This Week at Angama #402

As I made my way down toward the Photography Studio, a rare yet familiar call caught my attention, that unmistakable, bubbling sound echoing from the treetops. Perched in the canopy was a Schalow’s turaco, its vivid plumage breaking through the tangle of vines and leaves.

Perfectly at ease, it was feeding on fruits and seeds. It’s not every day that these shy forest dwellers reveal themselves so openly.

Every evening for the past week, heavy storms have rolled in from the north. The deep rumble of thunder and flashes of lightning have marked the movement of the great herds. Drawn by instinct and the promise of fresh grazing, thousands of wildebeest have begun pushing north.

The air was thick with the sound of grunts and low bellows, the herds stretching endlessly across the horizon. It’s astonishing how powerful nature’s cues can be. Even the faint scent of rain on the wind is enough to steer millions of animals across vast landscapes, not guided by sight or sound, but by deep ancient knowledge that sustains the Great Migration.

The Siligi Brothers have had little reason to move far for the past few days. They can be found lounging in the open plains, seemingly without a care. And who could blame them? Before them lies an all-you-can-eat buffet.

These three well-known cheetah brothers have mastered the art of patience. Rather than chasing every opportunity, they conserve their energy, watching and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

This week, we came across one of the formidable Taliban males mating with a lioness from the Egyptian Pride. The atmosphere was electric. Every muscle in the male’s body was alive with alertness. Even the faintest movement from the female had his full attention, her readiness dictating his every move. Their growls echoed onto our, punctuated by the swish of tails and flashes of teeth. 

With his thick, dark mane and commanding presence, this Taliban male carries the look of a true king, a lion built for legacy. As the two continue their honeymoon, we can only hope that this union will bring forth strong cubs, perhaps a new generation of males who will one day walk in his footsteps and carry his genes into the future. 

Along a quiet bend of the Mara River, we encountered a small herd of elephants sharing the riverbank with a group of resting hippos. The elephants, including two young calves, moved with awareness to drink and cool off, keeping a cautious distance from the hippos, who trusted their grounded confidence enough not to react. 

Encounters like these show the delicate balance of coexistence in the wild. Both species are powerful and territorial in their own right, yet they understand and respect each other’s space.

Early in the morning, while the plains were still cool and damp with dew, a young cub from the River Pride wandered out from the nearby thickets. Curious and energetic, it made its way toward an old acacia tree and started scratching, testing its small claws and growing strength.

Every movement seemed part play and part practice, learning the natural instincts that would one day define its life as a lion. 

As the morning safari continued, a sudden flash of white appeared in the distance, the raised tail of an impala, signalling alertness. But this wasn’t a predator in pursuit. Instead, two young male impalas were locked in a territorial chase, testing each other’s strength and speed. With tense muscles and horns tilted forward, they sprinted across the open savannah.

The chase was not about survival, but dominance, a display of power that determined who would lead and who would step back. After several bursts of speed and quick turns, one male finally slowed down, conceding the contest. The other stood tall for a moment, breathing heavily, before settling back into the calm of the plains. 

Another day saw a far more intense contest unfold, two massive bull buffalo locked in a fierce dominance fight. Their horns had become entangled, and it was clear that neither was willing to back down.

These confrontations are part of establishing hierarchy and territory within a herd, but they can quickly escalate into a dangerous situation. In this case, one bull’s horn was pressed dangerously close to the other’s eye. The struggle continued for several minutes, each bull twisting and pushing with sheer power, trying to free itself without losing the upper hand.

Exhaustion, injury, or even becoming easy targets for predators are real risks. Lions and hyenas often take advantage of such moments, knowing that a trapped or weakened buffalo offers a rare opportunity for an easy kill. Fortunately, the two bulls managed to pull apart and retreat to opposite sides, both heaving as their tempers cooled. 

The waterbuck is a striking antelope. Its brown coat shines softly in the sunlight, and the males confidently stand out with their curved horns. The females are equally graceful, always alert and calm as they move through the grass. —Japheth Supeyo

At last, a breath of fresh air sweeps across the land as the short rains grace this part of Kenya. The parched dusty days have turned pleasantly cool under a soft veil of cloud cover, and the fresh scent of wet soil brings a groundwork of new growth.

Rescued young wildlife always brings hope, but a successful reunion between a lost cub and its mother is something straight out of a wild fairytale. Last week, Big Life Foundation, in collaboration with Lion Guardians and a former Big Life scholarship student, accomplished exactly that.

A young boy herding goats discovered a lone, frightened lion cub near his village and, in an act of courage and compassion, alerted rangers. Responding quickly, the Big Life team and Lion Guardians suspected the cub belonged to a lioness known to have recently lost one of her four cubs. After an initial, unsuccessful search, the cub was taken to Big Life’s headquarters for safekeeping overnight. 

The following day, a drone was used to navigate challenging terrain safely, and the team located the lioness and her remaining cubs within Kimana Sanctuary.

To mask human scent on the cub, they carefully wrapped her in a blanket before placing her nearby. What followed was pure magic. The lioness approached cautiously, sniffed, and then gently reclaimed her lost cub, welcoming her back into the Pride. 

At the break of dawn, sunrises here in Kimana Sanctuary transform into a landscape of pure magic, from clouds forming patterns like oozing hot lava, to silhouettes of big game moving gracefully through the golden mist. For photographers and lovers of nature, these mornings are worth every early rise.  

Patience and complete stillness are the hallmarks of a skilled aquatic bird hunter. With the camera trained on this focused Goliath heron, a strike was imminent as it locked its eyes below the water. Every muscle in its towering frame was motionless, and its neck was ready to thrust its head forward. Then, in a blur of precision and power, the heron struck, its long neck uncoiling like a spring, beak plunging beneath the surface. A splash, a pause, and then the triumph, a wriggling fish firmly speared on its pointed, sharp bill. 

After a few days of searching for Motonyi, the female cheetah, she made an early morning appearance with quite an entrance. Just minutes late to witness her successful hunt, we found her enjoying her fresh kill.

This solitary hunter is currently enjoying her successful hunts without the usual interference from scavengers, but remaining ever so vigilant. For now, she reigns in this patch of savannah, swift and silent, away from the resident lions. 

After several days of relentless mating, Osunash is beginning to show clear signs of exhaustion, the price of his vital but demanding mission to pass on his genes. During this period, a male lion’s focus narrows almost entirely to his receptive partner, leaving little time or energy for anything else. Meals are often skipped, and sleep comes only in brief periods. The result is a worn but determined male, his strength tested by nature’s call to reproduce. 

The spur-winged goose, a larger and more imposing cousin of the Egyptian goose, doesn’t always share the same peaceful coexistence one might expect among relatives.

The smaller Egyptian geese are notoriously vocal, their loud, raucous calls often breaking the calm of wetlands and riverbanks. This incessant noise can easily irritate their bigger cousins, leading to frequent squabbles. It’s not uncommon to witness a spur-winged goose chasing off an overly boisterous Egyptian goose in a burst of flapping wings and splashing water. —Robert Sayialel