Last night was much quieter. Lions in the distance. hyenas through camp but very quiet. Getting ready to go to Ndutu Lodge. Another group photo with all the staff. Off at 850. and immediately stop for gas and serval tracks.
There are 4 hippos in hippo pool. Looked like one was dung slinging under water. One land rover saw a serval chase a hare across the road in front of them!
At Naabi (pingle stop) we look closely (too closely?) at a Marabou stork. Grassland pipit. Chestnut bellied sand grouse.
Turn off onto a dusty and very dry road to Ndutu, 28 K from main road.
Into the acacias we go. Delightful place with homemade bread. Paul and Louise are the managers been here since late 97.
There are many Grants gazelles and more than a few w-beasts. Grants locked horns in combat. Dead baby w-beest that vultures (white headed and Nubian) are picking through. Into the sparse woodland and see a black chested snake eagle. To Lodge by 1 and lunch and free time until Mama Simbas talk on Predators I at 330.
Leopard structure is solitary female
home range securing resources for young. Males need females. Also
include caracals, servals, Afr wildcat
Cheetah is subset of leopard. with male coalitions.
Lions are the only social cat. Bob wrote a paper on it in college
Some of us are off at 445 for a game drive. Perfect temp and light. Fischer love bird heads sticking out of woodpecker holes. Green wood hoopes. Kit plovers, our first leopard tortoise, a small elephant family, afr wildcat, spotted thickknee,
We watch 2 black backed jackals hunting (see kill on grasshoppers!). Over to Lake Musak- red-billed teals, stilts, Ruff, little grebes, g. flamingoes, three banded and Kit plovers. The light is superb on the still lake.
Open billed stork sitting by himself and then hundreds of Abdims storks come to join. It is a perfect sunset.
Back for showers and happy hour and the spotted genet cats make their appearance at 7:30 amid flashbulbs and appreciation. Dr. Estes joins us for dinner. BBC is here filming aardvarks. Very distant lion sounds.