Animal Planet (Part II)

10-14% of Kenya's GDP is from tourism, and the biggest draw by far are the safaris. The most popular destination is Maasai Mara, the Kenya portion of the Serengeti in Tanzania.

I was expecting the animals to be the only highlight of the trip but the Maasai people (the local tribe) are incredibly interesting. The climate is drier and colder than Western Province where I'm based, so the primary economic activity is raising livestock rather than agriculture. Everywhere we went, we saw huge herds of hundreds of livestock being shepherded by young boys. It's tradition to give a boy his first herd at the age of 12. I wish I could post pictures but the Maasai don't like to be photographed. It's unfortunate because I can't adequately describe the bright colors and patterns of their traditional dress (lots of reds and oranges and plaid), the wooden staffs they carry (for herding and self-defense), or the jewelry and adornments they wear (especially large necklaces and earrings). I do have one picture of their residences, which are enclosed by large thorny fences so they can keep their livestock in at night:

Onto the exciting animal pictures!

It's currently the annual Great Wildebeest Migration, where about 1.5M wildebeest travel from the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Maasai Mara in Kenya. The Great Migration is one of the Seven New Wonders of the World.

Wildebeest as far as the eye can see

Hundreds of thousands of zebras also migrate

As well as hundreds of thousands of gazelles. Pictured here are Grant's Gazelles. Also saw tons of Thomson's Gazelles.

Water buffalo

The setting:

The border between Tanzania and Kenya 

Famous African Acacia trees

Crocodile (!) on the banks of the Mara River 

Hippo print

Hippo lazily swimming

Hippos lounging and sunning on the banks

Other awesome animals:

Never realized how HUGE ostriches are! Explains the eggs...

Cheetahs!

Giraffes!

Cobra! Possibly the most dangerous thing we encountered.

Herd of elephants, including baby elephants! 

Hyenas rolling around in the mud 

Rawr 

Nature, in its most primal form:

A fresh antelope kill. Notice the bloated stomach bulging out of the carcass -- this is due to the gases that are expelled from the body after death.

Lion stalking off towards a herd of water buffalo

Badass water buffalo charging and chasing off three lions!

Wildebeest carcass 

Den of lion cubs eating (probably the above wildebeest)

Lions get food coma, too!