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Tanzania 2014 Serengeti Mara Day 2B

Tanzania is in eastern Africa, just below Uganda and Kenya, and on the Indian Ocean. At the end of our eleven day/ten-night Zambia safari, we flew from Livingston to Johannesburg for an overnight stay. The next day we flew to Arusha, Tanzania via Nairobi. Arriving at Arusha Coffee Lodge at around 8 pm, we spent two nights (one full day) relaxing there before our next adventure. On the morning of 28 August 2014, our guide and driver, Nelson, picked us up at ACL in his 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser for the trip to Ngorongoro Crater. After three nights and two full days in the Crater while staying at Lemala Ngorongoro Camp, we flew by Coastal bush plane out of Manyara Airstrip to Kogatende Airstrip for four nights at Sayari Mara Camp in the remote NW corner of the Serengeti near the Mara River and the Kenyan border. Albert Alfred Lucas was our guide and driver. All arrangements for our requested Tanzanian safari from our arrival at ACL through our return to Arusha and departure from ACL on 5 September 2014 were made by Africa Travel Resource.

All photos are Copyright 2014 Larry Lenon All Rights Reserved and show a faint watermark. THE WATERMARK WILL NOT APPEAR ON PRINTS, MERCHANDISE OR DOWNLOADS ORDERED THRU SMUGMUG. Questions ? Critique ? Add a comment (lower left) or e-mail me!
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Apparently at this point the crocodile has released the wildebeest. It is out in the middle of the river and swimming for shore.
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Apparently at this point the crocodile has released the wildebeest. It is out in the middle of the river and swimming for shore.

  • Pushed downstream by the current and depth of the river, the herd eventually makes it to shallower and slower water. They walk along the river's edge and climb out more or less directly across from where they entered. This takes them very close to our Land Cruiser, so after this photo was taken, Albert drove us downstream so that we would not be in the way.
  • Across the river, the wildebeest just keep coming.
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  • Now the herd turns away from the river, as if to find another place to cross.
  • But then they collectively change their mind, and resume crossing almost exactly where they had be entering the river before.
  • An adult wildebeest is attacked by a crocodile below the surface. It spins him 90 degrees clockwise, facing upstream instead of across the river, and pulls him onto his side.
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  • The wildebeest that was attacked is still in the grasp of the crocodile and mostly under water. Another wildebeest looks on.
  • The croc tries to grab the wildebeest around its nose in order to suffocate it, but misses.
  • The wildebeest is carried downstream, trying to get a breath.
  • Apparently at this point the crocodile has released the wildebeest. It is out in the middle of the river and swimming for shore.
  • That is another rock in the background, not a crocodile.
  • The crocodile attacks again, coming up from below.
  • But the crocodile releases the wildebeest one more time.
  • The crocodile swims past the wildebeest and is headed upstream towards other prey. The wildebeest is swimming directly towards us on the north bank.
  • Resting for a moment in the lee of a large rock, the wildebeest catches its breath.
  • As the first crocodile continues upstream on the far left and 15 seconds after the wildebeest came to rest by the large rock, a second crocodile suddenly clamps down on its snout and around its nose.
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