Photos: Wild Africa

During our trip to Tanzania, we were fortunate to see one family of cheetah.   The mother looked right at us as her cubs ate an animal that the mother had brought back for them.  Of the "Big 5" African animals, we saw all but the leopard.   We visited in February, when the grass was high and green.  It made for more pleasant photos than later in the year with brown grasses, but it made it more difficult to spot animals, as they were at times concealed by the tall grasses.

Serengeti translates as "endless plain."  It is the size of the state of Connecticut.

Our trip through the Serengeti meant that we went more than a week without being on a paved road, unless you call this bridge a paved road.  We were fortunate that the water was not higher.

These Grey Crowned Cranes are native to East Africa.  The are 3.3 feet (1 m.) tall and have a wingspan of 6.5 feet (2 m.).  The are known for the dance that both partners will engage in as part of their courtship ritual.   These birds are not migratory, but live in the grasslands all year.

These Thompson's gazelles were head butting.  Teenage males stake out their territory by banishing other males and then waiting for nomadic females to enter their territory.  The males at times will clash at the borders of their territories.