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This Week At Angama #103

Jeff recounts that it’s been another great week of marvellous sightings, filled with the best of wildlife sightings that the Mara has to offer
A male lion surveys the Mara Triangle in the afternoon sun

We caught up with this young male and his two sisters taking a nap right in the middle of the road before taking a walk to find shade. These are from the Owino pride and had wandered very far from their territory to an area where they haven’t been seen before.

S is for Simba f 5.0 1/1250, ISO 320 -0.33

I caught a glimpse of these lions tails spiralling around and aimed to get a more abstract kind of shot and bingo! I captured them in this shape.

A hippo carcass lies in a small pool of rainwater f 6.0, 1/400, ISO 200 -0.67

The carcass of a hippo lies in a small pool of rainwater in the Quarry near Serena Lodge. As it is unclear what the cause of death was, we assume the hippo died of old age.

A large male lion guards the hippo carcass, while a cautious jackal attempts a bite f 5.6, 1/400, ISO 250 -0.67

Guarding the carcass was this big blonde boy and his dark-maned brothers. At first we had thought that these were Scar’s brothers but on further enquiry we discovered that these boys are new to the Mara Triangle. This cunning jackal kept sneaking past the lions to grab a bite from the carcass but ever so weary of getting caught. It would not have ended  well for him.

One of the twenty Hyena's lurking in the background f 6.3, 1/1000, ISO 250 -0.67

Lurking all around the lions and carcass, yet maintaining a safe distance, were close to twenty hyenas. The one pictured above wandered all alone into this group and is seen running away after quite the beating from the rest of the clan.

A serval vanishes into the tall grass f 5.0, 1/400, ISO 250

We were fortunate to catch a quick glimpse of this serval cat as it crossed the road and vanished into the long grass.

A baby zebra with an almost entirely black face f 6.0, 1/1320, ISO 250 -0.33

I was intrigued to see this baby zebra’s almost entirely black face and could not help but stop to get some shots. Lately, there have been strange skin and fur mutations amongst the Mara zebras.

A tawny eagle feeds on a small mammal f 6.3 1/1250, ISO 250

A pair of tawny eagles were feeding on the remains of a small animal but there wasn’t sufficient left of the carcass to identify what the prey was. Moments later, two hooded vultures caught the scent and flew in to finish off the scraps.

A water thick-nee f 5.6, 1/640, ISO 400 -0.33
A white stork with a feather in it's beak f 6.3, 1/1000, ISO 250

A water thick-nee - my first sighting in the Mara. Such a photogenic little bird. I enjoyed watching the stork above holding another bird’s feather in its bill, and even fighting over it with some egrets.  

Wonderful having ostriches in the Mara Triangle f 6.3, 1/1000, ISO 250
A yellow-throated longclaw f 6.0, 1/800, ISO 400 -0.67

A big male ostrich strutting his stuff across the savanna, while it's always enjoyable photographing yellow-throated longclaws, even more so when they let you get really close.

Sunset in the Mara f 5.0, 1/2000, ISO 400 -0.67

Nothing quite like a Mara sunset to finish off a great day of sightings.

This Week A Year Ago

Photograph by Jeffrey Thige f 6.3, 1/2000, ISO 500

This week a year ago, Scarface re-emerged in the Mara Triangle. Is it possibly a coincidence that he re-emerged this same week after going months without being seen on our side of the river? (I missed getting a picture of him this week as I was not out when he was seen).

Note from the editor

Thank you Jeff for this your last story for our Friday blog. Wishing you every success in your training to become a guide and asante sana for taking care of our guests in the Photography studio.

Filed under: This Week at Angama

Tagged with:

Angama Mara , Bird Photography , Birdlife , Birds , Elephant , Lions of the Mara , Mara Triangle , Photographic Safari , This Week At Angama

About: Jeffrey Thige

Hailing from Nairobi, Jeff’s younger years were spent watching Big Cat Diaries with his mother. Images of wild animals roaming across the savanna inspired Jeff to travel the country, study wildlife management and move into photography. Jeff aims to use his camera to become an ambassador for conservation. He joined Angama Mara as an intern in 2018 and is now employed full time as assistant photographer at the lodge’s Photographic Studio.

Browse all articles by Jeffrey Thige Meet the angama team

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