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Blog from AfricaRead news and safari highlights from Doug, Gail, and Ted Cheeseman, plus memorable experiences from our fantastic travelmates!
Lioness Gets Her Meal
August 19, 2008 Our safari van was touring wonderful Samburu Game Reserve at about 8 in the morning. It was a quiet morning as we enjoyed photographing Crested Francolin. All of a sudden, a flock of birds behind us sounded an alarm call and exploded into the air. Our driver paused for a moment then drove a little ahead on the road to see if we could detect what had spooked them. To our amazement, there right behind us, was a lioness with a large male Impala clenched in her teeth. We hadn’t heard a sound, except for the bird’s alarm. The lioness and Impala remained silent, but every time the Impala would try to wrestle loose from her jaws, the birds sounded their alarm. We took some quick photos and watched as the lion dragged the huge Impala under a bush - totally hidden from our sight. The lioness's large teats told us she was nursing, so we knew her cubs got a good feed that morning. Amazing! For over thirty years Doug and Gail Cheeseman have been leading safaris to Kenya and Tanzania. Being with Doug and Gail in the field is a real treat as they share their love of natural history and ecology. Visit wonderful Samburu Game Reserve on the safari to Kenya in July 2009. Return to top Saving the Mara TriangleNovember 7, 2008 The Masai Mara is a haven for wildlife, the wettest part of the Serengeti Ecosystem and the only portion of this great ecosystem within Kenya’s borders. Beginning in early 2008 the park has been in crisis as the Mara Conservancy has been short of funds for critical anti-poaching patrols. The Mara Conservancy, a tightly-run non-profit that manages the ‘Mara Triangle’ area, depends almost entirely on park entry fees paid by safari-goers, and when a protested presidential election scared away tourists, disaster loomed. We at Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris are proud that to have been able to raise $7415 with the help of travelers who have joined us to Kenya in the past, in support of the Mara Conservancy, money well spent on keeping the great Serengeti’s animals safe. You can learn about this excellent, committed group at Wildlife Direct and Mara Triangle. Conservation is a critical part of our mission at Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris. Our safaris can show you the most fantastic wildlife in the world so that you can bring home great photographs AND so that you can appreciate the beauty of the natural world. Learning about natural history and ecology we believe motivates us to protect it. We feel strongly that we have a responsibility to understand and protect the places we love. Return to top Reunion Ices the Cake
November 2, 2008 What could be better than a safari in Africa? Well, reminiscing with new friends, what else? Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris trips never end when you get home, a reunion party potluck is held at a travelmate's home for all those who can make it. The reunion "itinerary" is informal - but surely includes sharing our photos and videos, eating good food, and talking over most memorable safari moments with new friends. Planning the reunion party is the "icing on the cake" provided by Doug, Gail, and Ted Cheeseman as they attend to details like no other tour company out there. Pictured are Barb, Jan, Mary, Gail Cheeseman, Steve (with the cat), me (Debbie), and Jerry (just about to show his slides) at our most recent reunion celebrating our fabulous August safari to Botswana and Zambia, and Kenya. Doug Cheeseman is there also, but he is out of sight behind the camera. Return to top Unforgettable Gaze in Botswana
Thursday, July 31, 2008 Today is moving day! We woke up early, packed up all our belongings, and put our luggage outside our tent. The camp staff had a long day ahead of them breaking up the camp and setting it back up in the next spot, so they didn’t waste any time taking down our tent as soon as we emerged. We all ate a quick breakfast at 6 AM and then jumped in the safari vehicles in the cool darkness. Both vehicles had plenty of blankets that we wrapped around us in the early mornings and evenings, especially since driving in the open vehicle made it feel even colder. The temperature swings are big here (low 50s at night and high 80s during the day), so we are always peeling-off or putting-on layers, including hats and gloves. Just outside our camp area we came across the same pride of lions that we saw yesterday. Sometimes we forget that our comfortable camp is situated among wild beasts, but sights like this bring us back to reality. We spent some time watching and photographing the lions. Two of the youngsters played in the grass. One walked very close to my side of the open vehicle and I wondered what it was thinking as it looked up at me – hopefully not dinner! The steady and intent gaze of a lion is a little disconcerting, but I kept