johan rebel

Terenz, thank you again for taking the time to write such a comphrensive report.

A few more comment that will hopefully be of use to prospective safari goers :


This nicely illustrates the seasonal variations in game viewing in Serengeti. In most years the migration will be found on the short grass plains (i.e. the Serengeti roughly southeast of Naabi and the adjacent area of the NCA) in January/February. From Naabi or any of the koppies on the plains the herds will stretch to the horizon in all directions, mainly wildebeest in numbers beyond counting.


If you are familiar with lions, comfortable in their presence, and do not provoke them (e.g. by impinging on their personal space), they will give you very little trouble. Caution is recommended during the hours of darkness, though.


Guess that depends on what you mean by "long intervals". Every 10-20 minutes over a period of about three days seems to be the norm. No wonder copulation lasts only 15 seconds, up to 100 times a day sounds pretty exhausting to me.


An interesting observation. Lacking the powerful claws and raw strenght of the leopard, cheetahs are poor climbers. They can jump up onto very low branches, or climb trees with leaning stems, but that's about it. Even lions are better climbers.


This was after dark? Was it a large black mongoose with a long white tail? If so, it was probable a White-tailed Mongoose (Selous' Mongoose and Meller's Mongoose also have white in the tail, but I'm not sure whether they occur in the Serengeti).


Male wildebeest defend territories, in suitable habitat all year round, thus making them sedentary. They had therefore not necessarily been left behind.


As mentioned above, you need to visit in January or February. An added advantage is that the Masai keep their cattle off the plains at that time (cattle tend to eat the wildebeest placentas littering the plains, which can result in them developing a fatal disease). I have nothing against the Masai and their cattle, but herds of cows interspersed amongst the game make the whole setting look somewhat less unspoilt.


Tse tse flies can be a problem elsewhere too, e.g. in the Mopani and Kalahari woodlands of Botswana and Namibia, sometimes making game drives almost impossible. I don't cover myself (hot enough as it is) and sleeping sickness is indeed no cause for concern. I once drove through Lower Zambezi National Park on Zambia, standing on the rear bumper of the vehicle, through intermitent rain and swarms of tse tse flies against which I was unable to defend myself. I was bitten more than once! Bites can be rather painful, but there are worse things. I occasionally react rather severly to tse tse fly bites, developing a swelling larger than my hand that persists for weeks. I therefore always care a small tube of Anthisan cream (2% mepyramine maleate) which I apply immediately when bitten. It does wonders.


Interestingly, the great plains in their pristine condition were once very similar to the Serengeti, also consisting (from west to east) of long, medium and short grass plains. Grasslands generally have the highest large mammal biomass carrying capacity. The more wood, the less large animals (although interesting, I shall skip the explanation. This post is already long enough).


Although most textbooks describe leopards as nocturnal, they are also quite active by day in areas where they are not persecuted by man, especially in cool weather. I figure I have seen donsiderably more leopards in daytime than after dark. It is one of these animals that can be seen just about anytime, anywhere. They even occur in some cities. Those who really want to see leopards should visit private reserves in southern Africa, many of which have developed leopard tracking and viewing into an art. The Sabi Sands and the Timbavati are know for excellent leopard viewing, with almost daily sightings. The Kruger National Park is excellent as well. Six leopards in a morning game drive and seven along a single road on a night drive are the best I know of, in both instances on public roads in Kruger. Personally I've never managed more than five.


Vistors seem to equate Africa with constant tropical heat. Big mistake. I always laugh to myself when I see pax boarding flights to JNB dressed in a T-shirt and shorts. JNB lies at an elevation of almost 1,800 meters, and can be a bit chilly when you arrive early morning, even if it is calm and sunny. The temperature is sometimes only a few degrees above freezing, and one morning last August it was -7�C (that's right, 19�F).


Ouch! The African sun can do serious damage. Staying in the shade whenever possible is recommended, but obviously not possible on game drives. I wear shorts and a short-sleeved summer shirt, but carry a bottle of water to keep my clothing wet and cool on really hot days, and in extreme situations an old white sheet to cover exposed limbs temporarily.

johan

YVR Cockroach

We expected to see some small herds that stayed in the area but not one was to be found. Not even a solitary male.

Indeed. I guess he knew what he was doing but we didn't. We had an incident with a wounded lioness (broken leg) at Salt Lick Lodge.

Leopard, not cheetah. And we didn't see any treed lions either (they do climb trees reportedly in manyara among other places).

It was a silhouette in the early evening (8-ish). I can't confirm it other than it was quite large (over 2 1/2') and the shape was similar to that of a mongoose. We had seen the smaller banded mongoose earlier that day and this was much larger. My guess was a white tail.

But when there are absolutely none to be seen for miles? Maybe it was a resident rather than migratory. I think the next herd we saw was some 10-15 km away.

[quote
As mentioned above, you need to visit in January or February. An added advantage is that the Masai keep their cattle off the plains at that time (cattle tend to eat the wildebeest placentas littering the plains, which can result in them developing a fatal disease). I have nothing against the Masai and their cattle, but herds of cows interspersed amongst the game make the whole setting look somewhat less unspoilt.
[/quote]

They're not allowed on the Serengeti (at least legally). This is a factor in Ngorongoro though.

Everywhere there are large concentrations or animals? Tangarire was reported to be particularly bad then.

johan rebel

The white-tailed mongoose is indeed a very large mongoose.

You get transient and resident territorial male wildebeest. It's a long story

Tse tse flies are dependent on trees and bushes for shade in which to rest, and are therefore not found in open grasslands. Don't worry though, there are plenty of other biting flies to make life on the plains miserable for warm-blooded creatures.

Tse tse flies disappeared from South Africa (except northern Kwazulu-Natal) as a result of the rinderpest epizootic of 1986, and have not returned yet. Botswana uses aerial pesticide spraying to control tse tse flies in the Okavango Delta, a highly controversial method. Elsewhere in that country and southern Africa traps or screens (impregnated with pyrethroids, e.g. deltamethrin) are used (if you've ever wondered what these blue and black panels dotted around the African bush are, now you know!), a logistically challenging and labor intensive method that may be at least partially effective if correctly and consistently implemented. Clearing all woody plants is also an option, which obviously has serious environmental consequences.

johan

SanDiego1K

Terrific report with the in depth explanations from terenz and Johan rebel. I'm now planning my own trip and this is very helpful.