Brandon Winthrow
I heard the crack of bone—sharp, like the snap of a thick branch under the pressure of a firm boot. Just a few yards away, in the brisk morning air, a lioness gnawed on the severed head of a wildebeest. As if they were reapers from the underworld collecting a soul, scavenging hyenas hovered and cackled, tricking her into dropping the head and then darting away with it.
About 20 minutes later, my Maasai guides, Steve Nkumum and Esmey Soyian (guide in training) found a wildebeest giving birth. We watched as she rolled and pushed, and the baby slipped out. The mother stood up, an amniotic sack dangled from behind. With her assistance, the calf was walking and feeding in minutes. It takes me, an adult human, a good hour and several cups of coffee, to be that agile in the morning.
I was in Africa to experience a sustainable safari at the invitation of Basecamp Explorer, an eco-tourism outfit. Basecamp’s tourism in the Masai Mara National Reserve and Mara Naboisho Conservancy in Kenya is intended to regenerate those landscapes, using tourism to benefit not only the land and wildlife, but also the Maasai people who call this their home. The Maasai serve as rangers, guides, and Basecamp’s camp operators.