Lake Mburo National Park

Hey Guys!

Sunday was Jared's birthday, and we got to celebrate it in style. We headed out to Mburo Lake National Park, and had a fantastic time spotting wildlife in the bushes. Everything here is SO different, even a lot of the birds are completely unknown to me. For a bird nerd like me, this is a fantastic thing. We stopped at the park gate and got connected with a guide. We had driven there in a mid-size car and I thought we might be switching to an actual safari vehicle. Oh no, the guide walked over to the car and got in the front seat and off we went. Our guide, Diana, also came with a long arm rifle which she managed to fit into the front seat. We've got a gun and a guide in a small car, let's go!

 The first thing we saw were impalas, which was not surprising since we had seen these on the way in. Our driver thought they were kobs, but they are actually impalas because they have the characteristic "M" on their butts. 

 Off in the distance are a couple topis. Diana told us they are uncatchable by the leopards, because they can zig and zag and are very fast runners. However, they are not very good at finding water, and are prone to dying of dehydration in the dry season. 

More impalas

This is a male impala, and you can count the age based on the number of rings on his horns. There is also a Vervet monkey behind him. I like to think they are friends. 

 The national park has made 5 large dugouts to increase habitat for hippos. And look, there they are! 

Here is another look at a Vervet monkey. They are native to Africa and I had never seen one before.

This is a male Water buck. He did not have a herd of ladies to cruise around with, so had ample time to pose for a photo.

Jared spotted a group of giraffe from a ways away, and Diana took us on a little side track to get MUCH closer. Did you know a group of giraffe was called a tower?

Here's the birthday boy! In our safari vehicle......

This is a breeding pair of Crowned Crane, Uganda's national bird. They have all of the colors of the flag (black, red, gray, white) on their bodies. 

Here are some baboons cruising through the grass. Baboons carry their male children slung under their bellies, and the females are riding on the tops of their backs. 

African Buffalo. These are actually very dangerous animals, as they are unpredictable and will circle back to gore and trample humans. Our guide told us they were #2 after hippos for most dangerous, but when I went fact-checking on the internet I got a lot of conflicting information. Crocodiles might kill more people than buffalo- but they are all in the 'don't mess with me' category. 

This is a far-away picture of an Eland, the largest antelope in the world. Unfortunately, they are also very shy and this was the closest we could get. 

Zebras!

This is a great picture because it has all 3: Waterbuck, Zebra, Impalas

Warthogs. Which we just called Pumbaas the whole time and Diana went with it. She told us pumbaa means stupid in Swahili. She also explained that warthogs are prime food for the leopards because they are so unintelligent. They will get scared by something, but their memories are short and they will return to the area- only to be eaten by the leopard. 

In case you were interested, a lot of the character's names in The Lion King came from Swahili:

Rafiki = a friend

Simba= lion or strength

Nala = Be happy

Mufasa= You are good

Zazu= the root 

Here we are on the shores of Lake Mburo, with our guide Diana.

We had a great lunch spot to enjoy the view 

A Lilac-brested roller, which is a bird I REALLY wanted to see while in Africa. To have seen one already is amazing. I promise you it is unreal in flight. 

 I will leave you with a parting shot of this Vervet monkey's extremely blue testicles. You're welcome. 

Until Next Time!