Archive for the 'Photo safari' category

Leopard is a big cat special because it protects its largest preys (those which will make more than a single lunch) by dragging them away and up into a tree. It can take its own weight (or a little more) up to a high branch where no hyena would be able to steal it.

It takes the carcass, usually by the collar.

Leopard - Copyright (C) 2008 Yves Roumazeilles

Then, it will choose the right branch, look and find the right climbing path.

Leopard in front of the tree - Copyright (C) 2008 Yves Roumazeilles

Unfortunately, this one did not succeed in dragging up the Bohor Reedbuck it had caught late in the afternoon. It’s only during the night that (after reducing the weight by eating more of it) that the leopard brought the prey in its tree. Before light out, it just “visited” the tree.

Leopard in a tree - Copyright (C) 2008 Yves Roumazeilles	Leopard in a tree - Copyright (C) 2008 Yves Roumazeilles
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge them

Leopard (Panthera pardus, Léopard, Leopardo), Masai Mara, Kenya, September 2008.

This lion is also eating a gnu.

Lion - Copyright 2008 Yves Roumazeilles

You will easily notice that flies are a very common insect around big cats. No, these are not black defects on the image.

Lion - Copyright 2008 Yves Roumazeilles

Lion (Panthera leo, Lion, León), Masai Mara, Kenya, September 2008.

Found in the morning, this lionness had just kill a gnu (wildebeest). After eating most of it, she actually tried to hide the carcass in order to avoid seeing it stolen by others (hyenas or vultures, for example).

Lionness - Copyright 2008 Yves Roumazeilles
Lionness - Copyright 2008 Yves Roumazeilles	Lionness - Copyright 2008 Yves Roumazeilles
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge them

Lion (Panthera leo, Lion, León), Masai Mara, Kenya, September 2008.

In the coming days, I will post a number of images taken in Masai Mara National Park, Kenya, of various carnivore animals after or during lunch. Beware, it may be a little more disturbing than most subjects, for sensitive or young people. However, this is routine observation in the wild: Big cats are nice but they eat animals. Raw.

First, this is not a feline. A spotted hyena found in the morning, in a small water pool, after an early lunch.

Spotted hyena - Copyright 2008 Yves Roumazeilles

It is easily forgotten in savanah folklore as recorded in our Northern countries, hyenas are not only carrion eaters stealing their prey from less powerful animals (like cheetahs), but also successful hunters who compensate for their slow running speed with a rather considerable endurance. They kill about half of their food.

Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta, Hyène tachetée). Masai Mara, Kenya, September 2008.

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If you are interested, you can find some of my images about big cats (lions, leopards, cheetahs) on my new web site YLoveBigCats.com. As you certainly have noticed, some of these images come from my recent trip to Kenya (Masai Mara).

Lionness, Kenya (Copyright 2008 Yves Roumazeilles)

Young black-backed jackal (Copyright 2008 Yves Roumazeilles)

Black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas, Chacal à chabraque, Chacal de lomo negro o chacal de gualdrapa). Kenya, Masai Mara, September 2008.

The Great Migration: This is the name of this major and annual animal move between Kenya and Tanzania. Between 1.5 and 2 million gnus (wildebeests), several hundred thousands of zebras and some more antelopes follow a wide triangular geographical pattern to find the lands with the best possible grass depending on the rains and the temperatures.

Since they have to cross rivers, this quickly becomes a difficult task. All the more because all kinds of predators know the locations and are waiting for them. The gnus strategy is simple: Overwhelm the predators. If a lion takes 1 gnu out of 10,000, it is better than 1 out of 10. So, they regroup themselves in enormous herds before rushing through the waters.

Gnu	Gnu
Gnu
Gnu's crossing (Copyright 2008 Yves Roumazeilles)	Gnu's crossing (Copyright 2008 Yves Roumazeilles)

The predators (lions, hyenas, crocodiles) are waiting. And they are taking a life toll on the herds.

Since this is quite graphic (Mother Nature is not often very nice with the weakest animals), the following images may be reached separately. But young and sensitive minds should avoid looking at the following depiction of a Nile crocodile attack on a swimming Burchell’s zebra (in the Mara river).
(more…)

The “Great migration” in Kenya and Tanzania is the move of gnus (wildebeests) but also of zebras. Usually, I have a tough time to find inspiration when shooting these animals. But in last September, I believe that I found how to draw a few good images of these zebras.

Zebras on the Musiara plains (Copyright 2008 Yves Roumazeilles)
Burchell
Burchell	Burchell
Burchell

Burchell’s zebra (Equus burchellii, zèbre de Burchell, cebra de Burchell). Kenya, Masai Mara, September 2008.

All images: Copyright (C) 2008 Yves Roumazeilles (all rights reserved).

Two lions (Copyright 2008 - Yves Roumazeilles)

A few images of lion females on YLoveBigCats.com (Kenya 2008).

Before some big cats, here are some vultures again:

Vulture, in flight (Copyright 2008 - Yves Roumazeilles)

Lappet-faced vulture (Copyright 2008 - Yves Roumazeilles)

Giraffes, here is a weird animal. On of the real bizarre things in nature.

Giraffes - Copyright 2008 Yves Roumazeilles

You can often see young males fighting:

Giraffes fighting - Copyright 2008 Yves Roumazeilles

Giraffes fighting- Copyright 2008 Yves Roumazeilles

It seems that they are fighting in a very slow motion.
Despite that, it is a very aggressive behaviour and the males use that to decide hierarchies and access rights to the females.

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You can click on the thumbnail images to enlarge them.

All images are Copyright 2008 – Yves Roumazeilles (all rights reserved).

The Southern Eland is the largest savanah antelope (bulls may weigh 700-800kg). Very shy, it runs away at first sight of a human being or a car. Difficult snapshot, guaranteed.

Southern Eland

Southern Eland (Taurotragus oryx, Elan du Cap, antílope eland común). Masai Mara, Kenya, September 2008.

I published a few shots of lions. Portraits taken in the Masai Mara park (Kenya). My prefered is the following one:

Lionness - Copyright 2008, Yves Roumazeilles

If you click on the thumbnail image, you will enlarge it. And you may notice that the photographer (and its car) are appearing in the eye of the lion.

But there are several other images taken nearly at the same time on the original Big Cats web site. Yes! This is another of my web sites. Actually, YLoveBigCats.com is a separate location to publish information specifically about the big felines of the world (and some of the my photos of them).

You should think that most cattle birds never heard about this injunction. They use African Buffalos as landing strips and these big cows as as source of food while they remove the parasites from their skin.

African Buffalos (nearly) without birds

African Buffalo - Copyright 2008 Y.Roumazeilles

African Buffalo - Copyright 2008 Y.Roumazeilles

Buffalos and birds

Here, we see a fast airplane in final approach, or is it in attack phase?

African Buffal and birds: Tora! Tora! Tora! - Copyright 2008 Y.Roumazeilles

Finally, here the one I prefer (”the airport is not happy“) :

African Buffalo and birds - Copyright 2008 Y.Roumazeilles

African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer, Buffle d’Afrique, Búfalo negro). Kenya, Masai Mara, September 2008.