Samburu Game Reserve in Kenya

We began our long awaited Safari in Kenya's Samburu Game Reserve.  Samburu was action packed; one National Geographic moment after the other.  

Right out of the shoot we came upon a pride of 8 lions with a giraffe kill.  It is not that common for lions to take down a giraffe so we are left to wonder if this giraffe was old or injured.  In this particular pride, the alpha male ate first.  When he was willing, the alpha female got to eat.  This male lion lay next to the kill and only allowed one lion to eat at a time.  If anyone stepped out of line, there was a loud roar which quickly restored order.  He was a little more tolerant of the younger ones jumping in than I expected.  Up in the top of the trees we saw a dozen very hopeful vultures and on the ground several optomistic jackals sit patiently awaiting their chance.  Don't hold your breath guys; that might not happen for days!

Our next amazing experience was an elephant encounter.  Parked on the opposite bank, we watched this group of 25 elephants come to the river to drink. Is there anything cuter than a baby elephant? 

Here is a lioness and her 3 cubs on their way to the river to drink.  The animals have become accustomed to the tour vehicles.  Five lions and these 3 cubs walked right next to our van.  The adult lions crossed the road first.  For a moment, the cubs lost sight of their mother and began to whimper, appearing to be afraid.  She came back to rescue them as they crossed the road.  

Three things that we saw ONLY in Samburu are worth a mention.  One is the Grevy Zebra, which has very narrow stripes.  Very fancy duds!

The other is the Gerenuk, an antelope that feeds standing on its back two legs.  We are pretty sure the leaves up a little higher must taste better. 

The last is the reticulated giraffe.   Notice the big brown tiles with wide white caulking.  I thought all giraffes looked just like this.  Stay tuned to find out what I learned.  This guy stays tick-free with a little help from his friends (the birds).