The Maasai Mara National Reserve in the southwest of Kenya covers an area of 1,510 square kilometres and consists mainly of open grasslands with clumps of acacia trees. One of Africa’s most famous national parks, the Maasai Mara National Reserve honours the Maasai people with its name while the word Mara means ‘spotted.’
The park is a wildlife mecca with herds of wildebeest and zebra, a healthy population of elephant, lion, cheetah, leopard, buffalo, giraffe and hundreds of birds. The great wildebeest migration remains one of the major attractions although there is remarkable wildlife to see all year round as well as cultural experiences and spectacular scenery.
The Masaai people, a tribe of warriors who migrated from the Nile basin, occupied the land throughout the 18th and 19th centuries before the arrival of the Europeans. The Europeans deemed the Maasai people unfit to make contributions to the conservation efforts and forced them to move out.
Maasai Mara Animals
Every year in July huge herds of wildebeest, zebras and antelopes cross numerous hurdles in their ultimate race for survival, known as the Great Migration. The sheer number of animals in these herds is breathtaking and their journey from the Serengeti Plains in Tanzania to the Maasai Mara in Kenya in search of food and water is one of the most amazing wildlife attractions in Kenya.
Maasai Mara is a prime safari location for travellers keen on viewing the Big Five – elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo and leopard. The Maasai Mara has numerous prides of lions and an abundant population of elephants and buffaloes. The park currently has 49 black rhinos while sighting the enigmatic leopard is rare, but not impossible with an expert guide.
Maasai Mara Birds
Maasai Mara has 500 recorded bird species, both endemic and others. Some of the species which can be found throughout the Mara include:
Maasai Mara National Reserve is a year round destination and there is always plenty to see whenever you visit. Keen bird watchers generally gather from November to April which is the peak time for bird viewing. During these months numerous resident bird species are nesting and appear in breeding plumage which increases the chance of bird sightings.
July to October is the peak time to watch the wildebeest migration, a journey of millions of wildebeest and thousands of zebras and gazelle travelling from the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve. This journey is full of danger with crocodile-filled rivers and predators lying in wait, making it a perfect depiction of nature’s survival of the fittest. After they exhaust the vegetation in Masai Mara, they start their journey back to the Serengeti Plains.
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