After a late lunch and a quiet afternoon of relaxing at Camp Bateleur, our late afternoon drive provided us with a challenge. Meena had to stay at the Camp to participate in a Zoom.
(Editor: That was the challenge? Writer: No. Well, we missed having Meena with us, but be patient, I’m getting to the challenge.)
We went through the gate entering Masai Mara and up ahead on the main (still dirt, always dirt) road, we saw some safari vehicles pulled over, a sure sign that something interesting was there.
Okay, so here was the challenging part. Although it wasn’t very challenging for me (heh, heh, heh; they read this, I know Carol and Sanjiv are exclaiming expletives at my expense.)
(Editor: Exquisite alliteration. Writer: Excellent!)
Robert got word that a serval was right there in the tall grass by the side of the road. Neither Carol nor Sanjiv could see it. Oh they sometimes thought they may have seen it, but they couldn’t confirm it. On other wildlife, particularly far away, I was usually the last of the four to see it.
On the other hand, using my fantastic, yet relatively inexpensive camera that was recommended to me by a professional Hollywood photographer(how’s that for a humble brag?) for travel, I was able to find the serval. My lens zooms from 21 to 1365, so it’s got quite a range.
Oh, it wasn’t easy. The serval blended in very well to the grass. It’s a tawny colored cat with black spots – almost like a small, muted colored cheetah. The serval eats field mice and Nile rats. The serval are quite common, but rarely seen.
I’d find it, and then, trying to direct Sanjiv and Carol with how to find it, and then I would lose it again.
Even when I was taking pictures of it, the serval ended up not showing in the photos because the camera focused on the rows of tall, tawny grasses between me and the cat. I did eventually find a longer green (instead of tawny) grass, and could follow that back a few feet. I saw eyes a few times, as well as ears, but my camera was defeated. All but once. Even then, the pictures isn’t very clear.
See if you can spot it.
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