Kenya Safari Part VIII

If you've been following my recent posts about our trip through various wildlife parks in Kenya, you will know that although I'm alread at part eight, I've only covered the first leg of our safari. If this is your first visit to my blog and would like to see where we've been and the amazing wildlife and birds we've seen so far, please go back to Kenya Safari Part I and follow our travels from there. 


Leaving the Mara, we were heading for an overnight stop at a lodge on Lake Elementeita. We left Fig Tree Camp shortly after 8.30 that morning and only arrived at our destination at 4pm. After long ride on  very challenging roads, we were looking forward to a hot shower and an early night. However, on the road leading to the lake and lodge, we were treated to a number of animals.


As we trundled along the dirt road to our accommodation, we spotted a small herd of zebra. And voila! A zebra female and her foal. Another baby animal to add to my collection!

A zebra female and her young foal. Note how the baby's tail is quite bushy while the adult's tail almost looks as though it's been plaited, leaving a tassle on the end!

The Plains Zebra (Burchell's Zebra) stands 1.3m tall and weighs up to 320kg. It's life expectancy is 20 years. In the Maasai Mara, the zebra and wildebeest congregate in large numbers and form the migration to the Serengeti between September and early December.

Zebras are very alert and often detect predators in time to flee. The herds stampede in a large group, making it difficult for individuals to become isolated and caught. The zebra protects its young when confronted by a single predator, but lone foals are easy prey. There are no known predators in the Elemeteita lake area (where I took the above photo) so this little foal will hopefully make it to adulthood. 

Zebras are best known for their distinctive black and white stripes, which come in different patterns unique to each individual.  Have you ever wondered whether a zebra is white with black stripes or vice versa? Zoologists maintain that the animal is black with white stripes as white equids would not survive on the plains of Africa. The zebra, although related to the horse and donkey, has an erect mane. 

If you'd like to read some more interesting facts about zebras in Africa, please click here.

Then we came across the signpost which said we had arrived. Yay!

 The view of Lake Elementeita from the lodge

To be continued...