The Acacia Trees

As everyone picked their favorite animal from the safari, I kept coming back to my photos and realized that 50 percent of them were of the acacia trees.

As you gaze toward the horizon these sculptural beauties always stole the show. Their umbrella shape enhanced every sunrise and sunset adding great dimension to the view.

Not only are they breathtaking but they are also part of the circle of life for some of our favorite animals.

The acacia is ambrosia for the giraffe. I loved how their heads would suddenly pop out of the top of the tree munching a mouthful of leaves. They are the dainty tree pruners.

The elephant also loves to consume great amounts of these trees. Their approach is to break off a major branch or maybe the whole tree. It is easy to tell where their travels have taken them by the destruction in their wake.

My all time favorite is the leopard who calls the acacia home. He will catch dinner (anything up to twice his weight) and then drag it up into the tree about 20 feet.  There he can eat at leisure since no vultures can penetrate the canopy and the hyenas can’t reach it.

As we departed the Serengeti, our guides showed us the grandfather of all acacia. It was so large that four cars could drive under it. The name: Devil Tree.