We have almost a thousand pictures (someone got a little too excited every time she saw a zebra, of which there are bajillions, and also took photos to the beat of Lion King songs), so here are a few of our favorites:
At the Maasai Mara!
Our safari cruiser.
A herd of topi.
These birds were eating the bugs on the zebra. Coolest bath ever. Love how nature works.
I think he was grumpy because he didn't have a good night hunting.
It was awesome to see plains full of zebras.
Yep, we just got up close and personal with some giraffes!
Nothing but wide open spaces.
It was crazy how the lion's body just disappeared in the grass. I believe they call that "camouflage."
The giraffes standing at attention in the background alerted us that something big was lurking. And we found a CHEETAH!
So beautiful.
Good place for a nap if I do say so myself.
Had to zoom in closer to see if they were Simba and Nala.
Hungry Hungry Hippos!
Pretty sure this guy was also hungry.
One of our favorite discoveries was a huge herd of elephants. The two babies were adorable and the one really did hold onto the other's tail with its trunk!!!
This is what a lion looks like mid roar. So fierce!
When a lion roars, everyone is all ears.
Two cubs from the pride playing with a branch.
These ostriches were HUGE!
We were watching this mama and her baby for awhile. Then her maternal instincts kicked in and she decided that she didn't want us around and charged. Needless to say, we stopped watching.
It was hard to say whether we were watching the buffalo or it was watching us. It'd eat some grass, then look at us. Eat some more grass, then look at us again. Take another bite of grass, then check to make sure we were still there.
Looked like the gazelles were gearing up for (American) football practice.
This fella came right up to our van and sniffed around. Thankfully we didn't smell appetizing and he trotted off.
Wildebeests! It was incredible to see a small herd run so we can only imagine what the Mara looks like in July when the huge migration of wildebeests occurs.
Though we tried above, it's impossible to capture with words or pictures what it was like to go on safari and see elephants, giraffes, buffalos, warthogs, lions, zebras, ostriches, and gazelles among countless other animals roaming, grazing, and hunting as they have for thousands of years. But it is one of those experiences that we wonder if future generations will get to enjoy as profits trump preservation & protection.
Shortly before we arrived in Kenya, we read news reports that the elephant with the largest tusks had been found poached. We recently read that thousands and thousands of elephants are being killed and more elephants are being killed every year than are being born. The iWorry campaign reports that one elephant is killed every 15 minutes and at that rate there won't be any elephants roaming by 2025. And it's growing increasingly rare to see a rhino because they are also being hunted & killed for their horns. Countries are going to extreme measures to try to save them.
So, what to do? We're going to assume that most of you reading this aren't in the ivory business, so telling you not to buy ivory is silly. But you can do things like support organizations such as the Wildlife Clubs of Kenya (they provide conservation education to Kenyan youth and lobby for conservation action) or adopt an elephant through the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (we visited their elephant orphanage where they rescue elephants, raise them, and then reintegrate them into the wild). Don't just go to the zoo but seek out programs and organizations whose mission is to protect and conserve.
This might not seem like much, but if there's one thing we've learned on our travels, it's that doing something is better than doing nothing.
Highlights from our visit to the David Sheldrick Trusts' Orphans' Project and the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife's Giraffe Center.
I want to live here. Seriously.
The orphaned babies getting their bottles. The blanket helps simulate drinking milk from their mamas.
This little one loved its dirt bath.
The teenagers trunk wrestling over the water bucket. Meanwhile, another elephant sneaks in and gets a trunkful.
It's always good to provide your coordinates!
Meet Lucy.
She likes to eat.
She will take food right out of your mouth!
And she doesn't know when to stop. Total photobomb.
For all you germaphobes out there -- It's okay to get kissed by a giraffe because they have incredibly clean mouths. Since they normally eat from spiky plants, their bodies naturally produce an antiseptic to clean all the wounds in their mouths. Pretty nifty.
Some of the other giraffes that are part of the endangered rothschild giraffe breeding program at the center.
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