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Scenes from a Kenya Safari
Text and photographs by George W. Stone
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Antelopes abound on the savannah in such abundance that safari guides call them "Mother Nature's McDonald's." Impala hindquarters even appear to be marked by a furry little "M." This antelope is a Grant's gazelle, a speedy species that darts about the bush feeding on shrubs and avoiding unwelcome encounters with lions and leopards. Gazelles can be gregarious, forming social groups that range from small herds of females and their offspring to all-male bachelor herds or male-dominated harems. One thing a gazelle should never be, however, is alone. That would make him an hors d'oeuvre.
Stuart Wheeler, a peerless, poetic wildlife teacher, told me about a memorable return to his beloved Lake Elementita, deep in the Rift Valley, far from where I took this picture of the gazelle. "After an hour of walking around you can tell who's in the neighborhood, who's doing what, and who has eaten whom. I started off crossing a dry riverbed, following a game trail that wove through a thicket toward the lake. As I walked, a half-dozen Colobus monkeys jumped through the trees in the overlapping canopy. On the trail in front of me were the tracks of buffalo, duiker, and bushbuck. Only a handful of flamingos congregated in the middle of the lake. Suddenly, a heard of impala ran across the road and miniature clouds of dust formed at their feet as they took off and landed."
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