This Week At Angama #141

As always, every morning starts with a sunrise so orange that you could never doubt that this is nature's display of fine art.

A giraffe caught on such a morning, glows in the elegant light against the wall of the great escarpment.

The glory of mornings in the Mara is occasionally overtaken by dramatic afternoons. The sky truly has a different mood each day and if you’re fortunate enough it will be underscored with a rainbow or two.

Under these vivid skies, a rise overlooking the vast plains offers a vantage point for a mother cheetah who is cautiously introducing her cubs to their home.

Meanwhile across the savannah, The king “brings home the bacon” as his subjects relax in the heat of the day.

As the Migration lingers around a bit longer, the abundance of food leaves the prides stronger. The big boys are out and about more often on their patrolling missions – rain or shine.

But not all territory belongs to the mighty lion. Who owns the Mara roads? This depends on who is on it at any specific time. In this case, when it's an elephant, and a mammoth one at that, he has right of way.

Not everyone is interested in power and control. Seeing a serval is one thing but seeing a relaxed serval in an area where apex predators like lions and hyenas dominate is another. The sheer numbers of nature’s “lawnmowers”, the wildebeest and zebras, has made it easier to spot lesser seen gems like this.

Speaking of wildebeest, this Migration the herds have left us guessing with their completely unpredictable movements. It’s a welcome surprise whenever we descend into the Triangle from Angama Mara and come face to face with the herds in their mega numbers.

As the day progresses, some members of our Mara family, like the gentle giants, seek comfort in the soothing waters and mud at the ponds. This young elephant chose to make a hippo-inhabited pond his own splash pool.

With the onset of the short rains, topis and warthogs are among the animals of the plains that choose to bring forth their new generations. The already hyper-vigilant topi become even more so to ensure the safety of their young.

Although often relegated to the background, the ubiquitous buffalo still claim their space across the Mara. And just like that, another day and another week in Mara has gone by, leaving me both sated and hungry for more.

In what might have been the sighting of the year, several guests witnessed a truly remarkable and most unusual interaction between two unlikely characters: a leopard and a python. The story goes that the leopard was stalking an impala, and stumbled across a massive python, with both taken by surprise. A fierce and frenzied battle ensued. In the end, the leopard was the victor and enjoyed a hard-earned meal.