I Like Big Cats and I Cannot Lie (Serengeti - Part 1)

A safari isn't a zoo - there's no cages and no set times for the animals to be prodded out and paraded. No, a safari is more like a game of hide and seek. You drive around on the bumpy sandy roads, looking for spots with shade, signs of movement amidst grass. You chat with passing cars, see who has seen what that day. The distances are great, you can drive around for hours not seeing anything but gazelles and zebras. And then all of a sudden - jackpot! - a den of lions, a leopard chilling in a tree. The ever elusive cheetah. Its rewarding, addicting, and fascinating.

I was lucky to have seen all three at the Serengeti - multiple lions, two leopards, and one cheetah.

Leopards are the epitome of lazy bums. They lounge around in trees all day, waiting for an unsuspecting antelope to wander too close. Then they pounce, drag their kill up into the tree, and feast. They are thick, powerful, and muscular, which also means they are too slow to run down their prey. Can't have it all.

Up in the tree they are hard to spot, as their spots provide ample camoflauge for our human eyes. One way to tell if there is a predator around is the noticeable lack of any kind of prey - zebra, antelope, etc.

Second leopard - also in a tree and taking a cat nap.

Lions are nocturnal, so during the day they also lounge around and cat nap.

A special treat was witnessing a lion pack eating a fresh zebra kill. It was taken down not long before, and the lionnesses and babies graviated towards the feast.

And here is the video of that feast in its full glory:

The early morning is a prime time for hunting, as this lionness was doing.

Or this one, who was picking a meal as if at a buffet.

This lady had just been hunting, evident by the rapid breathing.

Cheetahs are suprisingly small and lithe. In comparison to the thick lions and leopards, they are dainty marathon runners. It makes sense, since out of the three they are the only ones that run down their prey.