Viewer Discretion Advised

We woke at 5:45 am to view the Serengeti at sunrise.  It did not disappoint.  At first it was pretty cloudy - but we found a hippo out of the water, walking towards us and gritting his teeth.  We kept our distance. 

Sunrise in the Serengeti.

Two cheetahs greeted us along the road during their morning stroll.  I fell in love when they eventually posed for us on top of a mid-sized rock.  According to our guide, Jerry, it was a mom and her 1-year old cub.  Cheetahs are sleek and elegant, true nature's beauty. 

Strike a pose.

A cheetah cub and his mom.

As mentioned, the Serengeti was the inspiration for The Lion King.  I laughed when I learned that Pumba, the warthog, actually means 'stupid' in Swahili. 

I am Pumba, call me Stupid.

The warthog lacks so much intelligence that when it is being chased by an attacker, it runs away and points it's tail straight up in the air - like an antenna for everyone to see.  The warthog will then stop, look around, almost as if to say "Why was I running?".  As the attacker approaches, the Pumba says "Oh yeah - I'm being attacked!" and starts running again.  Very comical to watch. 

Simba means 'lion' in Swahili.  And the lions are a key reason why I wanted to visit Africa on safari.  I saw lions resting on the kopjes (rock formations that are pronounced 'kopees').  I saw lions sitting in the vast openness of the Serengeti.  I saw a pride of lions doing more than ignoring us!

Kopjes are the dutch name for the rock formations found throughout the Serengeti.

A pride of lions resting on a kopje.

Young female lion.

Cheese!

Open wide.

Stretch.

The lions did not disappoint when we found a pair on the side of the road, and our Land Cruiser was able to  park right next to them.  The male was absolutely gorgeous with a huge mane and commanding stance. 

Male lion that stole the show.

Male and female lion, resting.

However, it turns out the female was in command.  The female was in heat, and she insisted that her mate perform.  Perform every 7 minutes for two days that is!  The 7-minute mating ritual of lions results in cubs born 110 days later.   Yes folks, I have Lion Porn.  View discretion advised.