Kenya
Nairobi National Park
Go A Lot, See A Lot.
Nairobi National Park (NNP) was the place where I saw lots of "cool" and charismatic wildlife. This is not because NNP has more interesting wildlife than any other park, but because I was there so frequently. I was one of the lucky few who participated in a research project that took us there every other day or so. The rest of the students were green with envy when we got back to the station and told all about what we saw.
So, if you ever go somewhere like Africa, and you want to see what you see on those incredible wildlife documentaries. Well, forget it, because much of those documentaries is put together to create the illusion of a story and of action. Tourists usually do not have permission to go off-roading to follow wildlife anyway. If you want to see a glimpse of all the action, however, go frequently and stay a long time.
Mischievous Monkeys
Upon our very first visit to NNP, we were greeted by vervet monkeys. At first glance, you may "Awwww" over them and think that they look cute. Make no mistake. These are spawns of demons.
First, there may be one vervet. Many more are always near. They beg for food first. Then, if they get no progress, they steal. They are fast and can be vicious if you protest. In this picture, we had not arrived at the gates of NNP for 2 minutes, and we were already surrounded by vervet monkeys.
Lions and Choppers
During one of our research outtings to NNP, we saw some helicopters in the far distance. I believe they were military helicopters performing some exercise. We soon found out that a pride of lions didn't like that exercise all that much.
The pride walked right in front of our rover to get away from the racket. This was one of the first of my most exciting moments in Kenya. Wildlife in the frequently touristed parks seem to ignore people in vehicles. Being near wildlife on foot, as I will explain later in the Masai Mara section, is an entirely different, exciting, and nervous experience.
Lion with Zebra Carcass
Another unforgettable moment occurred during one early, misty morning research excursion to NNP. We saw a handsome male lion in the distance. Some time revealed that he was dragging a zebra carcass! With the exception of our experience with a cheetah in the Masai Mara, this was the closest we ever got to viewing a large predator performing a kill.
Tommies or Granties?
The majority of the wildlife that anyone will see in Kenya are antelope. I found these two gazelles to be quite interesting, as they are rarely sitting around doing nothing. I think these are Grant's gazelles, but I can neither remember well enough to be sure nor identify them properly by looking at the picture.