Tanzania 2014
The gestation period for wildebeest is about 250 days. As this mother struggled to give birth the other mothers and their calves stayed nearby.
And the calf is out! The mother was exhausted and we were too watching her ordeal!
The calf almost immediately began trying to walk. Wildebeest calves are very vulnerable to predators and thus are able to walk within minutes of birth.
Our new-to-the-world calf stumbles toward mother's face, seemingly saying "Thanks mom for bringing me to life."
Within days this young calf will be able to run as fast as adult wildebeests.
It was touching to see the bond between mother and calf.
Oops! This walking isn't always so easy.
Wildebeest typically live about 18 years and are migratory feeding on grasslands.
Here's a not-so-friendly hyaena. These animals can weigh from 90 to 190 lbs and will live about 25 years.
Hyaenas are carnivores and are skillful hunters working cooperatively in packs to make a kill.
Antelope meat is a favorite among hyaenas. This one is giving some thought to dinner.
These Thomson Gazelles were engaging in head butting, and as we watched a small herd all the males would seem to playfully engage in this activity.
Head butting is also a way that males establish dominance in a herd. These two were more serious than the others who seemed to be playing.
As we came into the Ngorongoro Crater we encountered our first elephant who was roaming through this small forest.
Adult elephants are about 13 feet tall and can weigh as much as 14,000 pounds. A new born calf can weigh 200 lbs.
Elephants are herbivores, eating roots, bark, grasses, and fruits.
These zebra went by so fast they were just a blur.
The cape buffalo broke into a run when they saw this female lion, but she only gave them a look. One female would have a nearly impossible time taking on a herd of buffalo.
We finally caught a glimpse of a Hartebeest. This beautiful antelope lives about 12 years in the wild and is a grazer.
The markings on zebra are unique to each animal, like a fingerprint.
Shifting from the front to the back for another unique view.
The mane of a zebra reveals its health. If it stands up the zebra is healthy, if it lies down it is not.
Mothers give birth to a single foal. The gestation period is about 375 days.
We saw many ostriches on our visit to Ngorongoro. See my Birds of Africa Gallery for more photos of ostriches and many other birds.
We mentioned to our guide we hadn't seen a serval. It wasn't 10 minutes later he spotted one off in the distance. We watched him/her move about and suddenly jumped in the air to bounce on a hole.
And the outcome was he/she caught a little critter as you can see.
Then as we were leaving the Ngorongoro another serval was running along the side of the road and then stopped for this pose.
With the soft light at days end, this elephant waved goodbye as we departed the Ngorongoro Crater for good.
With setting sun behind an Acacia tree we leave the Serengeti Plains to go to Kenya. See my Kenya 2014 gallery.