The Endless Plains, Chapter 19: The Birds and the Bees

This afternoon, after crossing the bridge without being swept away or eaten by various inhabitants, was spent just north of the Mara in a triangle of National Park between the Mara to the south, the Maasai Mara to the east, and Kenya to the north. It is called the Lamai Triangle.

Some of you may have noticed that so far, in this blog, death is never far away. We have seen multiple kills and corpses. Multiple predators and prey. Multiple digestive problems. Some of these being less palatable than others.

But, and this may come as a surprise, there is more to life than death.

As some are killed, others replace them. At least, I think that's how it works.

This afternoon, we were to see several animals at the opposite end of life to death. For some of them the distance between the two may not be very great. 

Making these babies is a more delicate subject to deal with. There may be some amongst you that have little knowledge of this. Namely, the young pre-adolescent, and, erm, the old, long-past adolescence..

This young elephant is but a week old. Like almost all mammals it suckles its mother, drinking milk despite its trunk getting in the way.

But trunks turn out to be useful in later life.

Give me five.

Controlling the bloody thing is something else.

Have you ever tried putting food into your mouth with your nose?

Little and large.

Another type of little and large.

The wildebeest on the right is big, but totally dwarfed by this huge giraffe. No, it's not photoshopped, it's just a matter of perspective.

So, let's get to the point of this blog. The birds and the bees. That probably doesn't translate too well, so let me explain.

Here's how it goes.

Boy...

...meets girl.

Girl gives off negative vibes.

Guy pretends that it's cool with him

But it's not.

OK, now it gets a little complicated. Is it ok or not?

Too late for second thoughts.

Well, while she seems content, he's off looking for cigarettes.

This strange dance routine is repeated every 15 to 30 minutes, with equal roaring and snarling, without (normally) fatal injury (although cigarettes are dangerous for your health), ALL day and ALL night for THREE OR MORE DAYS!!

Good grief. Don't believe me? Well, watch this space. We will revisit this scene of the crime to check on them. (Editor's note; Don't do this at home, it could be interpreted as voyeurism)

The product of relationships like this could be seen on some nearby rocks.

Here's a mum.

Here's a baby. Got it?

And here's another baby. Not from the same couple however.

They are born able to walk immediately, so as to avoid being eaten.

Who would do that?

Heading back to camp we saw enormous numbers of wildebeest heading towards the Mara. There are enormous numbers of them because they, too, have been using the above technique.

The experts were, indeed, wrong about the placement of the herds. This was promising for us for the coming week.

But maybe not for all the wildebeest.

It should be an interesting week...