Game Drive, Samburu National Reserve, Day 328

Frisky elephants, Northern Kenya, Day... Samburu People, Northern Kenya, Day 329

Game Drive, Samburu National Reserve, Day 328

The Samburu Lodge organizes a contrived evening feeding session (a bit like the hyena feeding in Harar) to bring in leopards so that visitors can gape and awe at these magnificent creatures. The Dragoman crew were aware of this, but while we waited patiently at the lodge last night with our expensive sundowners, the action was actually across the Ewaso Ngiro river. The leopard is so well trained that it turns up now whether food is set out or not. The local guides know this and take the punters to the source of the action – not the source of the booze. To compensate for last night’s fiasco, our Dragoman crew insist upon starting the game drive early. Many of the passengers partied hard last night so only a handful of us brave the cold morning to go wildlife viewing.

The difference between a game drive in small vehicles with expert guides and a Dragoman driver in an unwieldy ten ton truck is stark. Navigating the tight dusty tracks in Nora is difficult and every creature in Africa must hear our vehicle coming. This is not ideal when you are hoping to approach skittish big cats as quietly as possible. Our big cat encounters are therefore non-existent. Having said that Samburu National Reserve is home to elephants, a variety of antelope and some very rare animals, including Grevy’s zebra and the reticulated giraffe. Compared with other zebras, Grevy’s zebra is taller, has larger ears, and its stripes are narrower. Also the Grevy’s zebra does not live in harems. It’s population has declined to less than 3,000 and is considered endangered.

Funnily enough, although the range of the reticulated giraffe is limited to Northern Kenya, Southern Ethiopia and Somalia (and good luck spotting wildlife in Somalia), the reticulated giraffe is common in zoos around the world. Still it is cool to spot these fellas in the wild. And here’s a fast fact about giraffes. They are the tallest land mammal. The reason for this can be attributed to a ritual known as “necking”, where two males fight for reproduction rights by slamming their necks into one another. The giraffes with the tallest and strongest necks are victorious and get to mate with the females, thus passing these genes on to future generations. So now you know.

By the way, ever seen the ‘giraffe-necked’ antelope – otherwise known as a gerenuk (which in the Somali language means ‘giraffe-necked)? As the name implies they are characterized by their long slender necks and legs, which enables them to stand on their hind quarters and stretch high into bushes and acacia trees to eat leaves that are out of reach to smaller antelopes such as impalas and gazelles. The down side to their slender physique is that they are prone to breaking leg bones, making them an easy snack for big cats.

And that’s the end of the game drive. We’re going to change gears for the rest of this brief Dragoman trip and focus on cultural safaris from now on. We begin with the Samburu. Well we will tomorrow. Ta-ta for now.