Cheetah cubs

We got up before sunrise and left the lodge as the sun rose. Out highlight of the day came ten minutes later between the lodge and the village. We encountered a mother Cheetah with six cubs about 2-3 months old. The mortality rate for cheetah cubs is high, so to have six is an unusual sighting (it had been five years since our guides had seen this many). While we watching two side-striped jackals approached the group and the mother went into watchful mode (as if hunting) and the cubs immediately quieted. The jackals went off and the cubs went into playful mode, fighting with each other, chasing around, climbing a tree while mom laid down and watched. We spent about an hour enjoying these cheetahs until they finally wandered off into th

e woods., following the white spot at the end of mom's tail.

As we drove to the hippo pool for breakfast, we discovered two Common Eland, the largest antelope in Africa, running parallel with the road. At the hippo pool, besides all the hippos, we saw three crocodiles. It was quiet for our ride home, we spotted a Yellow Billed Stork, a Dark Chanting Goshawk besides the usual Wildebeest, Zebra, Impala, Gazelles, and Warthogs.

Eland running alongside

Our accommodations at the Grumeti Luxury Tented Camp are fairly basic. It's an Ecolodge, most of the power is solar, which leaves the rooms a little dark. But the staff has been terrific, and the food has been a sit-down service, instead of a buffet - very delicious. It's about a half-hour drive outside the park, but as we saw this morning that may not be much of a disadvantage.