Baboons outside the gate of Ngorongoro Crater.
The lions napping
In the afternoon sun
Fill me with envy
– Obligatory haiku, because why not
The gates of Ngorongoro Crater opened wide before us; if only we were able to pass through them with expediency, rather than being stuck waiting for the cogs of bureaucracy to grind forward. At least the view was nice, as troops of baboon played and scurried around us. We even glimpsed a mother and a baby, which was quite adorable. Of course, the moment I left the car with some others to visit the gift shop was the exact moment our professors finished up, so after rushing our purchases, we were able to make the climb and descent into the crater.
A hippo tooth! Should find out where they got this…
The 200-kilometer-wide explosion site was teeming with more life than I have ever seen in one place. In the first hour alone we were able to glimpse plains zebras, Thompson’s and Grant’s gazelles, warthogs, cape buffalo, hippopotami, greater and lesser flamingoes, sacred ibis, Egyptian geese, crowned cranes, and an elephant. The hippos in particular exhibited interesting behavior, opening their mouths wide and slamming into each other in what could have been playing or fighting: the difference seemed negligible.
Around 12:20 PM, I struck the jackpot. A SPOTTED HYENA!! My first sighting of my assigned taxon filled me with so much joy, even if it was just one specimen walking across a field for a couple minutes. Though I wasn’t sure at the time, later research reassured me that it was normal for these creatures to hunt alone on occasion, even if they are social and pack hunters. Alternatively, it could have been patrolling the territory, since it didn’t seem to be in any hurry. With at least one observation under my belt, I felt satisfied that I could leave Africa satisfied with my findings.
Scar himself. You see the resemblance, right?
The adventure wasn’t over yet though. Eating lunch at the hippo pool (bet you can’t guess why they named it that) was interesting, especially with 3-4 black kites divebombing hapless tourists (and us) for our food. After lunch, we had a real treat: the first lion sighting! It was a juvenile male, so young his mane hadn’t even fully formed. Regrettably, he was covered in wounds on both sides, both of which were infested with flies. He kept rolling around to try and fend them off, which was pretty miserable to watch. We drew comparisons between him and Scar from the Lion King, which should tell you everything you need to know about how bad he looked. However, he wasn’t the only lion we saw that day; a little while later, we came across a whole pride lounging in the afternoon sun! With the big cat scratch itched, we left the crater to head to our home for the rest of the trip: Olduvai Gorge.
Arriving an hour before sunset, we rushed to set up our tents. We made camp in an open clearing near a sloping cliff edge that offered a stunning, panoramic view of the gorge. After a simple but fulfilling dinner of soup, potatoes, chicken and fruit, we retired for the evening. I am excited to camp for the first time in years. Hopefully the night goes well!
