Sounds & Videos from the Bush

The Mega Herd Crosses the Mara River

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 21:34:22 +0800

The Great Migration is one of the most remarkable spectacles of the animal world. Every year, around 2 million or more Wildebeest and Zebra migrate north from their summer grazing area in the Southern Serengeti of Tanzania.

After giving birth to hundreds of thousands of calves and foals within a span of a few weeks, they hope to find rich grasslands in Kenya's Masai Mara to sustain themselves through the winter.

To do so, they must migrate hundreds of kilometers... and cross the treacherous Grumeti and Mara Rivers...

We have also posted a selection of photos and an article from this safari.

Note: The file of the above video is relatively large. We have posted a smaller version on YouTube that requires less bandwidth. We hope the video gives you a good flavor of what a river crossing is like!

Buffalo Kill by the Tsaro Pride of Duba Plains

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 19:10:10 +0800

Duba Plains Camp in the Northern Okavango Delta of Botswana is renowned for its Tsaro Lion Pride which hunts Cape Buffalo during the daytime. We had planned a 4 night stay at Duba Plains in order to maximize the chance of seeing a kill. We learned that a group of 4 Lionesses had killed a Buffalo and gorged themselves just the day before we arrived. However, another group of Lionesses had been separate and were looking hungrily at the Buffalo the morning after we arrived..

[ video to be added soon ]

Sundowner Interrupted

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 22:53:00 +0800

We had been canoeing for the past 2 hours and found what seemed to be a deserted spot along the bank of the Linyanti Swamp in Northern Botswana. Though a small herd of Elephant had been drinking there earlier in the afternoon, it seemed like a good spot for our usual sunset cocktail (sundowner). Seeing and hearing no sign of animals, we happily opened a bottle of wine and enjoyed what seemed like blissful solitude...

A perfect stalk ... close, but no cigar

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 19:24:27 +0800

A lioness saw 2 adult and 1 young Impala approaching in the distance. She stalked closer, hidden by the tall grass. As she drew closer she dropped to a crouch and crawled to a perfect ambush spot. The Impala - apparently unaware - walked almost directly to her hiding place, then immediately past. The young Impala was nearest, within 2 strides of the hidden Lioness...