22 June 2008 Africa…A Land of Many Animals

Africa is associated with animals and I now know why. I have never seen so many animals living in the wild and I am sure that I never will again. I tried to make a list of all of the different animals that I personally saw and could identify. I ended up with a list of over sixty (60) different animals, including a large variety of mammals and birds. The first animal that I saw was a zebra.

This young zebra is near the water in Amboseli National Park near Nairobi, Kenya.

They were just standing there looking at us. I suddenly realized that we were the intruders in their home. That was when I knew how fortunate I was to be able to get a glimpse into their world.

Of course, everyone was anxious to see the elephants. Our program included the opportunity to meet Soila Sayialel, one of the lead assistants to Cynthia Moss at the Amboseli Elephant Research Center. This group has conducted the longest study of elephants in the world. Soila took us out into the field and demonstrated the method they use to catalog the elephants. It was astounding to actually see these immense creatures in person and up close. I was fortunate enough to capture a photograph of a baby elephant walking under its mother. Is it cute or what?

Amboseli National Park is home to over 1500 elephants including this adorable baby.

There were so many different animals that it was almost too much. You had to catch yourself and remember that in just a couple of weeks there would no longer be a bevy of wild animals to view every time you took a ride in the car. Some of the animals that I saw included some baby warthogs and their mother.

These warthogs are very shy and are running away from us humans.

I also saw a cape buffalo (do you see the little bird catching a ride on its back?)

The cape buffalo is one of the "Big Five" or the five major mammals in Africa. Can you name all five?

Another animal that has a little friend is the hippopotamus. Do you know the name of the pretty white bird?

This hippopotamus is enjoying lounging in the water which is where he will spend most of his life.

We saw the spotted hyena and the elusive striped hyena, which was only visible at night and much harder to photograph...sorry.

The spotted hyena is often thought to be a coward, but in reality they are quite intelligent and often seen in groups called clans.

Another animal with spots that we were extremely fortunate to see was the cheetah. It is so long and lanky that it is obvious why it is the fastest of all land animals and can reach speeds of over 60 miles per hour.

The cheetah is different from other felines because it has claws that will not retrack, much like a dog.

No trip to Africa would be complete without seeing a lion. This is not an easy task since they are usually sleeping during the day. However, we stumbled upon a female and her two cubs right after they had eaten and they were too tired to run off. This is a photograph of one of the cubs (check out those teeth!)

A lion cub will be born with spots that usually fade as they grow older.

We also saw lots of baboons. In fact, a researcher named Joel who works with Shirley Strum, one of the world's leading experts on baboons, took us into the field and demonstrated how he collects data. It was very impressive to see how much information must be collected every day. It was also very cool to actually sit among the trees and watch the baboons travel back and forth. It was something I will always remember.

Baboons are highly adaptable and search for habitats that have a water source and safe places to sleep in either trees of the sides of mountains.

One animal that epitomizes Africa would be the giraffe. It is found in central, eastern, and southern Africa. It is without a doubt the tallest land animal in the world and certainly one of the cutest. We were lucky to be able to observe many giraffe, both young and old. How many giraffe do you see?

As giraffes age their coats darken making it easy to differentiate between the young and old.

On our way back to Nairobi, we were treated to the sight of a flock of flamingos. They were not as pink as you would think. Does anyone know why?

Flamingos are not only beautiful birds but they are very interesting. Did you know that the eye of a flamingo is larger than its brain?

Africa is home to a large variety of incredible creatures. However, it is the people that make Africa truly amazing. Read the next journal entry to learn about my experiences with the majestic Maasai people.