still and it soon continued on by. The experience of looking into the eye of a lion is truly unforgettable! We spied two very handsome males walking nearby so we drove over for a closer look. Males are not really part of the pride, but rather they defend a territory that contains one or more prides of females and their young. It is hard for one male to keep a territory, so often two brothers join together to defend it against marauding males that may kill their cubs and steal their females. Plus, if accepted, they will mate with the females in their territory. These beautiful lions are all muscle, the epitome of power - it sent chills up my spine. As we drove on, a grateful tear came to my eye knowing that these beasts still have a place to run wild in this developed world of ours. Check out the safari to Botswana and Zambia in June 2009. Return to top Found at last: Gunther's Dik-dik!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 Samburu is a dik-dik paradise! I love antelopes, and dik-diks are among my most favorite. There are two species of the smallest of all the antelopes found in arid bush: Kirk's and Gunther's. Along the Samburu side of the Uaso Nyiro River, every big clump of Salvadora bush provides a territory for a pair of Kirk's Dik-dik. The one I hadn't found yet is the rare Gunther's Dik-dik, which ranges north into the deserts of Somalia, but has a southern range just barely into Kenya's special Samburu Game Reserve. So once I started reading about this species of dik-dik, I knew it had to be somewhere in Samburu. Dik-dik's noses are adapted for cooling the blood before it flows into the brain, but Gunther's Dik-dik has a bigger "Jimmy Durante" snoze, affording it a better cooling chamber than Kirk's. The best way to i.d. the Gunther's is by its courser coat of hair and this exaggerated nose. One late afternoon in Samburu Game Reserve, four of us with Zach, our great Kenyan driver, decided to head high up into the rocky hillside to look for the Greater Kudu coming to the river to drink. I wasn't even thinking about finding Gunther's Dik-dik, but suddenly we encountered a strange looking dik-dik with a blown up nose in a very rocky spot. Much shyer than the Kirk's Dik-dik, which hides only if the vehicle approaches too close, these shied away quickly into hiding. Persistance paid off - we were able to find a few more of these strange Dik-diks to positively identify them as Gunther's. I radioed the others with the good news that we finally found the elusive Gunther's Dik-dik! Soon they arrived and Doug was able to get great photos. We spend more time in the field on our safaris, often taking picnic breakfasts or lunches with us on game drives. This, along with expert guides and drivers who know where to find elusive wildlife, allows us to see more wildlife, traveling further to search all habitats for elusive animals such as this Gunther's Dik-dik. Samburu Game Reserve offers arid habitat found no where else in Kenya, so we make a special effort to visit there on our safari to Kenya in July 2009. Return to top Tree Climbing Cheetah
Monday, February 18, 2008 On the Serengeti plains near Ndutu, I had an amazing experience watching a female Cheetah with six six-month old cubs. A stallion Burchell’s Zebra and three mares were also watching her for some time. They were intent on following the cheetahs around, but maintained a distance of about 150 feet. Then, twice in a period of an hour, the zebra stallion approached to within 40 feet of the cheetahs, with the mares following. The mother Cheetah false-charged and chased back the stallion and mares. All of a sudden, the stallion, with the three mares backing him up, charged full speed towards the cheetahs. The mother tried to drive the stallion and mares away to protect her cubs, but the stallion kept coming. She fled toward a clump of acacia trees and climbed one of them as fast as she could, while the mares chased the cubs, appearing to trample right over them. The stallion remained at the base of the tree gazing up at the Cheetah for a long four mintues, then left with his mares to a distance of about 400 feet. The female cheetah immediately jumped down to find her cubs. We thought they must be "goners" since we could not see any of them, but she knew exactly where they were! All six cubs walked out of the tall grass unscathed and joined her for a bout of grooming, as if nothing had happened! An hour later the mother chased and killed a female Thompson’s Gazelle and dragged the meal over to the cubs. It's all in a day’s work for a super mom! East Africa is the best place in the world to see incredible wildlife behavior like this, and seeing as much as possible takes being out in the field all day. Our safaris are rich in wildlife experiences because we stay in the field with the animals, guaranteeing that you will see more on a Cheeseman safari! Check out the safari to Tanzania and Kenya in February 2009 or to Tanzania and Kenya in July 2009. Return to top
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