We started the morning game drive again at 8AM. We took different routes and witnessed some great migration activities. First, we saw a lot of zebras in different groups moving in a line toward northwest in an orderly fashion. Then we saw gazelles also participated in the great migration and moved in an orderly fashion too. One interesting thing was that these gazelles were twirling their tails while they move. Augustine told us that it was their signal of “following me”. We also witnessed that they halted the movement when they spotted a nearby hyaenas.
These zebras and gazelles are participating in the annual great migration. However, due to timing, we did not see wildebeests in action (they already migrated through this area earlier).
Our knowledgable guide also gave us a good explanation about animal migration. There are 3 types of migration, namely great migration, large migration and small migration. The great migration is “the animals moving across countries or continents"; the large migration is “the animals moving between national parks or game reserve areas”; the small migration is “the animals moving within a national park or game reserve area”. The great migration is the annual migration everybody is talking about starting at Serengeti National Park, moving toward northwest, moving to Kenya, moving toward southeast back to Serengeti National Park. When they got back to Serengeti National Park, it will be their breeding time, and then they migrate again in June. So our guide told us that majority of the animals participating in the great migration belong to Tanzania (since their birth place is the Serengeti National Park).
At one point, we spotted a lion eyeing a group of zebras. It seemed like she was going to attack them. We waited and followed her for a while until the zebras moved further away and the lion just gave up. Then, we learned that there was action already happened nearby where other lions had hunted zebras. By the time we got there, there were 2 victim zebras. One was enjoyed by a family of lions in bushes nearby a river. One was enjoyed by a single lion. We were able to get pretty close and witnessed the results of hunting.
Our knowledgable guide also gave us a good explanation about animal migration. There are 3 types of migration, namely great migration, large migration and small migration. The great migration is “the animals moving across countries or continents"; the large migration is “the animals moving between national parks or game reserve areas”; the small migration is “the animals moving within a national park or game reserve area”. The great migration is the annual migration everybody is talking about starting at Serengeti National Park, moving toward northwest, moving to Kenya, moving toward southeast back to Serengeti National Park. When they got back to Serengeti National Park, it will be their breeding time, and then they migrate again in June. So our guide told us that majority of the animals participating in the great migration belong to Tanzania (since their birth place is the Serengeti National Park).
At one point, we spotted a lion eyeing a group of zebras. It seemed like she was going to attack them. We waited and followed her for a while until the zebras moved further away and the lion just gave up. Then, we learned that there was action already happened nearby where other lions had hunted zebras. By the time we got there, there were 2 victim zebras. One was enjoyed by a family of lions in bushes nearby a river. One was enjoyed by a single lion. We were able to get pretty close and witnessed the results of hunting.
During our morning drive, our guide also introduced us the "Africa Christmas Tree". It is a lot of bird nests hanging on the tree and they look like Christmas ornaments.
He also told us more info about the flat-top Acacia tree. These trees have long tap roots that can reach the deep water table, thick bark to resist annual fires, trunks that can store water, and leaves that drop of during the winter to conserve water.
Another interesting tree in this area is the sausage tree where we spotted loins on it. It's fruits are large and hang on the tree like long sausages.
We went back to have lunch at the lodge and then had an afternoon game drive at 4PM.
This time we went to a wooded-area and saw more giraffes, zebras, and buffalos. We also spotted a couple of topis with coat of short, dark chestnut-brown and a bluish-black patches extending from the lower shoulders down the forelegs to just above the knees.
Then we came to the hippo pool where over 100 hippos were just laid in the pool keeping themselves cool. They moved their tails to splashing water onto to their back periodically. Occasionally, they opened their mouths to show-off their sharp teeth. The pool is pretty much a muddy pool and it smells.
Then, the rain coming down on our way back to the lodge. It gave us a glimpse of what Tanzania’s raining season looks like. According to our guide, Tanzania has 2 seasons, raining season and dry season. The long raining season starts in March and end at the end of May. In April, it rains day and night non-stop. June to October is long dry season. Then the short raining season is from November to December; and the short dry season is from January to February. He also told us that if someone want to see a lot of baby animals, February will be the best time. In addition, all wildebeests do synchronize their baby birth time in February.
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