Serengeti Cats

It's the moment you've all been waiting for! Actually, it's the moment we've ALL been waiting for... SERENGETI! It was truly as fabulous as all the hype. I know you are all very excited to see specific things so I organized my pictures accordingly. We'll start with the big cats and if you'd like to stick around for everything else, it would be greatly appreciated. 

Let's start with the lions. Our professors said we would see so many lions that we would be sick of them.  That didn't quite happen. 

The first lion we saw was 5 minutes into the park boundaries. We hadn't even popped the roof up in to safari mode yet! She was kind of hiding in a bush so the first full lion we saw was on top of a large rocky out crop, rightly dubbed, Pride rock. If you are wondering, she is wearing a radio collar that is used by researchers to track pride movements. 

Princess of Pride Rock

This pretty lady was napping by the side of the road. I always feel bad when we wake them up but it is typically worth it. 

Sleepy lion

BIG YAWN!!!

These boys were down by a river snoozing near a bunch of elephants. Tune in next time for the rest of their story...

Handsome boys

As regal as lions are (and truly, they are gorgeous) I would consider them Kings and Queens of the grassland NOT the jungle… They look a little bit too much like wannabe leopards when they try to climb trees.

The commentary when we see a lion in a tree usually involves, 

"I've made a huge mistake…"

Derp lion in a tree

Speaking of leopards...

Did you miss me? I didn't think so. Those pictures pretty much speak for themselves.

The last of the Serengeti big cats is the cheetah. We were fortunate enough to see the cheetah RUN. Now, don't get your panties in a bunch. It was more of a trot. Apparently there were two cheetahs (I only saw one) stalking some prey but they must have changed their mind because there was no all out running or attack maneuvers of any kind. It was also pretty densely wooded so not the ideal environment for sprinting unless you want a thorn in your eye.

Pre-running

Understandably it is rather difficult to get a picture of  a running cheetah. Thankfully we saw another cheetah out in the distance sunning on a rock. She (He?) seemed rather pleased with herself. I would be too if I was a cheetah in Serengeti. 

Look at the camera, you say? How is this?

Stand up and look gorgeous? Oh, if I must...

The cats were all positively stunning and absolutely knew that. 

Stay tuned for more Serengeti action! There is much more than cats. Shocking, I know!