Our last full day in the Serengeti so we all thought it best to take the option of a pre-dawn start, returning to the lodge for breakfast, and collecting a picnic lunch. This proved to be a good choice as the three hours before breakfast were full of action! A Slender-tailed Nightjar was calling (but unfortunately couldn’t be lured in); a Lion posed in beautiful light; some young Spotted Hyenas investigated the jeep; a lone Cheetah was found exceptionally close; a herd of Elephants were seen in great light and then charged a nearby jeep; a Cheetah family was seen; and finally a pack of Hyenas were seen with a freshly dead Thompson’s Gazelle. Amazing stuff.
The rest of the day continued in a similar way as previous days: Just driving around seeing what we could find. Geat fun! Trip Leopard counts reached double figures(!) but the mammal highlight (until the evening – see below) was undoubtedly two female Lions stalking a family of Warthogs. The final chase led to much loud squealing, but with no kill.
I had one main target species – Red-throated Tit – that I especially wanted to see. I’d glimpsed one earlier in the lodge gardens but hadn’t had a proper view. Fortunately we found two of these as well as other good birds including Southern Ground-Hornbill and, in particular, Pangani Longclaw. Other new birds included Red-billed Duck, Black-breasted Snake-Eagle, Wahlberg's Eagle, White-bellied Go-away-bird, Nyanza Swift, Plain-backed Pipit, Banded Warbler, Golden-breasted Bunting, and Swaheli Sparrow, the last being a new bird for me also.
The day’s highlight came last thing: We were driving back to the lodge a little bit earlier than usual for several reason (we’d been up before dawn; Sam wanted a swim; I was happy to check out birds in the gardens whilst having a beer). However, on the way back I yelled stop as, very close to the road, a Cheetah had just killed a Thomson’s Gazelle! It took it into cover and then rested in full view for several minutes, exhausted. We guessed it was a female and hopped it may have cubs nearby. Sure enough, after it had recovered it started calling them in. With no response it went to find them whilst we manoeuvred the jeep in prime position for their return. The female walked quite some distance and out of view, but after a while we spotted her returning and then a few minutes later noticed two cubs some distance behind. They then slowly made there way to the carcass, walking a short distance and then hiding in cover, repeating the process many times. Each time they stopped and hid, the 
mother would raise her head and look around for several minutes before walking slowly closer. Eventually, after about an hour, they arrived at the carcass where they devoured it, with the female waiting until the cubs had had their fill. Fascinating to watch something that may seem rather run-of-the-mill when watching on a television documentary, but to witness it first hand is something else. With the light gone, and the show over, we headed back to the lodge in the dark. Sam wasn’t fussed about the swimming!
