Tag: predator

The BEST Way to Find Big Cats When on Safari

Posted on by James

It’s not tracking (although this is certainly effective).
It’s not staking out a waterhole.
It’s not heading out in the middle of the night with a spotlight, hoping to see the eye shine of a feline predator reflected back at you.

No, the best way to find the big cats is simply to look at birds.

The nest of a diminutive Chinspot Batis sits in the for of a fallen tree. And out of focus in the background lies a lioness in the riverbed. Birding and big cat sightings often go hand-in-hand.

Now this may not sound overly exciting to many of you. Not everyone is a birder, and we realise that the Big 5 – its predatory members especially – are the main drawcard for the ardent safari-goer. Yet it is often in the observation of the smaller members of the bush, and in particular the patience and the quiet that goes with that observation, that the clues are discovered that lead you to the predator sightings.

Rangers scan for any clues as to the whereabouts of a skulking leopard.

Ask any experienced ranger or tracker, and they’ll tell you that it is your ears far more than your eyes that will keep you out of trouble in the African wilderness; a branch snapping may indicate elephants up ahead; oxpeckers calling and then descending probably point the way to where a buffalo is hiding in the thick vegetation. And it is your ears  – that you can only really use when the safari vehicle is switched off – that will hear the calls of the big cats or the alarm calls that point towards them.

An impala watches the approach of a lioness intently. Antelope will give off a warning snort or bark in situations like this, and it is only with the vehicle switched off that you are likely to hear these auditory cues.

There is a wide array of both mammals and birds the take fright when they see a leopard or lion approaching, and they will react accordingly by snorting, barking, or giving off some sort of auditory display to warn their con-specifics of the presence of danger. It is these alarm calls specifically that experienced guides are listening for a lot of the time when on safari, as they can be incredibly reliable in the search for the high profile creatures.

Leopards know what the alarm calls of their prey mean; everything will be on the alert. They often head back into cover as a result.

And it is in the simple act of switching off the car to look at a bird that the quietness is to be found that will reveal these audible cues. Simply racing around in the vehicle looking for tracks and the animals themselves is the surest way to delay their ultimate discovery. So slow down, take the pressure off your guide, and work with the bush.
The rest of the wildlife out there have far more acute senses than us humans, so are far more likely to spot a predator moving past. Monkeys with a great view from the treetops will chatter incessantly when they spot a leopard slinking through the undergrowth. Kudus will give off a booming bark when they catch sight of a lion stalking them. And even little squirrels will kick up a fuss and a heck of a chatter when danger approaches. The more you slow down to look at the small stuff, the more of the big stuff you will ultimately find.

Oxpeckers fly up in fright as the hippo they were riding on submerges. Sometimes a good bird sighting combines naturally with one of a high-profile mammal.

So even if animals of the avian variety are not your particular cup of tea, let your guide do his or her thing when pointing them out to you. Something large and feline might be just around the corner as a result…

5 Things you MUST Know About the Great Migration

Posted on by James

Although “great migration” sounds fairly generic and could refer to any mass of living creatures moving between areas in response to environmental change, in an African context, it refers to one thing specifically, and that is the wildebeest migration of Kenya and Tanzania.

Well over a million of these antelope (yes, they are antelope) move in a big clockwise circle through the year, following the rains between the southern Serengeti in Tanzania, up to the Mara Triangle in south-west Kenya, then swinging south again to calve once more near Lake Ndutu and the surrounding plains. It is truly one of nature’s greatest spectacles.

On many photographers’ and safari-goers buckets lists, the great migration is highly accessible to travellers, but before deciding where or when to go, there are a few things to consider:

It Moves

This first point may seem obvious, it being a migration and all, but the key thing to remember is that the huge herd/s is/are never in the same area for more than a couple of months. The cycle they follow, the depletion of resources and the renewal of resources elsewhere keeps them on the move, so that it is vital to know exactly at what point in their journey the wildebeest are at what time of year in order to plan your safari. There is no point booking a safari along the Mara River in Kenya when the herds are hundreds of miles away in Tanzania. Be informed as to where the herds are, and you are in for the experience of a lifetime.

It Has Specific Points of Interest

The river crossings tend to be the highlight of the migration, and the main reason people want to see it, but they certainly aren’t the only thing the migration offers. Specific times of the year offer specific behaviours; February for instance, sees the herds at the southern end of their migration, in the lush areas around Ndutu in the southern Serengeti, which is where the cows calve most of their young. An estimated 8000 calves are born a day during the peak of the birthing period, and as a result, predator encounters are rife at this time of year. You won’t see the dramatic river crossings during this period, but what you do see is in many ways equally spectacular.

It Changes Year to Year

Although one can say with a fair amount of certainty which part of the migration the wildebeest are going to be in in which month, seasonal variations in rainfall and grazing may well mean the herds are slightly ahead of or behind their projected location in any given year. Exact routes of the migration may also vary, and the great herd may well be further west in one year than it was the year before, and further east the next year.

It is an Emotional Experience

Few people witness the Great Migration and feel the same way about wildlife afterwards. It is an utterly breath-taking, awe-inspiring, moving experience that can leave you feeling completely drained after a prolonged sighting. Watching a group of 30 000 animals surging across the Mara River, fighting desperately to reach the other bank where a pride of lions may well be lying in wait, each wildebeest struggling – often in vain – to avoid the jaws of the enormous crocodiles that lie dormant for most of the year simply waiting for the annual return of the herds, is something no photograph or video can accurately capture the experience of.

It’s NOT the Only Reason to Visit

Whilst the wildebeests’ annual movements are certainly up there as most people’s main reason for visiting this part of the world, the beauty of the Serengeti/Masai Mara ecosystem is that it is a phenomenal wildlife destination whether the herds are around or not. The wildebeest migrate (accompanied by a quarter of a million zebra), but the large predators (who are largely territorial) and the rest of the antelope inhabitants do not, meaning there is a constant wildlife presence across the grasslands when the wildebeest have moved on. The big cats in particular are seemingly everywhere (over 3000 lions inhabit the Serengeti – reportedly Africa’s largest population), and each rocky outcrop or termite mound should be scrutinised for the tell-tale sign of a pair of ears sticking up above the skyline.
The open plains of East Africa is one of the greatest wildlife destinations on earth, even if there was no migration.

Our Iconic Africa consultants have a number of spectacular camps that we recommend in both Tanzania and Kenya from which you can gain access to the migration, so if this is a trip you are considering, or you just want to find out a bit more, be sure to visit our enquiries page…