20260811 Globus Kenya & Tanzania: The Safari Experience Day 7 of 19 - Ol Pejeta Conservancy Day #2

Globus Kenya & Tanzania: The Safari Experience - Ol Pejeta Day 2 - Animals Everywhere

We got up at 6:00 for a 6:30 breakfast and a 7:30 game drive. 

We awoke to a fantastic view of Mt. Kenya before the day's inevitable clouds moved in

Sunrise over the watering hole

Mt. Kenya's peak

Those are clouds, not snow

As we departed on the game drive, a Hadada Ibis temporarily blocked the road

Cape buffalo were everywhere today

Those horns look so heavy

Elans were grazing - it must have tasted great as they wouldn't raise their heads

Baby Cape Buffalo - nice teeth

Look at those horn nubs

Thompson's Gazelle

We caught our first look at the Reticulated Giraffe. They are unique to this area. These didn't have the characteristic pattern all the way to their hooves, but our guide, Felix, confirmed that these are indeed Reticulated Giraffes. Get ready, as this was a giraffe-heavy day.

The longer that we watched, the more that came out from the woods

Zebras were on the other side of the road

Impala (big) and Thompson's Gazelle (small)

A flock of Cattle Egrets flying over a herd of Cape Buffalo

Back to the Reticulated Giraffe

Another look at Mt. Kenya

White Rhino

Black Rhino with an Impala, Zebras, and Cape Buffalo

Lots of Oxpeckers were riding along

White Rhino family

Black Rhino

Another Oxpecker, coming in for a landing

Warthog

A lone zebra strolling in front of Mt. Kenya

Black Rhino baby with its horn just coming in

Chasing the warthog away

As we drove farther, we found a spit where the Reticulated Giraffes were approaching

They were within 20 feet of the vehicles - it was amazing

After they passed, even more were approaching

You don't realize how tall they are until you are right next to them

Every pattern is different

An Oxpecker, taking a ride

Mt. Kenya in the background

Secretarybird

Warthog family

Warthogs can't bend their heads to the ground, so they have to kneel to eat

Black-backed jackal

There was a den - if you look closely, you can see more lying down

Our next stop was a rhino cemetery. They aren't actually buried here. It is a memorial to many of the Rhinos that were poached and killed for their horns. Kenya has instituted a law that if a poacher is caught, there is no trial. They are bagged and shot on the spot. Knowing that if you get caught, you will die, has been a valuable deterrent in the ongoing battle to end poaching. In addition, they are trying to end the global economy for things like ivory and rhino horn. If there is no market, there is no reason to poach.

The disclaimer - not our fault if you get eaten

A look at a few of the markers

Mt. Kenya

The tree held a bunch of Weaver nests

Mt. Kenya in the background

The clouds were already rolling in for the day

We spotted a momma and baby elephant before they disappeared into the brush

Our next stop was the Chimpanzee Sanctuary

Chimps are not native to Kenya - all residents have been rescued and now live safely here

All the chimps were behind protective (for them and us) electric wire fences that made for really rotten photos

This was a 48-year-old

Several chimps came down with the promise of a snack

Those eyes

The small one was only four years old and played just like a little boy

At one point, a keeper dropped a banana outside the fence. We watched one chimp take a stick, break it, bite it, and fashion it into a tool and then use that tool to sweep under the fence and retrieve the banana. It was amazing.

All the chimps in their care

This is a play rock for the chimps - the keepers pour honey and peanut butter into the small holes

The chimps fashion sticks into dipping tools that fit into the holes and come out covered in the tasty treat

That ended this morning's adventures. We returned to camp and had a nice buffet lunch. 

The chefs got creative with dessert

The watering hole was active both during and after lunch. Keep in mind that these are right in front of our tent.

An elephant family getting a drink

Kenya Rufous Sparrow

Crowned Cranes

Water Buck

White-browed Sparrow-Weaver

A mama and baby black rhino came in for a drink

This was, by far, the smallest baby rhino that we saw

All done drinking

Marabou Stork

Is my wallet under here?

Is it under there?

Where the heck is it?

Uh...

There it is!

As the two black rhinos left, a white rhino approached

At 4:00, we left for our afternoon activity. We started with a game drive, and then made stops to visit a blind black rhino and to visit the equator.

A large, female waterbuck

Her boyfriend

Some of his other girlfriends, and a baboon

More baboons

We came upon this big female elephant

She was grazing on the grass

She used her foot to loosen the grass at the roots

Then, she used her trunk to rip the plants out of the ground

We found zebras using tree branches as scratching posts

Four of them were scratching various itches

When the tree wasn't good enough, just roll on the rocks and scratch that back itch

Ohhhhhh, yeahhhhhh

We're fairly certain that this was a male

It was so cool just seeing groups of animals

Grant's Gazelle

A juvenile zebra - their stripes are brown and change to black as they mature

Black-winged kite

Secretarybird

There is a separate conservation area within the Ol Pejeta Conservancy that is dedicated to protecting the last two Northern White Rhinos on Earth. Unfortunately, they are mother and daughter. They preserved sperm from the father, who passed away recently, and are trying to breed more, but these are very hard to breed, and they have yet to be successful.

We spotted this rhino through the barrier

We also spotted a young rhino, but don't know if these are the Northern White Rhinos as others share the space

Our first stop was to meet Baraka, a blind black rhino. His left eye has severe cataracts and didn't respond to treatment. His right eye was gouged out in a battle with another rhino. They now care for him. He has become accustomed to people and happily ate the carrots that we all fed him.

Our intrepid group of travelers: Linda, Garry, Arlona, Tim, Jill, Baraka, Lila, Vivki, Sue, Joel, David, Fahrod, Netta

The green on his chest is medicine used to treat a skin infection - you can also see the cloudiness in his left eye

His right eye has healed over

That's a serious horn

As we walked to the information center, several vervet monkeys were playing

They had a huge display of bones from many of the animals in Ol Pejeta

This is the closest that we've been to seeing a leopard

All kinds of poop

Arlona taking a photo of giraffe facts, near a giraffe's vertebrae

Those facts

The rare Cape Buffalo variant, Arlonus Kenyus

African Hoopoe

Our final stop was at the equator marker. We couldn't get out of the vehicles because a huge herd of Cape Buffalo was perhaps 30 feet away.

Look in the lower left - my GPS app confirmed that we were at 0°0'0.0"S - dead on the equator

When we got back to camp, we spotted a Tree Hyrax near the reception center

We enjoyed dinner and then came back to the tent. We have to get packed because we're on the move tomorrow. We will make a stop at Nyahururu Falls and then on to Lake Nakuru National Park.