I picked up a book called “Serengeti – Natural Order on the African Plain” by Mitsuaki Iwago from my office library without even knowing what “Serengeti” meant.
Serengeti means an “endless plain” in the language of the Masai people a semi-nomadic tribe that live in these plains which are situated in the Tanzania-Kenya border.
The book is a collection of 300 photographs taken by Mitsuaki Iwago during his 18 months stay in the plains with his wife and 4 year old daughter. The author starts with an intro. Living in the plains is very tough. During the summers, there is hardly any water to drink and they had to go 55 miles to get water. The temperatures are very harsh. Rains come in torrents. Yet, at the end of their 18 month stay Iwago’s wife exclaims “I could stay here by myself“
The photographs capture the raw essence of Serengeti wild life. They will transport you to the plains amidst all the danger and beauty of the habitat.
The author starts the journey from the beginning of rains in the plains when the wildbeests migrate from the Serengeti National Park in the north to the Serengeti Plains in the south. Serengeti houses thousands of animals including lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyraxes, birds etc.
The rains transform the entire plain into an environment brimming with life. Animals give birth to their young, colourful insects are everywhere, every animal has plentiful to eat.
The book ends with the migration of wild beests back to the Serengeti National Park with the onset of summer in the plains which makes the plains a deserted and rough place to live.
The book is really amazing. Photos can really tell you so much about a vast ecosystem.
There are some funny pictures too like the lion eating the grass, hyraxes which are the size of a rabbit but are the closest living relatives to the elephants, a bird sitting on a wildbeest and picking out insects from its body, imphalas running in zigzag to confuse their predators and so on.
Iwago does a brilliant job. It has piqued my interest in the Serengeti ecosystem.
Waiting to explore more books on the wildlife.
1 Comment
June 27, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Nice post. I definitely want to visit the Serengeti once in my life.