The Endless Plains, Chapter 3: In Search of the Elusive Caracal part 1

 These are our first twilight photos, dawn in the Serengeti. The first taken at 6am, the next, half an hour later.

Our previous evening had lacked any sunset colours, apart from a muddy shade of grey. This morning there were only a few small few clouds. More would appear later to shed their torrential rain. Mostly, lucky for us, deposited on the Maasai Mara to our north.

A fundamental reason for us visiting this area of the Serengeti was to search for a Caracal. These cats are, as we have found out, extremely difficult to find. They may not be an endangered species, but they are not very big (large domestic cat size with longer legs) and they simply just don't want to be seen. The slightest hint of humans and they're gone. We had been trying to find one for years and we knew that our chances were slim.

The Eastern Serengeti is an ideal environment for them. The grass at the end of the dry season is short and looks dead, making it easier to spot our prey. Easier verging on impossible. This week would be our greatest chance, but asking around many other guides, few had ever seen one. We had six days to test our luck. Spin the coin.

We had not gone very far in our search when, instead of Caracal, we found other cats. At about 7am we came across part of a pride of lions. The youngest cubs were very thin. At this stage of the Serengeti seasons, food is is more difficult to come by. This was part of the normal cycle of life here and soon the food supply would be replenished as the great migration of wildebeest approached.

This young male posed well in the rising sunlight. Posing for a 'golden hour' portrait.

Posing, yes. Hunting, no. I tried to explain that we were after some of the blood and guts included in the deal...

This Tawny Eagle was after very much the same thing.

Sadly, waiting for him to take off for some acrobatic photography was too hard on my trigger finger. He carefully waited until the moment I put my camera down with finger fatigue before flying off. 

These nest-making Secretary Birds looked on whilst a male lion arrived.

And it was still only 7:45am

A handsome beast, but no way was he doing any hunting today. That's women's work.

Giving up on waiting for bloodshed, we came across this handsome beast freshly dried out from a luxurious mud-pack therapy session. 

It certainly brought out his better features...

And then... guess what.

And it was still only eight o'clock in the morning...