Greetings friends! February was a great time to be in the bush and we hope you’ll enjoy this month’s report. For one safari in particular we were joined by professional photographer Julian W. and his guest. Julian kindly shared several of his photos for February’s report. Thanks Julian!

Snapshot

This season is known as the “Photographic Season”. It is a time which many photographers visit Tanzania’s famous National Parks to capture the Great Migration over the endless plains of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. In terms of weather the long rains are on their way as temperatures are cooling down. We anticipate the plains will soon be turning from brown to green. February typically marks the beginning of the birthing season for Wildebeest and Zebras, though some babies were born prior. Zebras, Giraffes, Elephants, and Carnivores are also bringing young life to their world, but we can expect many more newborns once the heavy rains arrive. Wildebeest and antelope synchronize giving birth and the rains are very important for their survival. Most animals appear to be in good health in all of the parks we recently toured. The sheer numbers of animals in Ngorongoro and Serengeti have increased due to the migration. The Ngorongoro Crater had a great number of ungulates filling the crater floor. The crater is a very unique ecosystem with different species of animals utilizing the same ground at the same time. In Lake Manyara National Park, birds are coming back for incubation on the ground forest canopy, particularly Yellow-billed Storks and Great White Pelicans.

Lake Manyara National Park

Highlights include a pride of lions, one of them guarding a buffalo kill on the open flood plains while others were taking shade from the high noon son. We witnessed locks of birds on the ground water forest canopy preparing their nests for incubation. Troop of baboons and lesser flamingoes were also a part of our encounters.

Ngorongoro Crater

Great sightings, including a lion hunt!  Each day we routinely left for early morning, sunrise game-drives in the hopes that we would catch nocturnal animals returning from their night of hunting. Also, our guest photographers wanted to capture the early morning light. There is truly nothing else in this world like morning in the African bush. Everyone must experience this in their lifetime. Anyhow, at the onset of our first morning drive in the Crater, we were not the least bit disappointed when we came-up on a pride of 15 lions, with a great number of juveniles. We spotted the lions on a small hill, not far from the Munge River. Prior to that we passed a large group of buffalo, and didn’t think too much of it until we happened upon the lions! We stopped the safari vehicle and after a few minutes the pride of lions walked towards us, “filled the road” close to our safari truck and they stopped. They were clearly assessing their situation, as to whether or not they would approach the huge herd of buffalo or continue walking down to the river. After a while they must have realized the buffalo herd as too big so it appeared they were going to dismiss the idea. However, within a few minutes more things changed. A few buffalo were detached from the larger group to make their way to the river for a drink. What a golden opportunity! The lions picked-up on this immediately and they were so quick in strategically placing themselves for the attack. Their plan worked! The lions chased a caught one separate one buffalo from a group. They had a successful hunt! What an amazing spectacle of raw nature! In additional to the hunt, we spotted 3 out of 5 crater prides. We also saw Black Rhinos, numerous Elephant bulls and Hyenas. Amazingly, we spotted the bat eared fox in the crater floor.

Serengeti National Park

The Great Migration with some youngsters aged zero hour to 2 weeks. The calving season was just beginning. We saw plenty of lions and cubs, and it marked our first time to spot many tree-climbing lions in the Serengeti, in the Moru area. We counted a total of 5 hunts; 3 for lions, 1 for Leopard, and 1 for Hyena. We also witnessed numerous migrant birds.

Regards,

Adam & the Proud African Safaris Team

We are pleased to announce that Ernest Samsom Sitta has joined PAS as Senior Guide and Naturalist.

Simply called by his surname, “Sitta”, he is a true Naturalist and a member of the Sukuma tribe. Sitta spent his childhood years growing up in Mwanza, the second largest city in Tanzania, located on the southern shores of Lake Victoria. The city provided easy access to the nearby Game Reserves and National Parks of Tanzania’s Northern Circuit, where he first developed his love for wildlife and its preservation.

Sitta began his career as a Park Assistant within the Ecology Department of TANAPA (Tanzania National Parks) then moved on to become a Park Ranger for ten years. He was later promoted to an Assistant Director position, but for the past twelve years he has served in the role of a Professional Driver Guide. In 2003, he received his official certification in Wildlife Management from the Mweka College near Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

As one PAS client recently stated: “His sight rivals the lions.” We have no doubt about that. A custom safari experience with Sitta as your guide is sure to be adventurous, educational and, without question, an unforgettable experience!