King of the Jungle

King of the Jungle
A bull elephant who warned us to stay away from his family.

After arriving at Tsavo West National Park on Wednesday afternoon, Thursday was our one full day there before starting for home on Friday. We went on safaris in the morning and afternoon, and also spent several hours sitting on the deck of that bar/restaurant, where we could watch the parade of animals coming to the watering hole below.

Getting Started

Our room at Kilaguni Serena Lodge, early Thursday morning.

Our first safari was from 6:00 to 8:00. I was ready to go at 5:30, so I walked over to the bar area to check out what was happening at the watering hole.

We all met out front, and loaded up into the Land Cruiser for a safari.

As we drove in the darkness, we talked about all the animals we'd seen at the watering hole: zebras, warthogs, gazelles, topi, water buffalos, giraffes, hyenas, elephants, and many others. We hadn't seen any big cats at the watering hole (they usually only show up in the middle of the night), but we had seen a few elephants, and when an elephant arrived the other animals usually stayed back and let them have the watering hole to themselves for a while.

Willie said it was funny to him that English speaking people refer to lions as "the king of the jungle," since it's so clear that elephants are the undisputed king of the jungle. "Everyone respects the elephant, and the elephant fears no animal."

Dik-diks are the smallest deer in Africa, and there are many of them in Tsavo West. Wille refers to them as snacks (for the big cats). "Look, there's a snack!"
Two gemsbok
The gemsbok is known for its long sharp horns, and they also have very distinctive markings.
A young zebra with its mother.

We decided to drive over by the Tsavo River to search for the long-necked giraffe antelope, an animal we hadn't seen yet.

Tsavo River

We passed some lively baboons on the way back to the lodge.

Back at the lodge

Back at the lodge, we relaxed for a few hours and had lunch. Because of the watering hole, Kaliguni Serena Lodge is a place where you can see a wide variety of wildlife without going on a safari.

The view from our room of a water buffalo leaving the watering hole.

After lunch, we were watching some zebras and Thomson's gazelles when suddenly they all ran off at high speed. We thought it might mean a big cat had showed up, but then we saw what had started them: five workers (three with big guns) were walking about past the watering hole. We watched them walk until they disappeared into the bush. Willie told us later that they were going to repair a spot in the fence, and they always go with multiple people and guns just to be safe.

Armed workers heading out to repair a fence.

Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary

We met up at 3:00 in the afternoon for our final safari of the trip: a drive to the rhinoceros sanctuary in Tsavo West National Park. There were 20,000 rhinos in Tsavo West in the 1940s, but by the late 1980s poachers had killed all but 20 of them, so the sanctuary was formed to protect them. There are now about 80 rhinos there, which is considered a healthy number for the size of the sanctuary - roughly 6 miles by 6 miles.

A baobab tree near the rhino sanctuary.

It was disappointing to not see any rhinos, but the brush in the sanctuary is very thick and we knew that was a possibility. So we headed back to the lodge.

An unexpected encounter

All of the animals we've seen on this trip seemed comfortable, not stressed by our presence. But that was about to change.

Just outside the rhino sanctuary, we saw some elephants along the road up ahead so we drove up next to them for a better look. There was a mother and a calf standing about 50 feet from the road, and as we pulled up next to them they blew their horns in unison. It was quite loud that close, and the first vocalizations we've heard from elephants on this trip.

Mother and calf bellowing at us.

We found this interesting, and we were all watching them. I was standing in the Land Cruiser, and had an unobstructed view from the open top for photos.

While I was distracted by these two, I hadn't noticed that there was a big bull elephant present, just to the left of them. But he made sure we noticed him, when he suddenly roared loudly, stomped his foot, and charged at us! I snapped a quick photo and yelled "big guy coming at us!" then sat down inside the Land Cruiser because I felt exposed and vulnerable when I was standing and there was nothing between me and the elephant.

The bull elephant. I'm thrilled with how well this photo turned out, consider the excitement of the moment.

As it turned out, he was just trying to warn us, and he stopped his charge 50 feet away from us. Willie explained that he just wanted to let us know to keep our distance.

Thrilled by this encounter and full of adrenaline, we all chattered about it on the bumpy drive back to the lodge. A great way to end our final safari.

Final evening in Kenya

Back at the lodge, we spent the evening out on the deck of the bar reminiscing about our 8 days in the Kenyan wilderness.

A serval (wild African cat) walked up to a spot below us and listened to us laughing and talking for a while.
A great ending to a great trip!