Post on 10-Nov-2014
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Wildlife, Tanzania 2012On our Kilimanjaro climb trip we spent a day in the Ngorongoro
Crater where wildlife is abundant.
Zebra - Equus quaggaEach individual has a unique stripe pattern.
Golden Jackal, canis aureusGreat sequence later in the show of a jackal
chasing a newborn Thompson’s gazelle.
Cape Buffalo, syncerus caffer
One big animal!
Cape Buffalo
Wildebeest, connochaetes taurinusTens of thousands of these curious creatures
in the crater.
Wildebeest with newbornThis youngster is probably only a week or two old. We saw adult females with placenta still attached and babies with the umbilical chord still attached.
Warthog, Phacochoerus africanusFunny looking, but nobody messes with them
except maybe a very hungry lion. They tolerate the birds as they eat bugs and ticks.
Thompson’s Gazelle, eudorcas thomsonii
Lots of very young babies like this one.
Weaver nests
Black Stork, ciconia nigra
Ostrich, struthio camelus
Big Bird
Kori Bustard, ardeotis kori
Love the name!
Black Kite, milvus migransLots of them around the lunch spot. Not safe to eat chicken in the open. A friend had a piece of chicken
taken out of her hand halfway to her mouth by a kite.
Grey Crowned Crane, balearica regulorum
National bird of Uganda
Grant’s Gazelle, nanger granti
Larger than the Tompson’s.
Black Rhinoceros, diceros bicornisBattleship of the savanna. Endangered because
people in Asia believe that the ground up horn of the Black Rhino is an aphrodisiac.
Spotted Hyena, crocuta crocuta
African Elephant, loxodonta africanaMales tend to hang out in the crater while the
families stick to the crater rim. (fewer predators)
Hippopotamus, hippopotamus amphibius
You can just drive around me.
Lion, panthera leoA gorgeous female probably not more than 15’ from our
vehicle.
Baboon, papio anubisDo not feed them!
Lion Love
When the female is in heat a lion couple may mate as many as 20 times. Better safe than sorry.
Predator/Prey
• We were privileged to get to see a Jackal attempting to take a baby (1 to 2 week old) Thompson’s Gazelle.
• What followed was one of the most remarkable scenes.
Young Thompson’s GazelleSeparated from its mother, the baby was
vulnerable.
The Jackal approches
The chase is on
As soon as the jackal began to chase the baby gazelle, who was amazingly fast, the mother gazelle ran at the jackal, trying to distract
and/or slow it down.
The jackal catches the babyBut because the mother gazelle is in close pursuit
the jackal can’t stop to finish the kill. The baby dropped to the ground and the jackal overran it.
Jackal trying to scare Mom off.
Now several adult gazelles get involved.
They will just NOT leave me alone!
OK OK, uncle, I give up, leave me alone.
The End
We had an amazing day in Ngorongoro Crater. Such a beautiful lush environment where dozens of species
live in a balanced system of predators and prey drawn to the crater by the abundant water, good
grazing, and protected environment.