Romancing Lions

Though NOT one of the items on my bucket list, watching lion romance unfold right in front of our eyes, in the open - only feet/yards away - was incredible.

First, some background: Lions do not have a specific breeding (and therefore, mating) season, but females of a pride often breed synchronously.  Male lions typically become ready for mating at 26 months, although they are not likely to breed until 4 or 5 years old.  Reproduction generally starts to decline at 11 years, but female lions are capable of breeding until they are 15 years old.

Being a fearsome carnivore with virtually no predators to be concerned about, lions are given to a lifestyle that essentially involves hunting, eating, playing, sleeping, and having lots of sex — it's definitely a lifestyle to be envious of.  

Unlike all other cats who lead solitary lifestyle, lions have developed to live in groups.  Their pride could be as large as 30 lions including cubs - typically with one dominant male and several mothers/sisters/daughters - none his progeny.  In most prides, lionesses do the hunting by stalking and launching a surprise attack at close distances, preferring wildebeests, impalas, and zebras.  Adults will eat anywhere from 5 to 7 kg (11-15.5 lb) of meat each day.  When the food is plentiful, lions only need to hunt every 2-3 days depending on the size of their pride. 

But when it comes time for sex, that's when the fun really starts. A lioness often mates with more than one male (if there are any) when she is in her estrus ("heat,") and mating bouts can last up to several days — with couples sometimes doing the nasty up to 20 to 40 times per day.  In fact, they have sex so frequently that they basically stop eating. 

We saw eight females on one kopje (a rock outcropping), another two with 4-5 cubs in another location, 3-4 male lions (brothers) under one tree, spread around in their territory.

Close up

Lions on a kopje

Lionesses in a tree

Lions happy under another tree

Babysitting cubs

While the rest of the pride is resting elsewhere, the alpha male (below) is only with one female who is in heat.  With the mating cycle repeating itself almost every 20 minutes, Lions are go on for a long time - watch how exhausting that can be for both.  Each mating lasts a couple of minutes and after mating, the female turns to the male and bares her teeth - signaling that she is done. Then after a short break, they go at it again.

She is ready and waiting; he is not.

Lion Romance shows two separate episodes in two locations.  

In the first one, the lioness is ready (again), pacing around and approaching him to let him know that.  But he is too tired to even get up.  

The second was even more elaborate.  When we first saw them, they (probably the female) had just killed a wildebeest, and were resting in shade under a tree catching their breaths.  Under normal circumstances, male eats first, and only when he is finished, the female(s) and cubs get a chance.  Whatever is left over then feeds hyenas, vultures and other scavengers.  But this was a meal just for themselves.

While they were resting, we drove around to other areas of the park before returning a couple of hours later.  At that time, they had just finished another mating session and were seen staggering away.  They both sat under another tree and rested.  Just when the male lion seemed ready, they were rudely interrupted by a passing large elephant.  The elephant wasn't interested or afraid of the lions, but wasn't about to change his course either.  At the closest, he passed within feet of where the lions were resting.  

Watching Elephant go by ...

Close encounter

Now back where we were

Romance re-begins

Staring in each others eyes 

The law of the Jungle can also mean that the King of the Jungle yields to a larger animal.  They did.  The lion wisely moved away several feet as he noticed the approaching elephant.  Lioness, however, waited as long as she could and got up to move away just far enough at the last moment.  Watch lions and the elephant eyeing each other as the elephant passed by.  Notice how tiny the lions look in comparison.

As soon as the elephant passed by, the lions returned to their shade and resumed their romance - gazing in to each other's eyes at one point.

Even lions have to guard their meal

Finally, round number ???

Then another interruption - a vulture and another bird got impatient and started nibbling at the carcass.  Laws of the Jungle were being broken.  Even lions need to guard their meal.  The lioness charged to shoo the birds away and then had to rest some more.  The lion also joined to protect their meal - although they had not desire to eat just yet.  A few minutes later, it happened.  

It was 5:30 in the evening and we had more things to see before returning to the lodge before dark.

Itinerary

Photos

Our 7 day trip was just about the perfect amount of time for the things we wanted to experience.  Two full days (4 half days of game drives in Serengeti), One full day in Ngorongoro Crater and half day in Lake Manyara on the way from Arusha.  On the way back, we also stopped by Oldupai Gorge - the origin of human species, if you wish.

