The Funky Site - Safari Part II

Safari Part II

Created 8th October 2004, last updated 8th October 2004.

The 'big five' shown in Safari Part I are just a few of the many animals you'll see in the Masai Mara. The African buffalo is relatively common and we certainly saw quite a few herds. Despite looking docile, they can be extremely dangerous due to their large size, speed (up to 35mph) and large horns - it is for these reasons that the buffalo trophy is so respected by hunters. See the Africa Wildlife Foundation website for more facts and figures on buffalo, rhino, and any other African animals.

African buffalo

Rhino

There are millions of wildebeest on the plains of the Masai Mara, and that's no exaggeration! These large antelopes form the largest single group of animals in the Serengeti/Masai Mara region, and the annual migration sees up to two million of them moving annually in a cyle up to one thousand miles long in search of water. This takes them in a circular pattern, leaving the Serengeti for the Mara in early July and returning towards November. We were able to see the earliest beginnings of the migration down by the Mara river, but being the dry season there wasn't much of a river for them to cross!

Wildebeast

Wildebeast at the river

Topi

Impala

Baboons on lookout

Also clustered around the water were the hippos, who spend twenty hours a day at rest. They feed at night, and can be exceedingly dangerous animals out of water. Their huge size belies thier viciousness, and every year many people are killed by hippos. They are able to communicate underwater over large distances although the exact mechanics of this are still being researched.