Camp in the Serengeti

“They have rangers with rifles that patrol the campgrounds at night, I was camping solo in the Serengeti campground with a lot of tour groups around me and when I got up to pee at night a ranger appeared near me and quietly walked a few feet away from me to the restrooms, then was off to the side when I came out and gave me a little nod that I interpreted as ‘everything’s fine’ and I walked back to my tent. In the morning a different guy told me they’d heard some animals near the campground overnight, so that was probably why the ranger had been more attentive. You can absolutely hear lions at night, and they always sound closer than they are. I ended up at a lodge with the group that does the Serengeti Lion project and we were sitting around the fire at night and when a lion roared they’d ask me to guess how close it was and I’d always think it was right at the kopje near us and they’d tell me it was more like a mile away! Even at that distance I’d feel the vibrations from the roar in my ribs! So it’s a scary thrill to hear lions but a relatively safe thrill.”

“From there we spent two nights at a camp in Serengeti national park. No fences and more basic. It had bathroom facilities with flush toilets, but no hot water, so if you wanted a shower, it was cold. Waking up in the middle of the night, I'd hear lions roaring and hyenas whooping. One night I went to the bathrooms, and on my way back to my tent, I heard a soft, curious "awhoop?" of a hyena maybe 50ish feet away in the darkness.”