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Archive 2013 · Living together in the Serengeti #8

  
 
Charlie Shugart
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Living together in the Serengeti #8


Found a few elephant shots I liked- so back to the eles...
1. A typical scene of a herd of elephants (an average size of about one dozen) traveling between a food supply and a water supply. This is probably a daily activity, and with big brains, they remember where several such places are within their territory.
2. We saw this small herd of elephants heading toward the dirt road, so we stopped at a discreet distance and waited for them to cross.
Then two other vans (different company) pulled up from the opposite direction and blocked the elephants' path through the small forest. As I readied myself for a bit of "van-tipping" fun, the eles shuffled about and finally walked around the other vans. Damn! That would have made for some interesting photography .
As we drove slowly away, I patted our driver/guide on the shoulder and told him he was a smart man. I also decided that I definitely would give him a tip at the end of the safari- especially if his good judgement continued .
3. A small herd on one of their many mystery walkabouts. We stopped at a reasonable distance from them and watched. The huge matriarch- leading the parade- paid little attention to us. But this youngish mom took mild offense at our proximity; giving us this stare-down before continuing along with her unconcerned baby.
4. In the Maasai village. More children just hanging around, and a healthy-looking dog happy to be part of the gang.
5. Another carving from the Denver Museum. There were many such works about fertility and infants. Among all aboriginal people, reproduction is not a decision based on your desired lifestyle; it is absolutely necessary for the survival of the tribe. Which was why there were so many children in the Maasai village I saw. Even in modern times, the infant mortality rates among the Maasai were scary bad. But getting better as western medical care was being accepted by them.



Charlie Shugart 2013

Kenya Elephants





Charlie Shugart 2013

Kenya- Elephants and Dumb Safari Drivers





Charlie Shugart 2013

Kenya- Mother and Baby Elephant






Kenya- Children in a Maasai Village





Charlie Shugart 2013

African Native Statue in Denver Museum




May 17, 2013 at 05:41 PM
Ted ellis
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Living together in the Serengeti #8


You be the man Charlie........You have been around the world. I am in awe!


May 17, 2013 at 05:49 PM
KCollett
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Living together in the Serengeti #8


Good set Charlie. Like the mass of Maasai best. Beauty that one is.


May 17, 2013 at 06:52 PM
Lil Judd
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Living together in the Serengeti #8


Another wonderful set Charlie

I'm also going with the Children in a Maasai Village

Lil



May 17, 2013 at 08:02 PM
Charlie Shugart
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Living together in the Serengeti #8


Thanks Ted, Ken and Lil.
I had gone to Kenya with the sole purpose of seeing the incredible wildlife before it disappeared because of the heavy hand of mankind.
Walking around Nairobi for a day while waiting for the safari to begin was a bit of a surprise- mostly because I hadn't thought much about it beforehand. It was a large city consisting only of black people (seeing another caucasian was a rarity). Of course, the people were doing all the things one sees in all big cities. For lunch, I walked into an ordinary cafeteria-style restaurant. About 50-75 people taking their lunch break from the office buildings where most of them worked. I was the only white person there, and I felt self-conscious about it. But I wasn't much of a curiosity to them. As I gazed around, I saw nobody staring at me, or turning suddenly because they HAD been staring. It was another totally logical situation- and yet it was unique to me- and felt a bit odd. Throughout Asia, whenever I was inside a local cafe, I was always an object of curiosity. Or even when I was just walking down a street alone (which was almost always). I spoke to only a few people in Nairobi, and English worked okay, although listening to them talk to each other I heard very little English.
Of course, visiting the Maasai village for a couple of hours was altogether different. The tribal people were not "westernized" at all. It would have seemed okay to say they weren't even Kenyans- although technically that would be incorrect. Certainly they were different than the people in Nairobi.
So I went to Kenya for the wildlife- and came away with some other impressions also. Always a good thing when I travel.

When I left Kenya I flew to Bombay, India, and caught a bus to the Kingdom of Kashmir.
But that involved no wildlife at all, so I can't work it into the Bird Forum ().
Charlie



May 17, 2013 at 09:21 PM
birdied
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Living together in the Serengeti #8


Very nice Charlie ! I am really enjoying this series , especially seeing the shots of the Maasai.

Birdie




May 17, 2013 at 11:31 PM
kmunroe
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Living together in the Serengeti #8


another lovely set Charlie...


May 18, 2013 at 03:36 AM
Charlie Shugart
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Living together in the Serengeti #8


Thanks Birdie and KenMunroe.
I'm enjoying reprising some of these photos and reprocessing them (I'm very slowly getting better at it). And I also like mixing in the wildlife shots with my visit to the Maasai village.
An unusual thing that I couldn't photograph- but that I remember well:
One dark night, our primitive campsite was visited by half a dozen Maasai warriors. Some discussion took place between them and our guide, and he switched on the van's headlights.
The warriors did a traditional Maasai dance in the lights from the van, accompanied by their chanting. It was quite a wild scene.
When they finished they silently melted into the darkness.
Oh, my.
Charlie



May 18, 2013 at 02:11 PM





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