Alex’s Blog: Game Drivin’ (6/18)

Typically, I wouldn’t be too happy to wake up at 6:30 am… but in Africa? I can cope. We got an early start this morning to head out for a game drive.

It was so. incredible.

Within the first two minutes of our drive, a family of elephants stopped us on our path. Meandering about, the family consisted of 4-5 full grown adults and 2-3 babies, perhaps just a few months old, according to our guide, Crispin. One of the adults began approaching our vehicles, which I believe may have been the first time an elephant has brought me fear… at roughly 4,000 lbs, an upset elephant could certainly beat me in a skirmish. However, all is well, and I am here writing this blog.

The family of elephants near our vehicle

The Plains Zebra was the most abundant animal on our drive, but there was one individual in specific which really stood out to me: they had nearly escaped predation and had two large gashes on their back. While it was upsetting to observe the zebra’s condition, it also provided a really cool opportunity to observe ecology in action. Although we didn’t explicitly see any large felids yesterday, I am taking this as evidence of their presence: Zebras fill the niche of prey, and are often predated upon by large carnivorous predators, commonly large felids. I assume it was a lion by deduction: I find it unlikely the zebra was able to outrun a cheetah which was in such proximity, leopards typically hunt in the late afternoon/evening, and lions are the only other large felid present in Tanzania. Exciting!!

The Injured Zebra

The Marabou Stork was another of my favorite animals to observe. This huge, vulture like bird was covered in the most beautiful colors despite its menacing aura. I learned that apparently these birds evolved bald heads because they cannot clean their head feathers after digging around in the carcasses of their prey… that is metal.

Marabou Stork

We returned to the lodge for student presentations before heading out on another drive. This drive, however, ended in the most beautiful sunset atop a tick-infested hilltop <3 (we all did thorough tick-checks upon our return, don’t worry). In all seriousness, the sun was so beautiful to watch as it set over the distant eastern escarpment – I still can’t believe we’re here. Another great day in the books.

Our sunset view