The Maasai Mara. The name conjures up images of the Great migration. The greatest spectacle on earth. 1 million wildebeest and zebra crossing the plains for food and water and encountering lions, leopards and rivers full of crocodiles. It is all that for sure and more as well.
I had just dropped off our guests and were on a short safari just 3 extra days by myself with the camera and just hoping for something exciting. My guide turned right and rounded a small rise and came through the bushes on either side when I saw them. Dik-dik, right there in the misty morning just clearing up, barely catch a glimpse through the bushes and they were fully aware of me and looked to have been alert before I showed up. Then I saw the reason for this. We had a magnificent leopard sitting in the middle of the road just 50 yards ahead. Talk about a bonus. They could see him clearly and I truly can say it was almost impossible that he saw them. In any case we stayed and took a few more photos of these beautiful antelope before heading for the leopard. We followed the leopard for the next hour as he located and stalked his prey. He did not get a chance to do any hunting however, and eventually disappeared into the bush. The diki-diks really fascinated me. They are quite like duikers we have in South Africa with similar habits. They are monogamous and live in thick bush like the duikers in South Africa and other parts of tropical Africa. The way they mark their territories with the facial gland is also similar. I found out later that this is Kirk’s Dik-dik. The monogamous life seems well suited to a tiny antelope who would be terribly vulnerable to predation from pretty much any predator including aerial ones. So instead of having a mating season and having to go around in the open looking for mates, monogamy and safety makes sense. In any case they are really beautiful little creatures with the most gorgeous eyes. A rare find in the open grasslands of the Maasai Mara.
