Singita Lamai
Mara River Tented Camp
Tanzania
Wildlife Report
For the month of February 2015
For the 2nd year in a row, February in Lamai was characterized by good general game in the area. Zebra,
topi, eland, buffalo and gazelle were common out on the plains. The perfect mix of rain and sunshine made
for great grazing.
Eternal enemies relived
Violent interactions take place daily in wildlife areas between different species, mostly between predators
and prey. From time to time we get to witness exchanges between predators. Of these, lion and hyena
battles have to be one of the most impressive shows.
Ray Wankyo and his guests experienced just such an episode when they came across a pride of three
lionesses that had recently killed a topi. Shortly after they had arrived on the scene a clan of 15 hyenas
appeared and ran in to take charge of the lions' meal.
One lioness took it upon herself to fight back and very quickly found herself in severe trouble. She wound up
being surrounded and cornered by the whooping mob of hyenas. The lionesses two cohorts stood by
helpless and watched as the hyenas nipped and bit at her flanks.
The cornered lioness was in luck though, as unbeknown to anyone, a male lion was in the vicinity and had
heard the whooping and roaring of the excited hyenas and the distressed lioness. Male lions are known as
hyena killers, their size and strength will put hyenas on the back foot and it quickly swung this battle back in
the lions' favour.
His race into the foray set the clan to their heels and the four lions saw to it that they scurried off properly.
They then settled down to have a hearty meal together. Undoubtedly, the male lion earned his fair share of
the banquet that day.
Good mothering
(Photos by Joe Kibwe)
We love a good cheetah sighting and Joe had a great one when he encountered this female and her four
cubs with a fresh Thompson’s gazelle kill.
It's always impressive to see a predator with a fresh kill, but even more impressive was the amount of cubs
this female had with her, especially at this age.
Cheetahs differ from the other large cats in many ways, but one of these differences is an adaptation for
survival of the species in a world that is fraught with danger. Female cheetahs have eight mammary glands
as opposed to four of the other large cats. This allows them to suckle larger litters, and by doing so there is
the hope that at least a couple of the offspring will survive to independence. There have been occasions
where up to ten cubs have been seen with a mother cheetah. A real handful indeed!
With four cubs that look to be in the region of 12 months of age, this particular female has done a good job of
avoiding the perils that they would encounter frequently as they traverse the plains together.
Sightings report
With only 12 days of guests and only one vehicle out on drive, the total sightings count was low, but in
actuality guests had great sightings every game drive they went on. Aside from amazing general game,
elephants were seen daily, and cats approximately five out of every six days.
Lion:
3
Leopard:
1
Cheetah:
4
Elephant:
7
Very good general game of zebra, topi, wildebeest and buffalo out on the plains along the Maasai Mara
boundary.
By Lizzie Hamrick and Ryan Schmitt
Singita Grumeti
Serengeti
Tanzania
28 February 2015