The name Larmakau is a corruption of 'Ol Lakau,' which means hippopotamus in the Maasai language. The black cotton grassland becomes a huge swamp or 'mbuga' in the rainy season and hippos are found here. Some years the mbuga does not dry out, in which case water birds and water-loving mammals remain here throughout the year. Parts of the grassland are surrounded by the acacia woodlands where tree-climbing pythons are sometimes seen.
Hippopotamuses are large animals (on average 2-3000 kgs.). Their bodies can overheat easily and need to be cooled in water, which is why they spend most of the day submerged. They swim very well and dive for periods of about three minutes before coming up to breathe noisily.
At night and occasionally on wet overcast days hippos leave the water to graze the vegetation, sometimes roaming a considerable distance from their pool. They can eat up to 60 kgs. in a night and feed mainly on grass and sedges. Females give birth to a single calf either on land or in the water. The calf is suckled on land for the first few weeks, and then in the water. Mothers are very protective and teach their young to swim and wallow.
As you watch hippos you will most likely hear them grunting and might see them spreading their dung with vigorous wagging movements of their short strong tails. It is safe to watch the hippos from the bank as they bask in the water, but they should be avoided if found on land. Hippos are usually placid creatures but can become very aggressive if an intruder gets between them and their pool.
One of the most graceful of East Africa's antelopes is the impala. The impala has a rufous coat, dark above and blending into fawn below, with a black stripe bordering the white rump patches. Only males have horns. Both sexes have scent glands concealed in tufts of black wiry hair just above the heels. There are also sebaceous glands in the forehead with which adult males use to scent mark bushes and trees. Impala stand about one meter at the shoulder. Males weigh about 70 kgs. and females about 50 kgs.
Being browsers as well as grazers, impalas are seldom far from cover. They are constantly on the alert as they are a favorite food for many of the large predators, particularly leopards. Alarmed impalas seem to explode in all directions in great soaring bounds, making it hard for a cat to single out a victim.
Impalas are seen either in breeding herds of females and young, often shepherded by a territorial male, or in all-male groups of between 10 and 50 animals. The male groups are composed of immature males that have yet to gain a territory and prime males that have lost one. If a male does not possess a territory he does not have the opportunity to breed. Bachelor herds are typically found close to the breeding herds and may even be allowed to graze with the females.
There is an interesting symbiotic relationship between impalas and flat-topped acacia trees. Towards the end of the dry season, when other food is getting scarce, the ripe acacia pods fall and are eaten by the impalas. The pods are a good source of protein for the impalas and the seeds in the pods have their outer case softened as they pass through the impala's gut. The seeds are then ready to germinate quickly when the rains come and are distributed over a large area by the impala.
The territorial male can be identified by his herding of females and frequent vigorous chasing away of bachelors, while spectacularly puffing and roaring. In this display the male dashes about with horns thrust forward and tail spread and raised to reveal the white 'flag.' From time to time top-ranking bachelors challenge territorial males leading to serious fights. If the territory owner loses, he forfeits his place and he then becomes one of the bachelor males. The competition is so intense for the chance to monopolize herds of up to 100 females that few impala males manage to hold a territory for more than three months at a time.
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