The Big Five

Not to be confused with college sports and the Big Ten, the Big FIVE refers to the five animals that will attack you in your own territory. It's not as the old saying about visiting Zoos goes (Lions, Tigers and Bears, oh my!) these five most agressive animals are (in no particular order): Lions (of course!), Elephants, Rhinos, Buffalo and Leopards. Have a guess for which is the MOST dangerous? The answer might surprise you... Buffalo! They are known to attack on a whim. Not when hungry or provoked as the others might.

These are just a few of the fun facts I learned while on my fabulous real-life safari this weekend. It was a three day/two night excursion. We drove about 4-5 hours to Masai Mara ('Masai' refering to the famous tribe of Masai people and 'Mara' meaning where people and animals live together... The area is ungated and Masai individuals live pretty much among all these wild animals.. more to come about that later.). The area is quite large over 1500 square kilometers (if I remember correctly..) and borders Tanzania where the area continues, except that over there it is referred to as the Serengetti (meaning great plains). It was raining on our way there and the drive was pretty much what you'd expect: very bumpy roads, slippery mud (in case you're wondering, dirt roads in the rain feel very much like you're driving in a snowstorm.. you skid the same way you do in snow.), interesting sceneray and some good company from my tour guide-Peter- and the other four passengers- a cute Kenyan couple who were very friendly, but also very wrapped up in each other and two German woman, a woman who had lived here for a year and a half and had come back to visit with her mother.

It rained the first night we were there, but we still saw a few priceless moments with the wild animals- a mother lion feeding and teaching and reprimanding her four cute cubs (one of the best things I saw all weekend!) and some elephants feeding in the grasses. The next day after a big breakfast, we headed out to explore for the whole day. It was absoutely amazing. You see so much. At one point, I was maybe two meters from two (previously mating) lions. I was in a car (that's probably the only rule of the safari.. don't get out of the car when you are near the lions), but still- two meters!! At the most!!!! You also learn so much. I learned that giraffes are homosexuals (Bet you didn't know that one did you?)And they obviously procreate, but I gather it's more of a chore than anything else because they prefer to live in groups of the same sex. I also learned that there are different groups of Impalas, but one of the groups-Harim, I think- has one male and a couple dozen females. He's THE man of the group for a fortnight and then they kick him out and another male comes along. I saw lions mating and then the post-coitol lazyness.. 'Love was in the air' was certainly true when I was there. I also learned about the animal that is monogomous (although, now I can't remember if it is the jackal or the smallest gazelle). Even if their partner dies, they remain faithful and stay single. I saw Timon and Pumba.. they weren't hanging out together, but they were fairly near each other, so I think it is fair to assume their friends. In fact I sort of felt like I was in the Lion King when I was there. Or on the Disney Safari ride.. an elephant came out of the bushes ready to charge and we got stuck once and had to "watch out" (for lions...) as we gathered twigs to put under the wheel for friction. Disney definitely has it right. But I suppose it's a bit more exciting with the real deal.

All in all I can say it was a real success. I saw four out of the five "Big Five." Missing was the Leopard (the Leopard and the Rhino are the hardest to find says my tour guide Peter). But I figure that gives me a reason to come back (like I am sure there will be others..). I can say that elephants are still my favorite. I don't know what it is about them. I know too others they may be ugly- they are grey, fat and often dirty- but to me they are SO cute! And seeing them in their natural habitat was SO much better. Their trunks really do it for me. It's so funny because they just hang there. The little ones were swinging them around.. maybe testing their strength? It was quite cute!

I am working on trying to post my pictures on photobucket or something, but the internet is a bit slow here and I get impatient (although I am trying to be more laid back and not on "Mzungu time" all the time..). We will see and I will keep you all posted. I have quite a few fabulous ones. And a cute video of the lion cubs playing. Ohhh, and one of these two smallest elphants wrestling their older cousin until the grown-ups get upset.

Until next time,
Cella, Sarah, daughter, sister, niece, granddaughter, Stella..

PS Some of you will certainly appreciate this.. Last night Rosemary took me to Taidy's a restaurant/club/bar in town. Here, dancing is totally normal and common. People just get up and start dancing next to their table if they like the song. And I say people because it's not just women. In fact, there were more men dancing (and I mean REALLY dancing.. not just hip swinging to get girls) than women. I, OF COURSE, LOVE this because I love dancing. And even though I insist I have no rhythm anymore, Rosemary made me get up and dance for quite a bit. She told me I did great and danced way better than the other Mzungus she knows-we joked it had to do with my not-so-Mzungu rear.. ;)