I have recently returned from a fantastic trip to Kenya, where I spent time in Amboseli, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara, and Olare Motorogi Conservancy.  I was fortunate enough to get some good views of Kilimanjaro with fresh snowfall – always a spectacular experience when you are down on the lake bed with temperatures in the high thirties. Some elephants were kind enough to position themselves in front of the mountain, which gave me some great opportunities to capture those classic images that only Amboseli and Kilimanjaro can offer.

At Lakes Naivasha and Nakuru, I viewed great birdlife, and a rare crash of five white rhinos.

I had wonderful leopard sightings in the Masai Mara, including Lorian’s two-year old female cub sitting in a nice tree, Kaboso and her female cub, who is approximately one-year old, and Bahati’s male cub, who is about eighteen months old.  Lorain herself is pictured stretching on the front of my book Art in the Wild.

In Olare Motorogi Conservancy, I spent a few days with my friend Paul Goldstein, at his excellent Kicheche Bush Camp. There I photographed the leopard Tito with her two four months old cubs.

It was good to spend time with my friend and guide Paul Kirui, who is also Chairman of my Charity Hoopers Africa Trust in Kenya. Congratulations to Paul on winning The 2016 Eco Tourism Kenya, Safari Guide of the year, which was much deserved.

Here are a few images from the trip, which I hope you will enjoy. Please click on the link below for a larger selection of images.

Kenya November 2016 Gallery

Kenya November 2016 Gallery

On the 24^th February, whilst at a “Save the Rhinos” fund raising dinner in London, I was fortunate to meet Richard Vigne, CEO of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya. Ol Pejeta Conservancy is home to the last three surviving Northern White Rhinos on the planet. On the verge of being hunted to extinction, these three Rhinos; two females and one male, now live at Ol Pejeta Conservancy where they have 24 hour armed security, and a dedicated staff who care for all their needs.

With a trip to the Masai Mara planned for March, it presented an excellent opportunity to visit Ol Pejeta and catch up with Richard, see the fantastic work they are doing in their conservancy and to meet and photograph; what could very sadly be the last of these magnificent creatures.

I was honoured to be able to get up close to the Rhinos and get some amazing shots, what a truly magnificent and worthwhile project these people are running, it is so sad that the only male left (Sudan, 43) is now past breeding age. There is a glimmer of hope, with the help of San Diego Zoo scientists who are exploring alternatives (such as artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer) to develop northern white rhino embryos and implant them in female Southern white rhinos at the San Diego Zoo. Only time now will tell us if this species can be saved.

15 minutes from the Rhino residence and still part of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy is the Sweetwater Chimpanzee sanctuary that I have previously visited. The chimpanzees’ natural home range spans from Senegal on the West African coast, through the central forested belt of Africa, to Uganda. They are not native to Kenya, but when a rescue centre in Burundi had to be closed due to the civil war outbreak in 1993 – Ol Pejeta opened its doors.

The Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary was established with an agreement between the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Jane Goodall Institute. The aim – to provide lifelong refuge to orphaned and abused chimpanzees from West and Central Africa.

I spent some beautiful days around Mount Kenya in the Amboseli National Park with my good friend and guide Paul Kirui, we saw Rhino, Elephant, Lion, Zebra, Giraffe and impala amongst others. It is a extremely wildlife-rich environment with the most stunning of backdrops (If low clouds will allow you to see it).

Of the Wild Dogs that we encountered, one particular pack that caught our attention consisted of a large family made up of 4 adult males, 4 adult females and 11 pups. Wild Dog packs are ruled by a female Matriarch and this packs leader and another boisterous female have radio collars for the rangers to track their movements and to monitor the pack. It is thought that the younger females behaviour is an early indicator of desires to break off to start her own pack and become an alpha female.

Below are a few images from this trip, I hope you enjoy them.

November was a very wet month in the Mara, but fortunately as most of the storms occurred in the late afternoon and evenings, I was able to get out everyday. With swollen rivers it was not possible to access some areas, with most of the usual vehicle crossings being impassable. This did not prove a problem however, and I experienced some great sightings. The theme of this visit seems to have been cubs, the young with their mothers, child birth and sadly, experiencing the harsh circle of life in the Mara, with the loss of a cheetah cub.

Apart from her annoying habit of climbing on vehicles, one very special cheetah, Malaika, fourteen months ago gave birth to six cubs. She has subsequently lost three of those cubs, which is not unusual, but for the remaining three one would have hoped the worst was over. On November 26th Malaika decided to cross the swollen Talek River with her three cubs. With the fast flowing river they were not able to make the crossing as quickly as they normally would, and sadly one of her cubs was taken by a crocodile. I arrived at the river shortly after, so did not witness the attack, but was presented with the dreadful sight of the crocodile laying alongside the dead cheetah cub which it had lodged up against the river bank. I know these things are an everyday occurrence, but it is extremely hard not to be upset when a family you have followed for so long suffers a loss like this. Malaika spent the next few days waiting by the river for her missing cub, calling out to her, it was heart wrenching to witness. There was an air of sadness amongst all the guides and visitors in the Mara for the following days. Crocodiles suddenly became the most unpopular of creatures! For the brave there is a picture of the scene below.

Moving on to happier things, I spent many wonderful hours with two leopard mothers, Fig with her one cub, and Bahati with her two cubs, along with a lioness with four young cubs and a cheetah, Nora with her two cubs. A first for me, I watched and photographed a topi giving birth and waited to see her newborn calf take its first steps. Within twenty minutes the calf had managed to stand and take its first unsteady steps, a remarkable experience which I feel privileged to have shared.

  For larger selection of images click here: