Manyara July 13

Tanzania

Monday, July 13

Lake Manyara

Our last two evenings at Tarangire we went to sleep and also awakened to the roar of lions. They didn't sound very far away ... probably just at the base of the bluff directly below our camp. It was probably a male lion who wanted to settle down and wanted to let everyone know that he was in his own territory and didn't want to be disturbed. His roar certainly had that effect for us. We didn't want to venture out of our tents to see what he was up to. A couple of times we also heard baboons "barking" during the night. Something must have disturbed them.

On Saturday morning we started out at 6:15 again and came across a pride of lions relaxing in the weeds by the air strip. Only about three were easy to identify at first but the remaining seven (or more) were very effectively camouflaged in the weeds. It is easy to see how unsuspecting prey can be fooled by their presence when they are so difficult to spot. Female lions are the hunters, but the males get to eat first. Then once they have had their fill, the females have their turn. Finally, if there is enough food left, the young get to eat. This might seem cruel but if the young were allowed to eat first and there wasn't enough food for the whole pride to survive, then the adults would die and the young wouldn't be able to care for themselves.

We've seen lots of elephants and the destruction they cause in the forested areas. They often knock down whole trees or parts of trees to eat a part of it or to get by. Elephants have six sets of teeth in a lifetime and generally die when the last set of teeth has worn out and they can no longer eat their regular diet. It was interesting to watch the elephants care for a baby (probably around 4 months old) in their group. As they walked along or stopped to rest they always kept the baby in the center of the group or formed a tight circle around it so it was difficult to take pictures of the babies.

On Saturday evening just before heading back to the campground for dinner we came across a lion relaxing on the limb of a tree alongside the road. It was pretty exciting to be able to be directly under the limb of the tree in our safari vehicle and take pictures. As we got closer to the campground two ostriches ran alongside our vehicle for a short time. Considering their size they are quite fast.

Tanzania was closed from 1974 - 1986 for safaris because at that time the border between Kenya and Tanzania was closed. Most people went to Kenya then to go on safaris. Now most of the border is open. Kenya differs from Tanzania though in that in Kenya it is illegal to do any game hunting whereas in Tanzania it is only illegal to hunt in the 12 National Parks.

Yesterday (Sunday) we left for Lake Manyara National Park. The small village right outside of the park is called Mto Wa Mbu or Mosquito River. The first part of the park is considered a ground water forest habitat, as was the Jozani Forest in Zanzibar. What lush growth and variety of plant life! Due to the tremendous rains here because of El Nino some areas are now marshy, swampy areas. We saw a few hippos in what used to be the hippo pool but is now an extension of Lake Manyara. Baboons seem to thrive here as we saw several troops with many youngsters riding on their mothers' bellies or backs. It was fun to watch a group of them eating figs from the fig tree partially hidden from view by the lush plant growth. There were too many to count up in the large tree. We also were able to see a Yellow-billed Stork (right) and Kori Bustard (below). The sausage tree (pictured below right) provides food for many animals.

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Our last two evenings at Tarangire we went to sleep and also awakened to the roar of lions. They didn't sound very far away ... probably just at the base of the bluff directly below our camp. It was probably a male lion who wanted to settle down and wanted to let everyone know that he was in his own territory and didn't want to be disturbed. His roar certainly had that effect for us. We didn't want to venture out of our tents to see what he was up to. A couple of times we also heard baboons "barking" during the night. Something must have disturbed them.
On Saturday morning we started out at 6:15 again and came across a pride of lions relaxing in the weeds by the air strip. Only about three were easy to identify at first but the remaining seven (or more) were very effectively camouflaged in the weeds. It is easy to see how unsuspecting prey can be fooled by their presence when they are so difficult to spot. Female lions are the hunters, but the males get to eat first. Then once they have had their fill, the females have their turn. Finally, if there is enough food left, the young get to eat. This might seem cruel but if the young were allowed to eat first and there wasn't enough food for the whole pride to survive, then the adults would die and the young wouldn't be able to care for themselves.	We've seen lots of elephants and the destruction they cause in the forested areas. They often knock down whole trees or parts of trees to eat a part of it or to get by. Elephants have six sets of teeth in a lifetime and generally die when the last set of teeth has worn out and they can no longer eat their regular diet. It was interesting to watch the elephants care for a baby (probably around 4 months old) in their group. As they walked along or stopped to rest they always kept the baby in the center of the group or formed a tight circle around it so it was difficult to take pictures of the babies.


On Saturday evening just before heading back to the campground for dinner we came across a lion relaxing on the limb of a tree alongside the road. It was pretty exciting to be able to be directly under the limb of the tree in our safari vehicle and take pictures. As we got closer to the campground two ostriches ran alongside our vehicle for a short time. Considering their size they are quite fast.
	Tanzania was closed from 1974 - 1986 for safaris because at that time the border between Kenya and Tanzania was closed. Most people went to Kenya then to go on safaris. Now most of the border is open. Kenya differs from Tanzania though in that in Kenya it is illegal to do any game hunting whereas in Tanzania it is only illegal to hunt in the 12 National Parks.
Yesterday (Sunday) we left for Lake Manyara National Park. The small village right outside of the park is called Mto Wa Mbu or Mosquito River. The first part of the park is considered a ground water forest habitat, as was the Jozani Forest in Zanzibar. What lush growth and variety of plant life! Due to the tremendous rains here because of El Nino some areas are now marshy, swampy areas. We saw a few hippos in what used to be the hippo pool but is now an extension of Lake Manyara. Baboons seem to thrive here as we saw several troops with many youngsters riding on their mothers' bellies or backs. It was fun to watch a group of them eating figs from the fig tree partially hidden from view by the lush plant growth. There were too many to count up in the large tree. We also were able to see a Yellow-billed Stork (right) and Kori Bustard (below). The sausage tree (pictured below right) provides food for many animals.