Masai Mara: The Second Day

Well, I haven't posted in a while because I've been distracted by the job hunt, eh? I've got a student loan coming due, and I have to figure out some way short of robbing a bank to pay for it. I did have one interview, but they offered the job to someone else.
Sigh.
I may have to go abroad again. I have a friend who keeps sending me information about China that looks interesting. I'd like to be in Canada, but...
Anyway, let's go look at some more photos of wild animals, taken during a full day in the Masai Mara game preserve.
I should say something about our third day. It was pretty short, only a morning trip, and it was cut short due to circumstance, so there is not too many photos from there. I did take quite a few movies during my time in the park, and some of them are quite amazing. But you won't see them here because I haven't figured out how to get them off of the camera.
Technical difficulties.
Anyway, on to the second day. The preserve is open from 6:30 to 6:30, and we were there the whole time, which necessitated getting up early and arriving as the gates opened. We saw the usual grazing herds near the gates.

We saw some hyenas, but they ran off. The second picture is of a jackal.

 

Then we saw a couple of lionesses, who were very interested in the herds of grazers, as you can imagine.

 

Then we got a real dividend. The lions were trailed by about six cubs, of various ages. snapping and growling and gamboling along. Probably looking for breakfast.

Pretty cool, eh?

We saw some birds, as well, including a plumed peacock,

 

and an ostrich, who had a strange walk, with its head moving backwards and forwards in an exaggerated movement. We saw another male following two females around the next morning. I got some good movie footage of the females enticing the male onwards, and the male looking very interested in what they were showing him.

We also saw a stork,

some impala,



some buckheart,

and some more giraffes.

There were about nine giraffes in all. Some were just standing, looking as if they were on guard while the rest ate. They passed quite close to the van, and it was just amazing to see them like that. There must have been quite a deep watercourse in those bushes behind them, because we saw one giraffe's head peeking out at near ground level!On our way deeper into the preserve, we saw a great cloud of smoke from the south. Our driver told us it was on the Tanzanian side of the border. Apparently, they set fire to their grasslands in order to discourage the animals from making their migration. The Tanzanians want them to stay on their side of the border, in order to attract tourists (and their dollars) away from Kenya. Good thing it doesn't work.

Our destination for the day was the South Mara River Bridge, where there are quite a few hippos to be seen. The bridge is right on the border with Tanzania, and there is a pleasant spot for picnicking. I was taking a shot of it with my movie camera when a monkey hopped up on the table and, quick as wink, stole my apple.
Sheesh!
But we saw some hippos in the water, coming up for air, blowing and grunting, and then going back down to get out of the heat. We also saw a couple of crocodiles lazing in the shallows, and we realized why there was an armed soldier shadowing us as we walked down the riverbank.

 
On our way out of the park, we passed a group of cape buffalo, with small birds eating the insects out of their hides,

and we saw the sun setting on our time in Africa. I got one great pan, starting with the sun setting ahead of us, a raincloud off on the western horizon, and a cloud of smoke from the fires in Tanzania behind us. But until I get my movie camera figured out, you'll have to wait to see it.