The Last of the Big Five

September 1, 2005


By mid-afternoon we reached a central area of the Serengeti known as the Seronera Valley.

It is here we see our first lions---two males hidden in the long grass. It is not a very good view of them unfortunately. Pete, with his animal-radar vision, somehow spotted yellow ears twitching among yellow grass. His animal-spotting abilities were downright spooky, but without them we would have missed seeing wonderful things on this trip.

Binoculars are passed around. It is still thrilling to see wild lions, even at a distance.

Seeing lions means we have now officially seen The Big Five : lion, buffalo, leopard, rhino, and elephant. Traditionally, these were the animals Victorian big-game hunters would brag about coming to Africa to kill because they were supposed to be the most dangerous to hunt....

Yes, travel to exotic, faraway places and see magnificent creatures--then stick their head on your living-room wall or make a rug out of them. That kind of travel philosophy just boggles my mind...

Wayne admitted that although he doesn't like to emphasize sighting these particular animals, he, like most safari leaders, heave a big sigh of relief when their group has seen them all. I suppose it happens that one might come to Africa and never spot a lion or elephant at all. It's not a zoo, after all, and the animals don't appear on cue. But we were fortunate. I don't think anyone went home disappointed.

This afternoon we saw a lot of wildlife: giraffes, several different species of antelope and deer, hyena, jackal, zebra, wart-hogs, baboons, and a wonderful variety of birds, large and small , including a sleepy owl peering down from a tree.

(By the way, the pictures of the small birds on this page are a result of Graham's infinitely superior camera and excellent ornithological photography skills. Thanks for sharing them!)

I think the true highlights of this afternoon were our encounters with elephants.

One elephant decided to slowly lumber down the center of the dirt-track our truck was on. There was another smaller safari vehicle further along. Both vehicles slowly and respectfully made way for the massive animal to pass by. Close encounters between stubborn cars and elephants can end poorly, I've heard.

Elephants weigh between 7,000-13,500 lbs. (3, 000-6, 250 kg) and don't like to play chicken.

Another elephant entertained us by pausing for a dust-bath in camera range, scooping up trunkfuls of dirt and dumping it over her shoulders onto her back. Tail and trunk swished back and forth energetically as she enjoyed a good dusting. Her broad grey back was soon covered in a layer of reddish-brown clay, causing a significant cloud of dust to hover in the air around her.

As afternoon faded to evening, we also came upon more animals which didn't mind a little dirt: several hippos, caked comfortably in mud, reclining in a shallow pool. One of the younger hippos lolled so that its head rested on another's back, a contented expression on its broad face. They looked totally relaxed and at ease with the world.