Nile Monitor

 

Nile Monitors are large African lizards. They are the second-largest reptile in the Nile river. and have muscular bodies, strong legs, and powerful jaws.

Their teeth are sharp and pointed in juvenile animals and become blunt and peg-like in adults. They also possess sharp claws used for climbing, digging, defense, or tearing at their prey. 

Like all monitors, they have forked tongues, with highly developed olfactory properties. 

They have quite striking, but variable, skin patterns, as they are greyish-brown above with greenish-yellow barring on the tail and large, greenish-yellow rosette-like spots on their backs with a blackish tiny spot in the middle. Their throats and undersides are an ochre-yellow to a creamy-yellow, often with faint barring. Animalia

Banded Mongoose

 

Banded Mongooses are small, catlike carnivores native to Africa. They are famous for their ability to kill snakes and are one of the most social mongoose species, living in packs of up to 20.

Banded Mongooses are found in Africa, south of the Sahara, except for the Congo and southwestern Africa.

They live in open habitat in grasslands, brush lands, woodlands and rocky country.

They have a large range and may travel more than 5 miles a day to forage.

Cape Buffalo

 

Cape Buffalo are the largest and most formidable of Africa's wild bovids and a familiar sight to visitors of African parks and reserves. The Cape Buffalo is the only member of the buffalo and cattle tribe that occurs naturally in Africa.

African Buffalo are hardy critters, able to live and flourish in many habitats, from semi-arid bushland to coastal savannas to lowland rainforests, as long as they’re close to a water source.

When the buffalo aren’t fighting off the occasional lion, they’re eating grass—and lots of it. It forms the bulk of their diet. Like cows, buffalo chew cud to further extract nutrients.

Buffalo are considered one of the " big five " a term grouping them with leopards, rhinoceroses, elephants, and lions as the most dangerous animals to hunt in Africa.

Buffalo and bison aren't the same animals. How the misnomer came to be is murky, but it’s thought early American settlers called bison “buffalo” because they look similar—large, brown, hulking beasts that graze—but the two animals are actually from different genuses within the bovine subfamily. A quick ID tool is looking for a beard: Bison have them and buffalo don’t. National Geographic

Saddle-billed Stork

 

The Saddle-billed Stork is a tall, lanky, black-and-white stork with a unique red, yellow, and black bill.

It is found singly or in pairs at rivers and large undisturbed wetlands.

Forages for favorites like catfish, but it will also take frogs, birds, and insects.

Ruppell's Griffon Vulture

 

Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture is a huge vulture with a dark body.

They nest on cliffs and are generally silent except when squabbling at carcasses.

Lappet-faced Vulture

 

The Lappet-faced Vulture is a massive vulture with a bullish, naked, square head, a bulky bluish-yellow beak, and wrinkled loose skin (lappets) on the face.

Adults have a brown-and-white streaked chest and puffy white leggings, while immatures are all-brown.

They are considered rare and declining but widespread in open country.

Aggressive at kills, dominating proceedings and opening the carcass for other scavengers.

Black-headed Weaver

 

The Black-headed Weaver is a medium-sized weaver. Breeding males are striking with a black face and neck.

It is usually found in marshy areas with tall grass.

They build a basket nest, woven together with grass and sticks that hangs from trees.

Bohor Reedbuck

 

Bohor Reedbuck are medium-sized graceful antelopes native to central Africa. They are yellow to grayish brown in color.

Masai Giraffe

 

The Masai Giraffe is another beautiful animal we observed in Kenya. This group moved casually through our camp early one morning.

The Masai Giraffes also known as the Kilimanjaro Giraffes are the tallest living terrestrial animals and actually quite a sight, extremely picturesque and known for their graceful movements even when running at their fastest speed of 50 to 60 km per hour.

Masai giraffes have jagged spots on their bodies.

Masai giraffes are diurnal and live in small groups. They feed 16 – 20 hours each day and their preferred feeding is to browse on various Acacia species, using their long lips and tongues to reach between the thorns to extract the leaves.

They have a four- chambered stomach and can chew their own cud.

Topi

 

Topi are medium­-sized antelopes with a striking reddish-brown to purplish-red coat. Distinct black patches appear on their face, their upper forelegs, and on their hips and thighs.

To complete their singular appearance, the Topi's yellowish-tan legs look like they are encased in stockings.

Cokes Hartebeest

 

Cokes Hartebeest are found in herds on open plains and scrublands of sub-Saharan Africa. They are native to Kenya and Tanzania and often mingle with herds of zebras or of other antelope.

Their backs slope downward and their long faces are accentuated, in both sexes, by ringed, lyre-shaped horns that are united at the base.

Hippos

 

Hippos are most often observed in large herds gathering in rivers.

Only occasionally did we see lone Hippos wandering by themselves. Usually these were older or injured Hippos.

Hippopotamus

 

Before we move on to the Masai Mara I forgot to mention that while exploring Lake Naivasha in our small skiff we experienced our most exciting wildlife encounter.

We had cruised into a small bay area and I was at the front of the skiff shooting this hippo when it decided to enter the water.

Our guide, who had shut the outboard engine off to reduce vibration for me, was unable to restart the engine.

As I continued to shoot at the bow all I could hear was Marilyn yelling and the sound of our guide pulling on the outboard.

Finally, it kicked over, only to run us aground backwards and jam the outboard in the sediment. By now Marilyn is pretty excited. The guide is trying to push off. I’m still shooting.

Eventually the engine revs and we rip away but not before a dozen Hippos resurface from under the water all around us.

Fun fact: Hippos can hold their breathe for over 5 minutes under water. Who knew!

Masai Mara National Reserve

 

The next stage of our 19 day East African safari takes us to Masai Mara National Reserve in the Great Rift Valley.

We stayed at Kensington Mara West Tented Camp on the Oloolo Escarpment.

Our tent chalet was perhaps thee most beautiful camp we have ever stayed in. The "tents" were spread out along the escarpment and you had the feeling you indeed were all alone.

Each morning a Masai warrior would come to light a fire outdoors to heat water for the tent and in the evening, another would arrive to guide us to the dining tent as wildlife was free to move amongst the tents.

Here is our guide, Albert arriving in the morning to start our days adventure.

We would eat lunch under a tree somewhere in the savannah usually watching the wildlife all around us. Only returning after sunset for a late supper.

Travelling by ourselves was truly an amazing experience and one I would highly recommend. Plus our guide Albert was truly spectacular.

Gray-backed Fiscal

 

The Gray-backed Fiscal is a large, long-tailed gray, black, and white shrike. The male has completely white underparts.

It is found in woodland, savanna, and cultivation. Distinguished from other black-masked, gray-backed shrikes by the black line connecting the black wing and black face-mask, and by the large white patches in the base of the tail. ebird

African Fish-Eagle

 

The African Fish-Eagle is a large, distinctive, chestnut-and-white eagle that sits prominently on perches near rivers, lakes, and other waterbodies. The scruffy immature is dark brown and mottled with white on head.

In flight the white windows in the wings and pale, dark-tipped tail make the juvenile distinctive.

It catches fish with a graceful, shallow plunge to the water’s surface, but it will also eat birds, reptiles, and carrion. It has one of the most distinctive bird sounds of Africa.

African Jacana

 

One of our favourite birds while at Lake Navaisha was the African Jacana. Definitely fun to watch them walk on the water hunting.

The African Jacana is a distinctive chestnut, white, and black waterbird with a sky-blue bill and enormous feet. The immature lacks the blue bill and shield and is brown-headed.

Resident and nomadic, this species trots on the surface of water lilies and other aquatic vegetation, using its long legs and ludicrously elongated toes to prevent it from sinking. It flies weakly, low over the water, with legs and toes dangling behind awkwardly. Highly unusual mating system in which one dominant female maintains a harem of multiple males. After egg-laying, each male will raise a brood alone. eBird