Lions, Lions, Lions!
September news from the bush at Mdonya Old River Camp in Ruaha National Park What an incredible action packed month this has been, September is arguably Ruaha at its very best!
Sightings of carnivores have been plentiful and to our delight the Mdonya pride of lions have returned to the area surrounding the camp, roaring loudly at night and providing us with excellent sightings and entertainment as we have watched the cubs playing with their older siblings.
The two male lions protecting the Mdonya pride are looking in very good condition and have continued to impress our guests with their good looks.
Lions stalk and kill giraffe in Ruaha - photos by Jumanne Hatibu
A particular highlight this month was the spectacular sighting of the "Njaa pride" of lions taking down a full grown male giraffe in plain sight right in front of our lucky guests. Our experienced guide Jumanne was quick to start taking pictures of the action and got this great sequence of images.
Ruaha Leopard - photo by David and Olga O'Hara
On another day our guests had a very warm welcome to Ruaha with sightings of a leopard and a cheetah on the drive from the airstrip to camp, setting the bar high for the rest of their safari in Ruaha and they were not left disappointed.
In camp we have continued to have the elephant bulls wandering through on a daily basis and Sikio Mbovu (our resident bull) has been up to his usual tricks of playing with our water pipes. Also our troop of vervet monkeys have started to have new babies undoubtedly another generation of mischief makers on the way!
African scops owl - Otus senegalensis - photo by David and Olga O'Hara (thanks for kind correction by Inka Mumme)
Male Greater Kudu - photo by David and Olga O'Hara
Thank you to David and Olga O'Hara for sharing some of their images with us.
Guest comments: I'm leaving this place after 3 days but my heart is remaining here in this place so far from the rest of the world. Magic and precious. Thank you all, you've been special to me. Sara, 04.09.16 This camp offers us a true sense of wildness and the peace and quiet that we only get in Africa. Thank you to all the team for natural hospitality and kindness. Our guides have been more than exceptional and fixed our passion for everything that moved! We leave with a heavy heart and hope to return. Keep up the good work on making sure we all understand the work and consciousness required to protect remaining environments and species. Jo and Paul, 07.09.16 Ein wirklich tolles camp! Das Essen ist ein absolutes highlight. Wir haben alle Tiere, die wir uns gewunscht haben, auch abs Baby gesehen. Weil unsere Guides Profis sind. Thanks to Jumanne and Godson!! Wir warden das Camp auf jeden Fall weiter empfehlen, vielen Dank! Johanna and Nike, 10.09.16 One bad thing - our stay was just too short :( Caught our eye immediately the attention to detail in the camp. Returning to the camp after a full day of safari just feels like coming home. Thanks a lot to EVERYONE. Chrisitina and Jan, 21.09.16 First time safari experience finished with thoughts of coming back! It's rare to meet a culture that cheers you up every day. We had a time of our lives! Surely we will be back. Patrick and Sylvia, 22.09.16 See more posts...