Baby Day: Day 18 of our Awesome African Adventure.

[Really difficult finding time, internet, sanity to finish these blogs. I'm now three days behind. Please forgive me...]

Today we left camp in the Western Serengeti to head for its eastern realms. 

Our drive to the eastern Serengeti was immediately interrupted by a scene of mass wildlife. Two lions on the road looking at several hyenas feasting on a wildebeest with two jackals trying to steal the table scraps while looked down on by a brown snake eagle. You couldn’t make it up. 

The snake eagle left empty-handed

And the day had only just started!

After passing some elephants in trunk training class...

...we discovered a business of mongooses...

 ...minding their own business.

Then this hartebeest

A starling feeding her young

And a lioness feeding her's...

and then yet more love and destruction. A cheetah with brand new take-away special...

 

with a vulture in waiting.

Then we found yet another cheetah with two cubs

Then, what else but nine lion cubs with three lionesses.

Dinner time...

Then yet another cheetah, this time with five cubs. Seriously hard work for her, and she was desperately hungry.
We watched as she set off on the hunt. As she leapt away to kill a gazelle, the cubs were left alone and afraid. They didn't even have access to Sky tv...
She ran at full tilt for about a kilometre to catch this gazelle. Then, choked it to death. A much kinder death than that given by lions, who simply rip out the guts of the still living prey.

She sat next to her kill frequently glancing in the direction of her cubs. A very dangerous time for them. But she was completely knackered by the chase and needed to regain her strength. This took nearly an hour and a half! A call to child protection seemed inevitable. 
She finally called out and the five cubs soon came trotting out of the undergrowth.

We all applauded. Well, at least I did.

Again, vultures awaited...

This day was full of very young baby animals. But there was one more surprise in store:

A one week old hyena! (Their eyes are open at birth).

Then back to camp, passing once again many fires set by the rangers, for reasons better known to themselves. Of all the reasons that I've heard, I think the best is "I like burning things..."

 Next episode here