Masai Mara and Melting Pot Safari... So disappointed! (page 4 of 7)

'they compete with the Maasai's goats and cows, who don't eat meat but live off their livestock'

The Maasai do eat meat and they live off their livestock.

hi bernard being a vet, do you think the photo I saw of a cheetah on the hood of a car is normal behavior? valerie

Well, yeah Classic habituation behavior The car is nice It's useful Why not?

hey michel well yeah, classic habituation behavior? don’t get it well no, it really strikes me valerie

Hi Din,

The Maasai eat meat and live off their livestock.

Yes, they eat meat, but not bushmeat, so they aren’t direct competitors with predators. However, if predators threaten their livestock, they *will* defend it! That said, they aren’t the only ones responsible for the decline of big cats or other carnivores. I’m fully aware of that, but they and their herds are still part of the problem. Other factors—like the predators themselves—also need to be considered, making this a complex issue, of course.

Later,

Hi there,

Just a side note: I followed the Instagram link Besl shared—bravo!!! I think your photos are gorgeous and have such an original framing 😎

I won’t comment on the Masai Mara since I haven’t been, but I totally agree with your "stars" for the other camps in Southern Africa, especially BBC Camp where we spent 3 amazing days... By the way, did you also go to Chitake? If not, book a flight ticket and go ASAP 😉

Best,

JF

So when are you telling us all about this, Jean François? 😛

Well, it's all on my blog 😉

Have a great rest of the evening!

Hello,

Animals have lived alongside humans for a very long time.

Humans are predators to animals. Animals can be predators to humans.

Over generations, animals have grown accustomed to certain situations. These lived experiences are passed down to new generations.

Human = hunter = danger.

If an animal has never encountered a situation before, it won’t identify it as dangerous or disruptive.

Example: Humans arrived on Réunion Island. There had never been humans on this island before. The first travelers could catch birds very easily, by hand. The birds quickly learned from their own experience or their parents’ that humans = danger. Try catching a bird on Réunion Island today! It’s an example of rapid learning across a few generations about a danger. An adaptation to a way of life, a living space... (Another example: the first humans arriving in the Americas via Bering... or in Australia in ancient times... wiping out entire species with "ease").

In an animal park (a closed, long-established one), it’s the opposite. Humans in a car = a big, smelly creature that isn’t dangerous. The cheetah’s grandmother wasn’t afraid because *her* grandmother wasn’t afraid. She passed this behavior down to her daughters, sons, granddaughters, etc... So today, cars = part of life in the park. No danger, and even useful for dominating the savanna. I’m not in danger, I’m not bothered, I use it...

Example: In South Africa (which I know well), buffaloes and cars? No problem. Humans on foot and buffaloes? The buffalo charges... (with exceptions, of course...). Adaptation to this big creature that doesn’t represent danger and doesn’t even seem disruptive. I saw a female leopard use the ranger’s vehicle and its tourists to hunt. I move when the car moves, hidden behind it. I freeze when the car stops... and I sneak up on my prey. Using a "foreign" element that’s become ordinary due to habituation.

That’s why, in cases of culling (for example, too many impalas), they shoot at night from a distant vehicle so there’s no association of car = danger.

So our cheetah isn’t bothered by the car... The jackal comes to pee on the 4x4’s wheel... the leopard hunts with the car. The four cheetahs that hunted a zebra in Madikwe, very close to our car, weren’t disturbed at all.

Well... The price of an animal park where life is still quite wild... is this. Well... Now, too many cars, obviously... excess is rarely a good thing!

hey michel one foreign element that’s become commonplace is what really gets me honestly, maybe we shouldn’t have let great-grandma climb onto the hood I live in a country that unfortunately ranks in the “top” and is therefore getting more and more visitors so we’re bound to see worse things valerie

Hi Michel,

I completely agree with you. I remember a similar moment in Tanzania, in the southern parks. A trio of young lions right by the open 4x4 🦁 No problem at all, even if we were pretty nervous. That’s when I started to understand. As for the crowds of vehicles, I’d be in favor of limiting their numbers through quotas, but not banning access entirely. The parks should remain a business, but a respectful one.

hi again I thought, being a vet, your opinion might be a bit different from regular tourists. Madikwe, which you mentioned, is closed to animals but also to visitors—it costs an arm and a leg! I’ve never been there, preferring self-drive. I’d rather see African wild dogs on the main road between Nata and Kasane and two cheetahs between Panda and Robins outside the parks—this actually happened to me, since what everyone ends up writing about on this forum is what they’ve *actually* seen. Valérie

Hello,

Unfortunately, if the grandmother hadn’t climbed onto the hood, it would be because there was no tourism. Tourism still brings a lot of money to countries—African ones in this case—that really need it... And probably, I do mean probably, that wildlife (in a world that, whether we like it or not, depends on that money) wouldn’t be protected much...

