and human refuse.

This image was captured in the Masai Mara conservancy, south west Kenya, East Africa.

View this and similar images on my Flickr site — Duncan’s Flickr Page