• Day 1: JAN 23 - Arrive JRO (Kilimanjaro Airport) at 0150 AM on Turkish Airlines nonstop from Istanbul.  Clear Immigration, collect luggage, and meet driver/guide.  Driving West for an hour, you will be transferred to Arusha hotel BB, in Arusha.
• Day 1: JAN 23 (same day) - After breakfast, drive to Lake Manyara National Park. Arrive for Lunch. Afternoon game drive in Lake Manyara.  Dinner and overnight at Lake Manyara Kirurumu Lodge FB 
• DAY 2: JAN 24  - After breakfast, drive to the vast Serengeti plains .Enjoy an Enroute game drive arriving in time for lunch and check in at your lodge. In the afternoon, enjoy game drive. Dinner and overnight -Serengeti Sopa Lodge FB
• Day 3: JAN 25 - After breakfast have full day game drives in Serengeti national park where if you are lucky you can see the big five animals.  Dinner and overnight -Serengeti Sopa Lodge FB     
• Day 4:  JAN 26 - After breakfast, drive to Ngorongoro conservation area.  Stop by Oldupai Gorge on the way after picnic box lunch.  Dinner and overnight –Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge FB  
• Day 5: JAN 27 - Early morning breakfast. Descend down to the Ngorongoro crater floor with a picnic packed lunch boxes for a full day game view. Return to your lodge, in the evening for dinner and Overnight.  All meals and Overnight – Ngorongoro Sopa FB 
• Day 6: JAN 28 - Depart after breakfast and drive to Arusha. Lunch in Arusha. Thereafter transfer to Kilimanjaro Airport in time for your departure flight back home. Flight departs at 0415 am on 29 Jan back to Istanbul via Zanzibar.

GENERAL INFORMATION ON KENYA/TANZANIA

Time Difference: Kenya/ Tanzania is 3 hours ahead of GMT.

Visa: All travelers must have current passports valid for 60 days after the expected departure date from Africa. The visa can be obtained through a Kenya/ Tanzania embassy in advance of your trip or upon arrival at the airport/entry point.

Currency Conversion: The currency of Tanzania is Tanzania Shillings (TS). 1 USD approx. 2000 TS

Languages Spoken: Kiswahili is the National language and English is widely spoken.

Learn to speak Kiswahili!

A few words go a long way in making things easier for you in a new country…so here goes!!!

Jambo – Hello

Habari! – How are you?

Mzuri Sana – I am fine, thank you!

Sisemi Kiswahili – I can’t speak Swahili

Hapana - No

Ndiyo - Yes

Asante sana – Thank you very much!

Kwaheri – Good bye!

BiaBaridi – Cold beer!

Packing List

Clothing: Kenya is casual. Please bring neutral colors. Remember, as there is lots of dust, khaki is always good. The best method of dress is layering. Early morning and evening game runs call for a sweater/fleece or windbreaker over a cotton long-sleeved shirt. A T-shirt or short-sleeved cotton shirt is good for mid-day. Hats are a must. Cotton or poly trousers, shorts, sneakers or comfortable hiking shoes are recommended. 

Dos and Don’ts while on safari

• Don't photograph the people or their homes and livestock without asking permission first, and don't be offended if you're asked to pay for the privilege—it's customary in some areas, particularly with the Masai who expect payment.
• Don't encourage your driver to go off road on safari to get closer to the animals. Some will happily do this for the promise of a tip, but it is against national park rules and destroys the environment for the animals.
• Do stock up on insect repellent and general medicines in case you suffer from minor ailments while you are out on safari without access to a pharmacy or a doctor.
• Do take more camera film or memory cards than you think you'll need. There are great photographic opportunities on safari, and most people get carried away taking photographs of animals. If you run out, it is very expensive to buy film or cards in the national park lodges.
• If you are going on a Safari, watch your clothing choices. Bright colors (such as whites and blues) attract wild animals as well as insects.
• When on safari, please do not get out of your vehicle, unless you are told it is safe to do so. Do not attempt to go for walks outside the lodge premises, when staying in game lodges/ camps.

Best season to visit

Rainier season (November to April) The short rains are November- December; long rains from February-April - the latter generally being considered the off season.  However, the rainy season is a very exciting time of year as this is when the animals congregate on the Short Grass Plains to have their young. Late February-early March is usually a good time to see the migration on the plains. In turn, this attracts large numbers of predators and results in spectacular interactions between predators and prey. Keep in mind that part of the Serengeti Plains fall within the NCA (Ngorongoro Crater.)  Birds abound at this time and the wild flowers are in bloom, streaking the landscape with white, yellow and purple and attracting a menagerie of butterflies.  The rainstorms are dramatic and usually short-lived, but the cloud formations and the build up of rainstorms is a sight to behold. On the downside, you may get stuck a few times, or skid, and it may rain.  The Short Grass Plains, Ngorongoro and Ndutu are particularly good this time of year.

Dry season( May to October) The dry season holds its own beauty. It is generally accepted in other parts of Africa that the dry season is the best time for game viewing because the animals are concentrated along permanent water sources. This is true within the crater where game-viewing is excellent this time of year. However, keep in mind that the Short Grass Plains become completely devoid of game during this season. This is the best time of year to visit Empakaai and Ndutu also has resident game that remains around the lake all year round.

