Mara Watch: Week Two

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Here is the same cheetah mother as last week indulging her three 10 week old cubs. Still desperately vulnerable at this age, these cubs face an uncertain future and she has been missing for several days now.

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This is astonishing. To see seven week old leopard cubs let alone photograph them is a fantastic privilege. But in the space of 24 hours mother led them from their den and into the barrels of several precision optics. For the guests, many of them multi visitors to the Mara, this was their greatest ever wildlife experience and certainly their best ever photos.

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Close to Mara Camp there is a hyena den. Some mornings the alpha female parades her young pups. This was the most adventurous of the eight week old pups.

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No water in Kenya?  The Marsh lions beg to differ.

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Close to the major crossing point, a mother has three eight week old cubs who are not only playful but very boisterous, a magical very early morning game drive saw them at their most endearing.

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Forget two months or even seven weeks, try 36 hours! As far as I am aware and quite a few experts here I have spoken to, this has never been seen before. These cubs are only just drying out. With tiny teeth and eyes still closed they will not be mobile for several weeks. To find them this young is frankly incredible and will NEVER happen again. Perfect light and an indescribably cute yawn elicited sobs all round from all guests, who can blame them. It was a very short interlude with them as they face a parlous first few weeks.

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The Mara has not only the best photographic light in the world, fact, it also has the most consistently good sunsets, here’s a couple with some obliging cheetahs.