NGORONGORO CRATER NATIONAL PARK, TANZANIA, Guest Post by Karen Minkowski

Young male lions, Ngorongoro Crater National Park, Tanzania.

My friend Karen Minkowski has visited Africa many times and has contributed often to The Intrepid Tourist, sharing her beautiful photographs and insights about animals. She recently went to northern Tanzania, visiting four national parks: Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Tarangire. This is the third of her four reports of that trip. 

As we descended into Ngorongoro Crater, four or five young muddy male lions were emerging from a cloud of dust whipped up by Land Cruisers on the Crater floor below us. We assumed they were part of a “coalition”, a group of related and sometimes unrelated males who have been forced out of their natal pride(s) or have chosen to leave. They will probably form their own prides, giving them a greater chance at reproductive success.

They chased each other and tussled, full of energy in the cool morning. I love how their tails are flying.

Some of the males had short manes, others had not yet begun to grow them.

After the lions moved on, we spotted two Serval cats, well-camouflaged in the tall, dry grass. Here’s one of the pair. Among the wild cats, Servals have the highest rate of hunting success, feeding on rodents and other small mammals.

Serval.

This Golden Jackal, now called the Golden Wolf, first got our attention with its high-pitched howl.

Golden wolf (golden jackal).

Very recent DNA studies show a closer relationship to grey wolves and coyotes than to the Golden Jackal of Europe and Asia.

Golden wolf (golden jackal).

The Secretary Bird, a relative of eagles, hawks and other raptors, eats just about anything on the ground it can catch but prefers snakes, including venomous ones. The bird stomps its prey to death with its strong legs and feet.

Secretary bird.

On a relatively cool morning, it’s not rare to see hippos grazing until the sun sends them back to the safety of the water.

Hippos.

 Grant’s Gazelle lowering itself to a sitting posture.

Grant's gazelle.

A herd of buffalo at rest. These are females; the males were off to one side. You can see the difference in horn structure between females and males (below). The males have a thick, boney base on top of their head where the horns have fused. This “boss” protects the head when they fight other males for dominance.

Female buffalo.

These old male buffalos may be a threesome or a part of a larger bachelor group. They’ve separated from the mixed herd of adult females, their young, and the stronger, dominant males, who may have kicked them out. Though these three are well past their prime, I saw, years ago, a small group of these old guys fend off a lioness. Their massive horns are intimidating and can inflict serious injury or death.

Male buffalo.

The Northern Anteater Chat. 

Rosy-throated Longclaw, probably a female, well-camouflaged in the dry grasses.

Hippo aggression? In the first photo below, a wet (dark) hippo walks toward the resting hippo on the left. In the next picture the hippo has stood up and looks threateningly at the one on the right. About fifteen seconds later (third photo), the aggressor moves closer to the wet hippo, its face thrust out; the wet one seems to be cowering a bit, but a fight did not ensue.

I may be interpreting this hippo interaction completely incorrectly!

Lesser flamingos in Lake Magadi, on the Crater floor.

African Wild Cat on the outer slopes of the Crater.

Note: Karen's final post about her Africa trip--Tarangiri National Park--will appear next week.

 

ZIMBABWE, Birds of Hwange National Park, Guest Post by Karen Minkowski

Yellow-billed Hornbill in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

My friend Karen Minkowski is spending several months in Africa and sent me some of her wonderful photos taken on a trip to Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. Karen and I were on the same memorable trip to East Africa in 1971 that I wrote about in my post on May 16, 2011. Karen has been back to Africa many times since then, both for work and for pleasure. I thank her for sharing her terrific photos and observations of African wildlife with The Intrepid Tourist.

Last week Karen reported on some of the many wild animals of Zimbabwe. Here is the second half of Karen's report about Hwange National Park and some of the many birds she saw and photographed there.

Birds were everywhere, calling and singing and displaying.

White-crested helmet-shrikes cock their heads as they search for invertebrates in the bark of a fallen tree.

The Kori bustard is Africa's largest flying bird, but at about 40 pounds it does not often leave the ground. It hunts invertebrates, lizards, snakes and carrion, but also eats vegetable matter.

The male Red-crested Korhan can often be heard calling in preparation for his “suicide” display, an impressive aerial feat performed in hopes of securing a mate. The male suddenly flies up about 15-20 meters high, then stops flapping his wings and falls straight down as though he's been shot dead.  A couple meters above the ground, he spreads his wings and lands gracefully. While falling he is at risk of being grabbed by a raptor. 
Our guide told us that the Korhan displays to show the female that he is willing to risk his life for his family and is thus worthy of fathering her chicks...An amazing performance (and too quick for me to photograph, but you can watch an 11 second video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2o_c_TClSI ) The red crest reportedly is erected only as part of attracting a female; displaying it at other times might attract a predator.

This little Rufous-naped Lark positions itself on a termite mound or thin dead stump, about 2 meters above ground, and belts out its beautiful call. We heard and saw them all along our game drives.

Maribou Storks, above, White-backed Vultures below...not the beauties of the bird world but they do a lot of the cleanup.

Here's a mother Magpie-shrike (aka long-tailed shrike) gazing lovingly at her offspring. Or perhaps it's the dad.

A few of the many raptors in Hwange National Park include the black-chested snake eagle, the dark chanting goshawk, and tawny eagle and more.

Here is a black-chested snake eagle perched on a branch. This bird feeds mostly on snakes, but will also prey on lizards, small mammals and frogs.

The Secretary bird is a ground raptor. When it raises the quill-like feathers at the back of the head it brings to mind an old-fashioned secretary with quills tucked behind his/her ear.

When I go to Hwange I am accustomed to joining a walking safari. I love this way of seeing wildlife, following the tracker as he picks up the spoor of a lion or rhino. There's nothing between me and the wildlife, and ... I get to walk. On this safari we viewed everything from a vehicle, but I did appreciate that we were able to approach birds and animals much closer without disturbing them, and we saw more wildlife.