Masai Mara National Reserve
Wildebeest Migration in Masai Mara National Reserve |
A huge pride of lions in the Masai Mara National Reserve |
Black rhino in Masai Mara National Reserve |
Masai Mara National Reserve is one of the best known and most
popular game reserves in Kenya and the whole of Africa. Masai
Mara is covers about 1530 sq km having been reduced from 1672 sq
km in 1984. Original inhabitants, the Masai people live within
the dispersal area with their stock and they have, over
centuries, developed a synergetic relationship with the
wildlife. The Masai Mara National Reserve is named for the Masai
people (the traditional inhabitants) and the Mara River, which
cuts across it, is famous for its exceptional population of game
and the annual migration of zebra, Thomson’s gazelle and the
wildebeest from the Serengeti every year from July to October, a
migration so immense it is called the Great Migration. Masai
Mara National Reserve is the northern continuation of the
Serengeti National Park game reserve in Tanzania. It lies in the
Great Rift Valley, a fault line measuring about 5,600km
long, from Ethiopia’s Red Sea through Kenya, Tanzania, and
Malawi and into Mozambique and falling in the northern-most
section of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, and covers some 25,000
sq km.
Masai Mara National Reserve is bounded by the Siria
escarpment to the west, the Serengeti Park to the south, and
Masai pastoral ranches to the north and east with The Sand,
Talek and Mara being the major rivers draining the reserve.
Shrubs and trees fringe most drainage lines and cover hill
slopes and hilltops. Most game viewing activities take place on
the valley floor, although some lodges carry out walking tours
outside the park boundaries in the hills of the Oloololo
Escarpment. The plains are full of wildebeest, zebra, impala,
topi, giraffe, Thomson’s gazelle. Also regularly seen are
leopards, lions, hyenas, cheetah, jackal and bat-eared foxes.
Black rhino are a little shy and hard to spot but are often seen
at a distance.
Hippos which usually submerge at the approach of a vehicle only
to surface seconds later to snort and grumble their displeasure
are abundant in the Mara River as are very large Nile drowsy
crocodile sunbathe on the river banks, mouth agape, and waiting
with subtle cunning for prey at which to strike with lightning
swiftness.
Every July / August the wildebeest travel over 960km from
Tanzania’s Serengeti plains, northwards to the Masai Mara and
the Mara River is the final obstacle.
All members of the “Big Five” are found in the Masai Mara
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