mandag 30. desember 2013

24/12 2012 Kenya, the cats!

The big cats of Africa are often the what is displayed on the TV-screen, and ever since I got told I was going to be on a safari I was very excited about the fact that I was to see some of them with my own eyes!
 
 
On Christmas Eve we headed out in pursuit of wildlife yet another time, and this was to be the best day when focusing on cats at least. At this point I knew what the lions would do when we found them, they would be sleeping their way through the day after a night of hunting.
 
 
Lion/Løve

 
When we found this family of Cheetahs they were just as active as the lions. The three cubs were lying in the shadow of a shrub in the middle of the savanna and did not bother about being stressed by the cars with tourists that came along to have a look. After a while the mother figured that she also would like some time in front of all the cameras, and came in to lie down in front of her cubs.
 
Cheetah/Gepard, cubs/unger

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The happy Family
 
 
When Our guide started smiling extra wide (he allways smiled) we understood that there was something good coming up. Then he told us that another car had found a mother Leopard with cub! And I have to say that this big cat is one of the most beautifull animals I have seen. We drove up on the opposite side of where the other cars were parked to get a better view. And the sight that we got was really worth being sat there for about an hour!
 

 
Leopard, female


After a short while a tiny tail suddenly appeared.....

Leopard and a tiny tail....
 We drove around the mother and cub to get better views. And to be allowed to watch the interaction between mother and cub at this close range was truly amazing! The cub was crawling around on and around its mother to get to the best place for a rest.

Leopard mother and cub.






After a little while when the cub had gone in and out of the den a few times we atsrted to Wonder if there were more than one cub. It seemed like the cub was able to move very quickly from one side of the den to the other. But all of a sudden there were two cubs outside playing with mother.

Leopard mother with two cubs.

Mother is great to climb onto.....

....because she is the softest spot around to have a rest at!