East Africa photo safari on tap at Audubon

HOLDEN – Ron and Lee Davis do nothing by halves. For proof, look no farther than the world-class Orono Bog Boardwalk, which wends its way through wetland habitats on the edge of Bangor City Forest.

Ron Davis spearheaded that ambitious project in 2000 and saw it through completion in 2003.

Unflaggingly energetic, the retired pair recently returned from a four-week photo safari in Tanzania and Uganda, traveling to 12 parks in and around the Great Rift Valley. Lugging heavy photography equipment and bumping over rough roads, the Davises observed some 300 species of birds and mammals, capturing more than half of them in photographs, which Ron edited.

Ron and Lee Davis will present a slide show of their adventures in Africa at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, at Fields Pond Audubon Center.

Beginning their journey in Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania, the Davises were fortunate to spot a legendary tree-climbing lion resting in an acacia tree.

They marveled at a herd of elegant female impalas who were guarded jealously by their overlord, a solitary male. They thrilled to the sight of a green-eyed leopard in the crotch of a tree, gorging on the carcass of a young impala. After feasting, the leopard delicately licked blood from its paws.

Motoring across the boundless plains of the Serengeti, the Davises photographed mixed herds teeming with thousands of wildebeests, zebras and Cape buffalo. They photographed a cheetah loping effortlessly alongside the road.

In the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Davises explored the great caldera, an imploded volcano, its crater supporting an astounding concentration of large mammals and ground birds.

In the alkaline shallows of Lake Magadi, enormous flocks of candy-pink flamingos waded, feeding on the brine shrimp that lend the birds their brilliant color – the shrimp get their pigment from consuming blue-green algae. Along the shore, golden jackals stalked these large birds, easy prey to sate the hunger of clamorous pups.

Getting in and out of those remote places sometimes posed interesting obstacles. Before they landed in Jongomero, the pilot had to buzz a giraffe to clear the dirt landing strip. Later, while waiting to fly to Ruaha, the Davises watched in astonishment as a pack of rare and elusive wild dogs padded across that same airstrip.

Most wildlife viewing on the savannah is done from the security of safari vehicles, but in Ruaha, an armed guard accompanied the Davises on a hike. When they happened suddenly upon two Cape buffalo, their guide quickly cocked and aimed his high-powered rifle, prepared to shoot if these unpredictable ungulates charged.

Their most thrilling adventure was tracking the Mubare family of mountain gorillas in Bwindi, Uganda, a stone’s throw from the politically volatile Congo.

Only 600 of these majestic primates exist in the wild. With their guide swinging a machete to clear a path through the dense underbrush, the Davises hiked up a steep slope in the Impenetrable Forest National Park.

Suddenly, they encountered the gorilla family and had to backtrack to the required 6-meter protection zone. Difficult to see and photograph in the forest, the gorillas eventually moved down-slope to an open path, offering the Davises an intimate view of the family, including a mother slinging a newborn baby on her back and a giant silverback named Ruhondeza.

Admission to the presentation is $5 for Audubon members, $6 for others. For more information, call the center at 989-2591.