About Africa / Tanzania

About Africa:

Continent Number 6 - Africa.  

Must see items - a wildlife safari (Tanzania), Sahara desert (Egypt), Victoria Falls (Zambia/Zimbabwe), and Cape of Good Hope - though not truly the southernmost point of Africa, which 150 miles further east (South Africa.)

Can you fit this all in one trip?  Not really.  So in the end, we settled on the top two - a safari in northwest Tanzania and a river cruise in Egypt - one week each.

For many centuries, cartographers have drawn maps that show Africa (as well as South America) to be much smaller than they actually are.  Africa is the second largest continent after Asia, and covers 20% of earth's land mass.  Check out the true size and how many countries would fit inside it: http://www.visualcapitalist.com/problem-with-our-maps/

See how many of the world's countries fit comfortably within it:

Africa straddles the equator, which passes just north of Tanzania, and extends from northern temperate to southern temperate zones.  Top-most part of Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) is about the same latitude as San Francisco, whereas the southern tip of Africa is almost the same level as the southern part of mainland Australia. 

By all accounts, humans originated here - probably in Ethiopia, about 1000 miles northeast of Tanzania.  Oldupai Gorge, as correctly spelled, in East Serengeti Plains within NCA (Ngorongoro Conservation Area) is one of the most important paleoanthropological sites in the world, where you find human evolution of 2 million years in one place.  Homo habilis, probably the first early human species, occupied Oldupai Gorge approximately 1.9 million years ago (mya); then came a contemporary australopithecine, Paranthropus boisei, 1.8 mya, then Homo erectus, 1.2 mya. Homo sapiens is dated to have occupied the site 17,000 years ago.  (There is still a significant gap in between.  And in case you wondered, no, we apparently did not descend from the apes.)

The six layers of human evolution in one place.  The plants in front are Oldupai.

Oldupai Gorge is worth about half an hour stop, which many tourists make it in to a lunch stop as well - either on their way to, or returning from, Serengeti.  Not far (about 28 miles), on the South side of dirt road B144 is Laetoli, another important archaeological site.  How do archaeologists stumble up on these sites in the middle of nowhere has always been a mystery to me.

About Tanzania: 

Tanzania, so named when Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged in 1946, has population around 50 million.  Although the official language is Swahili, English is widely spoken - like much of the rest of the world.

Its flag, created by combining the flags of the former two countries, represents the natural vegetation(Green), rich mineral deposits(yellow stripes), Tanzanian people(Black), and numerous lakes and rivers found in Tanzania as well as the Indian Ocean(Blue.)

The flag does represent the country well.  About 38% of the land area is set aside for conservation.  Naturally, tourism is a growing industry.  It is still the third behind agriculture and mining/construction.

Much of its population is concentrated near the northern border and on the east coast.  

Masai people (more so in Kenya than in Tanzania) take pride in their historical way of living and reject modern technology and conveniences.  They do not want/like their pictures taken - them, their villages or their livestock.  "They will snatch your phone away," we were warned.  The exception, of course, is if you visit their village, where they would be happy to take you around, dance for you and let you take pictures for money.  On guided tours, that is one of the "required" cultural stops.  We were able to skip that.

As for rejecting modern technology and conveniences, exception applies to cell phones and riding buses for local transportation.  Buses and rickshaws run on Highway A23 from Arusha.  They will pick up people anywhere along the way.  Every couple of weeks, Masai - who live in villages in the bush away from the highway, will congregate near towns along A23 to purchase and sell groceries and supplies.  A farmers market.  

Shopping:

I rarely shop, in general, and even less so on my trips - mainly because I am carrying only a backpack with not much room to spare.  I do however have an eye open for something unusual or unique that I might be interested in - for myself or someone else.

When you are on guided tours, there are obligatory shopping stops - and occasionally lunch stops - along the way.  If you are in a big group like a 40-seater bus, you just can't escape it; but a small group has much more latitude in deciding whether to stop.  Our guide kept asking us about some shopping or "optional" activities - for additional cost, of course - and I kept saying NO for much of the trip.  The optional activity on this trip was to visit and experience local culture.

One thing I wanted to see was Tanzanite, (so named by Tiffany & Co. after Tanzania, the country in which it was discovered.)  These very attractive shiny blue (appearing alternately sapphire blue, violet and burgundy depending on crystal orientation; occasionally yellow and reddish brown) precious stones are found only in Tanzania.  It was discovered in the Mererani Hills 10-15 miles southwest of JRO (Kilimanjaro) airport, only in 1967.  Naturally formed Tanzanite is extremely rare and is endemic only to the Mererani Hills.  It is usually a reddish brown in its rough state, requiring heat treatment to bring out the blue violet of the stone.  In 2002, the American Gem Trade Association chose Tanzanite as a December birthstone, the first change to their birthstone list since 1912.