maasai mara
Maasai Mara, also sometimes spelled Masai Mara and locally known simply as The Mara, is a large national game reserve in Narok, Kenya,
contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is named in honour of the Maasai people, the ancestral inhabitants of the area,
who migrated to the area from the Nile Basin. Their description of the area when looked at from afar: "Mara" means "spotted" in the
local Maasai language, because of the short bushy trees which dot the landscape.
Maasai Mara is one of the wildlife conservation and wilderness areas in Africa, with its populations of lion, leopard, cheetah and African
bush elephant. It also hosts the Great Migration, which secured it as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, and as one of the ten
Wonders of the World.
The Greater Mara ecosystem encompasses areas known as the Maasai Mara National Reserve, the Mara Triangle, and several Maasai Conservancies,
including Koiyaki, Lemek, Ol Chorro Oirowua, Mara North, Olkinyei, Siana, Maji Moto, Naikara, Ol Derkesi, Kerinkani, Oloirien, and Kimintet.
Blue wildebeest, topi, plains zebra and Thomson's gazelle migrate into and occupy the Mara reserve, from the Serengeti plains to the south and
Loita Plains in the pastoral ranches to the north-east, from July to October or later. Herds of all three species are also resident in the reserve.
All members of the "Big Five" lion, African leopard, African bush elephant, African buffalo, black and white rhinos are found here all year round.
The population of black rhinos was fairly numerous until 1960, but it was severely depleted by poaching in the 1970s and early 1980s, dropping to a
low of 15 individuals. Numbers have been slowly increasing, but the population was still only up to an estimated 23 in 1999. The Maasai Mara is the
only protected area in Kenya with an indigenous black rhino population, unaffected by translocations, and due to its size, is able to support one of
the largest populations in Africa.
Hippopotamuses and Nile crocodiles are found in large groups in the Mara and Talek rivers. The plains between the Mara River and the Esoit Siria
Escarpment are probably the best area for game viewing, in particular regarding lion and cheetah
There are many large carnivores found here in the reserve. Lions are the most dominant and are found here in large numbers. Spotted hyenas are
another abundant carnivore, and will often compete with lions for food. Leopards are found anywhere in the reserve where there are trees for
them to escape to. East African cheetahs are also found in high numbers on the open savanna, hunting gazelles and wildebeest. African wild dogs
are quite rare here due to the widespread transmission of diseases like canine distemper and the heavy competition they face with lions, who can often
decimate their populations. Their packs also roam around a lot and travel far distances throughout the plains, making it hard to track them. Smaller
carnivores that don't directly compete with the latter include African wolves, black-backed jackals, African striped weasels, caracals, servals,
honey badgers, aardwolves, African wildcats, side-striped jackals, bat-eared foxes, Striped polecats, African civets, genets, several mongoose species,
and African clawless otters.
Wildebeest are the dominant inhabitants of the Maasai Mara, and their numbers are estimated in the millions. Around July of each year,
these animals migrate north from the Serengeti plains in search of fresh pasture, and return to the south around October. The Great
Migration is one of the most impressive natural events worldwide, involving some 1,300,000 blue wildebeest, 500,000 Thomson's gazelles,
97,000 topi, 18,000 common elands, and 200,000 Grant's zebras
Antelopes can be found, including Grant's gazelles, impalas, duikers and Coke's hartebeests. The plains are also home to the distinctive
Masai giraffe. The large roan antelope and the nocturnal bat-eared fox, rarely present elsewhere in Kenya, can be seen within the reserve
borders.
More than 470 species of birds have been identified in the park, many of which are migrants, with almost 60 species being raptors.
Birds that call this area home for at least part of the year include: vultures, marabou storks, secretary birds, hornbills, crowned cranes,
ostriches, long-crested eagles, African pygmy-falcons and the lilac-breasted roller, which is the national bird of Kenya.
book now
villadise 
