Game Drive

At 6 AM, we were up and ready to explore the savanna and its wildlife. After enjoying breakfast—toast, bacon, and of course, beans—we set off in our land rovers. I had just mentioned how cool it would be to see a lion eating its prey when our guide spotted a group of lions that were actually in the middle of feasting on a zebra. To be honest, our guide shouldn’t take all the credit for this incredible experience. Mobile phones have made their way out to the savanna and the Maasai. There were several companies driving around, and the guides were constantly in touch via phone, ensuring they could offer their guests the most amazing experiences. It’s quite a sight to see a Maasai dressed in his traditional red attire with ear lobes hanging down to his shoulders. Suddenly, there’s a ring, and the Maasai pulls out his new mobile phone from his belt, which also holds his knife! :) We had so many fantastic experiences that day. We zoomed around in our land rover, bouncing all over the savanna. Suddenly, our guide spotted something and swerved sharply to the side. This way, we got to see elephants, hippos, crocodiles, baboons, wild boars, cheetahs, sunbathing jackals, and storks up close. Our guide shared all sorts of fascinating stories about the animals we encountered. **Lions:** A pride consists of females that are all related. The males in the group each mate with two females. If male cubs are born, they are expelled from the pride once they’re old enough to avoid inbreeding—nature’s way of keeping things healthy. Mating happens all at once. Lion pairs retreat for about nine days, then return to the pride. This means all the cubs are born around the same time, which is quite clever since a lioness doesn’t necessarily have to care for her own cubs. It’s a free-for-all when it comes to nursing! Lions are also very social when it comes to raising their young. Many think lions are great hunters, but they rarely succeed when alone. That’s why they always hunt in groups and share the spoils. It’s worth noting that only the females do the hunting—the male lion is quite lazy. In fact, a lion is only active for about two hours a day; the rest of the time, it’s sleeping. A less appealing trait of lions is that if an outsider male defeats a pride’s male, the new male will kill all the cubs, as he won’t raise offspring that aren’t his own. The lioness can do nothing about it. **Zebras:** They mate for life and often form groups by joining with other pairs, so a group will always consist of 2, 4, or 6 zebras. This system is visible when you encounter hundreds of grazing zebras on the savanna, where you can see an invisible line separating the pairs within the large herd. Zebras are quite vulnerable, as they’re on the lion’s menu. A lion can kill a zebra in two ways: by jumping on it from behind or through the "kiss of death," which means the lion bites onto the zebra’s muzzle and holds on until it suffocates. **Giraffes:** These animals are quite asocial and don’t form groups. When they wake up in the morning, they look around and will join up with other giraffes that happen to be nearby that day. A female giraffe also enjoys her freedom, so she might leave an older female to take care of her calf all day and only return in the evening. That’s why it’s not uncommon to see a giraffe with ten calves around—it doesn’t mean a giraffe can have many calves at once; it’s more like a giraffe daycare! When a giraffe gives birth, it doesn’t lie down. The calf drops about 2-3 meters to the ground. What a start to life! If a giraffe lies down, it becomes an easy target for lions. Standing, a giraffe can defend itself with powerful kicks, which can be delivered from any angle—an extremely useful weapon. A giraffe is only at risk from lions if it’s unlucky enough to fall and break a leg on its way to a watering hole. **Elephants:** A group consists of several female and male elephants—not from the same family, of course. The oldest female makes all the decisions—where to go, what to eat, etc. Only one male has the right to mate with the females; the other males are younger and act as helpers. When a male elephant gets old, he’s expelled from the herd by the oldest female, who wants to ensure the group continues to have healthy offspring. When a male calf is 2.5 years old, he’s also expelled from the herd. He can either team up with the older male and serve as a bodyguard or join a new herd as a helper. **Cheetahs:** After God created the leopard with its beautiful spots, He got tired, and that’s why the cheetah doesn’t have such a lovely coat. When God saw His mistake, He cried, which is why the cheetah has a black line under each eye down to its mouth, symbolizing God’s tears. The cheetah is the fastest animal on the savanna, capable of running over 100 km/h. When it catches prey, it eats quickly to avoid losing it to other animals—not like lions, who leisurely enjoy their meals. **Wildebeests:** After God created the horse, cow, and go