World View Photo Contest - Fall 2009
First Place: Calvin Johnson '10
Lioness at Sunset
Location: Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Photo: Calvin Johnson '10
About the Photo:
Last spring I studied abroad in Tanzania. The program was not centered at a university, but instead was based on traveling around Tanzania and learning about the beautiful country first-hand. These travels included homestays that gave me great insights into the life of Tanzanian people as well as safaris through several of Tanzania's national parks.
Our final safari was in Serengeti National Park. We spent a full week sleeping in tents at night and going on game drives to watch and study the animals. On our last game drive in the Serengeti, our very last of the trip, we had an amazing drive. We saw cheetahs for the first time, we saw elephants, and we saw a pair of lioness in a tree. This behavior is rare for lions, but not unheard of.
We stopped to watch the lioness for a while. One watched a wildebeest from a distance, got out of the tree, stalked it for a bit, contemplated chasing it, but then changed her mind as the wildebeest wandered farther from her tree. As all this was going on, the sun began to set behind the remaining lioness in the tree, presenting the amazing scene in my picture.
I could not have asked for a better goodbye from the Serengeti. After admiring the scene, we drove back to camp under a gorgeous sunset to spend on last night in the Serengeti. This semester was one of the best times of my life. This picture sums up the majesty of Tanzania and it's wildlife. — Calvin Johnson '10
Fall 2009 Winning Photos
