Our group is up a 5 A.M. We leave the hotel for Arusha Airport at 6:30. Our one hour flight to Ndutu leaves at 8:30. Our destination is the Wild Source Research Camp in Ndutu which is part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We are met at the Ndutu airstrip by Fadhil and Sosi, our guide team. We are distressed to learn Deo is hospitalized. Sosi, a wildlife biologist, will fill in for Deo until he returns.

Ndutu is where we meet the Great Migration . There are well over a million wildebeest, zebra and gazelles here searching for the phosphorus rich short grass that thrives in Ndutu. The wildebeest are about to calve. Between late January and mid-March, 400,000 wildebeest calves will be born. The presence of so many vulnerable calves draws predators from far and wide. There will be more predator day time attacks now than at any time of the year. That means our chance of seeing start to finish acts of predatory hunting is greatly increased. That is why we are here. We have come to witness lion, cheetah and leopard mothers teaching their cubs the hunting skills they will need to survive.

Ndutu is an exceptional area for cheetah. They love the open spaces where their speed is best put to use. Lions are also well represented. Bill's staff keeps track of the lion prides so we will know where to find them. The secretive leopard can be found in nearby rock kopjes (pronounced "copy") and riverine woodland edges. Spotted hyenas are everywhere .

Our plan is to conduct our first game drive between the airport and camp. We barely clear the airstrip when we see three adorable bat eared foxes. They are outside their den in plain sight. These creatures are very shy. We normally see them only at night and only using a spot light. What a treat to see three together and in broad daylight.

A short distance further on we spy Marabou storks and white backed vultures squabbling over the remnants of a cheetah kill. Nearby, we spot the cheetah. She has her back to us and seems preoccupied with some distant object. She refuses to even acknowledge our presence.

We arrive at the Wild Source Research Camp and are greeted by the entire company. We are taken to our tents. The tents are 26’ X 13’. Each tent has Stargazer clear plastic windows and a skylight. There is a bedroom / living area along with a separate shower and a toilet room . The toilet is chemical and perfectly adequate. The wrought iron bed sits on thick carpet. Altogether, a very acceptable home for the next five days!!!!

By 3:30 P.M., we are heading out for another game drive. We barely exit the camp when we spot a bull elephant coming through the brush. He is at least fifty years old… and huge with one broken tusk. He sees our idling vehicle and comes directly toward us. I am standing up with my camera in hand and Kent standing next to me.

The elephant shows no sign of aggression but also no hesitation. He walks right up to the vehicle and passes less than three feet from my face. I could easily have touched him. He walks past us to a large water puddle at the front of our Land Cruiser. Once there he sucks water into his trunk and sprays himself. After a few minutes, he ambles off and leaves us to expel the breath we were unconsciously holding.

At 4 PM we find a lion pride consisting of two females and four cubs. The females recently left the much larger Marsh Pride. We will see them several more times in the days to come. We note the females are accomplished hunters for all have full bellies and are only interested in napping.

Fadhil says the Marsh Pride is a dominating presence in the area. We search for them in several of their usual haunts to no avail. Finally, we find them just before 6 PM. There are two large males, six females and five cubs. All are so stuffed with their most recent kill they could barely keep their eyes open. There will be no hunting lions tonight. As darkness falls, we turn toward camp to unpack, shower and prepare for dinner.