Ngorongoro Crater to Lake Tarangire: Week 3 / Day 16 / Jan 26
Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania: Descending down into the crater the size of it is really quite striking.
The crater is its own ecosystem with the animals within the crater not taking part in the migration that occurs outside the crater. The plain on the crater floor has ample water year round and a ready supply of food for the grazing population. How some of the animals got into the crater in the first place is a bit of a mystery to me. The road up was very steep and the road from the rim to the floor was quite difficult as well. Ukadi did mention that elephants sometimes use the road to gain access to the crater.
As the road leveled out at the bottom of the rim we encountered a number of vehicles stopped and staring into the bush. There we could barely make out the reddish tinged fur of a caracal (I had never heard of this small cat before either. However, I could tell it was somewhat rare to spot one as Ukadi got quite excited upon seeing it). Ukadi once again demonstrated his immense worth as a guide by making several noises that I can only assume were what a caracal sounds like. Immediately it came out of hiding and began making its way over towards us to investigate the sound.
This was not the first, nor the last time, that Ukadi coaxed an animal out of hiding or got it to look directly at us by making calls to it. The guides in all of the other vehicles seemed very appreciative of Ukadi’s efforts and thanked him for getting the caracal to come out from his hiding spot.
Continuing through the crater we saw the usual collection of water buffalo, wildebeest, zebras, and birds (yeah, I seem to have gotten used to them. At one point Linda commented that she has now probably seen more zebras in her life than horses).
Over near the edge of the crater we found a small group of elephants out grazing. Don’t worry, there is nothing wrong with that last elephant, he is just, ummm, male.
Heading back through the plain of the crater we came across a pair of lionesses with their cubs. The male lion was also nearby. As we watched, the entire group met up and headed over to a small pond to sit down.
We again saw some jackals and a rather large grazing animal called an eland.
Although they were hard to see due to the distance involved, we could also make out a family of three white rhinos.
Within the crater, calving season starts a bit sooner than it does out in the Serengeti. Heading over to a wildebeest herd we saw a shiny baby wildebeest that had been born just moments earlier.
As it struggled to its feet repeatedly Ukadi told us that the baby wildebeest will go from being born to running within about 10 minutes. The pressure is on for the young wildebeest as you can see in some of the pictures a jackal hoping for an opportunity to swoop in for a meal. However, there was a rather large group of adult wildebeest helping to keep the jackal at bay throughout this process.
As soon as this wildebeest had gotten to his feet and was running around, we saw another one, younger yet, just getting licked clean by his mother. He struggled mightily to get to his feet for a few moments, again under the watchful eyes of a couple of jackals.
As you can see in the pictures, the just born wildebeest appears quite black and shiny having just emerged from its mother. Within a span of ten minutes or so its fur will take on the tan color shown by the hours old wildebeest standing nearby.
After gaining his wobbly footing the baby wildebeest goes in to begin nursing. However, the mother continually pirouettes away forcing the youngster to chase for the milk and begin to learn how to balance and walk.
Having achieved some prowess in walking the mother will stop briefly allowing the baby wildebeest to nurse.
As soon as this one had gained its feet and began to nurse, we spotted another with its legs visible within the amniotic sac protruding from the mother wildebeest.
Over a series of several minutes the mother wildebeest would alternately stand or lay down as the baby wildebeest slowly came out. Ultimately the baby wildebeest was able to break through the sac and expose its head to the outside world.
As before, the mother began to lick the baby wildebeest and clean it off. The baby wildebeest struggled to its feet and began to seek out milk. And, as before, this all happened under the careful watch of a nearby jackal.
As we left this area to break for lunch, we looked back at the wildebeest we had seen born prior to this one. It was already tan and indistinguishable from the other baby wildebeest that we saw milling about.
We broke for lunch at a small lake in the crater. It was very hot and the sun was rather stifling, so we made quick work of our food. We hurried even faster due to the swarming birds flying overhead. One of them even dived down as we were eating and pulled a piece of chicken from Ukadi’s hand as he was eating.
Leaving this picnic area we headed back out across the crater. Just shortly after leaving the picnic area we saw the flash of a hyena running across the plain. It was chasing a baby wildebeest that was old enough to be tan, but still only a couple of hours old. The baby wildebeest darted and cornered quickly trying to evade the jackal, and several of the adult wildebeest in the group ran at the hyena and tried to block off the hyena with their bodies. However, not every chase or interaction with a predator can have a happy ending for the prey. In this case we saw the hyena take down the baby wildebeest. The wildebeest struggled for a bit as the hyena bit at it, but ultimately succumbed to its injuries.
Eventually, the hyena took its kill to a spot further away to enjoy its meal.
As our time within the crater was almost up, we then headed up the rim road and out of the crater.
We then made our way back down from the crater rim to the exit gate. There we encountered a small group of baboons crossing the parking lot.
Moments after I took these pictures of the baboons, two of the baboons leapt into the open window of a safari vehicle surprising the passengers and trying to steal their food from them. Needless to say, there was a fair bit of screaming before the doors opened and the baboons (bananas in hand) spilled out and back into the bush.
After a bit of a drive away from Ngorongoro we arrived at our camp outside the entrance to Lake Tarangire.
The pictures of the forest show the view off of our front deck. If you look more closely at those pictures you can see the monkeys in the trees right in front of our tent.
Overall, the crater was an incredible thing to see. After the last couple of days I was struggling to imagine what more we could possibly see. However, within the crater, we closed out our list of the big five animals (lion, rhino, leopard, water buffalo, and elephant), saw multiple wildebeest being born, and saw the circle completed with a hyena chasing and catching one of the wildebeest. I look forward to what tomorrow brings.
This is an absolutely amazing day Dave. I love the story telling and feeling like I’m watching the whole thing! I even dropped my own banana. Love all of this!