The Wild Animals of Tanzania

It was a thrill to see these two teenager elephant play fighting. Fortunately neither was hurt, and they rejoined the herd. It is amazing to watch wild animals in the wild, exhibiting the diversity of animal behavior, but in some cases acting rather human. Or maybe it is we humans who are acting like wild animals at times.
We were in Tanzania in February, after rains had nourished the grasses and the sun had baked them to a golden color. Friends who have travelled to Tanzania in the summer have returned with photos in which the grass is brown and trampled. I love the alertness and eye contact of this group of zebras.
These two female lions were hanging out in a large tree relaxing. Our safari guide said that the male lion was certainly in the grasses below the tree, but we could not see him because we were there at a time of year when the grasses are tall, as explained above. If we had come when the grasses are brown and scarce, we could have seen more animals, but the scenery in the Serengeti would not have been as attractive.
The African plains are sprinkled with these large trees. The smaller trees are sometimes broken by the herds of elephants.
We were fortunate to be in the Serengeti during the annual migration of 2 million wildebeests, also called gnus. At one point they were dots on the horizon as far as the eye could see.
Hyenas stalked around the edges of groups of wildebeests looking to attack the newborns, as we were there during the birthing season for wildebeests. Baby wildebeests can walk and run after only a few minutes, which is essential for their survival with packs of hyenas around.