Seeing African wild dogs on the road you mentioned is amazing, but... for a traveler who’s only there for a limited time, it would be quite a stroke of luck.

Travelers who come to Africa to see animals... prefer to actually see them! In good conditions if possible! Otherwise, they won’t come back.

Madikwe is a closed space, yes, and expensive, but it’s large and recreated. A new, recent space for travelers, sure... but also for the animals that can live there... So, isn’t it still better? No?

As someone who tries to explain that we shouldn’t be fooled by "petting lions" (see my discussion), I’m very aware of the excesses of tourism... but also of its benefits for wildlife, communities, and countries (see Tembe, iSimangaliso, etc.).

As a vet, I try to balance these things.

Hi Valérie,

I prefer seeing African wild dogs on the main Nata-Kasane road and 2 cheetahs between Panda and Robins outside the parks—this actually happened since everyone eventually writes about what they’ve seen on this forum

... leopard and greater kudus jumping a fence over 1.7 m high on the road from Nata to Maun, impressive! 🙂.

See you,

Hello,

Just a side note: I followed the Instagram link Besl shared—bravo!!! I think your photos are stunning and have such an original framing 😎

I won’t comment on the Masai Mara since I haven’t been there, but I completely agree with your "stars" for the other camps in Southern Africa, especially BBC Camp where we spent 3 amazing days... by the way, have you been to Chitake? If not, book a flight ticket and go ASAP 😉

Best regards,

JF

Thanks! No (not yet!), we haven’t been to Chitake, even though we stayed for 9 days. We really fell in love with BBC Camp. Mana Pools is a wonder of the world...

No car habituation = danger.

The fact that we don’t automatically see humans as a potential threat wouldn’t be an issue in a perfect world.

But poaching is a real scourge. And animals that get too used to humans are the first victims.

Rhinos let people get way too close. How do we teach them again that we can be real jerks?

I didn’t quite get what your usual way of traveling around Africa is?

Totally self-drive? Private car with a driver and logistics handled by an agency? Small-group organized tour?

Accommodation in a rooftop tent, a pitched tent, or a lodge?

Food self-catering, a dedicated cook, or the lodge restaurant?

This could be one of the reasons for your disappointment.

Well, this is complicated! Many animals will charge at people on foot 🦁 The hunter In Gorongosa, the animals are very wary After thirty years of slaughter

I didn’t say it was easy. 😉

But if we want to see rhinos outside of zoos, maybe we should teach them to hate us.

Moving them while making it clear who’s moving them and giving them a fear of helicopters? Stress to avoid ending up as, well, you know… balls, as they say.

A necessary evil.

I didn't quite understand what your usual way of traveling around Africa is?

Total self-drive? Private car with a driver and logistics handled by an agency? Organized small-group tour?

Accommodation in a rooftop tent, pitched tent, or lodge?

Food self-catering, a dedicated cook, or the lodge restaurant?

This could be one of the reasons for your disappointment.

I've done a bit of everything in Southern Africa, especially self-drive (Botswana, Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe), self-drive with a 4x4 and rooftop tent, game drives through all kinds of lodges—4-star, camping, you name it. Anyway, I'm not here to show off my "resume" of African experiences, but contrary to the venom Doppio might spew, I'm only here to share my point of view. Overall, that’s exactly what this forum is for: sharing experiences, desires, and tips about our shared passion for travel (and it’s perfect that way!). I find it a shame to take things this way because, as I mentioned in my first post in this thread, this is JUST my opinion. I simply feel that some people might be interested in hearing about my experience in the Mara. The place itself is still stunning, the safaris are still fantastic, but the park is, well, quite touristy, and this camp just seemed a bit overhyped and disappointed me in some ways. Anyway, I’m not here to harm Mr. Crocetta’s business—I just have the right to share my experience, even if it doesn’t please everyone... Should we only give our opinion if it’s positive?