Facts on Masai Mara and its wildlife

Masai Mara is tucked away in the south west corner of Kenya - the northern tip of the great Serengeti ecosystem. For over 300 years Maasai have lived here. They lived in harmony with the abundant wildlife and they did not hunt wild game for food.

Background Masai Mara Game Reserve

The first Europeans arrived in the late 1800s. Prior to the Second World War great concentrations of game came to inhabit the Mara and after the war the region was opened for big game hunting. Uncontrolled slaughter for trophies and  fires set by honey hunters destroyed much of the thick bushland. In 1948 shooting was regulated and parts of the Mara was declared a national game reserve.

In 1961 the reserve was brought under the direct control of the Narok city council and its borders extended to an 1813 sq km area.

In 1984 the Maasai were given access to more watering points and the Mara was brought to its present size of about 1600 sq km. The Masai Mara does not have national park status but is considered a national game reserve managed by the regional authorities. The Maasai live outside the reserve border but can graze their cattle inside in case of drought.

Topography and vegetation

In Maa - the Maasai language - the word mara means spotted, a reference to the dotty patches of bushes and trees on the plains. The Mara is mostly covered with vast plains of rolling grasslands dotted with the distinctive accacia trees, for many visitors the ultimate image of Africa.  The red oat grass is the most common grass. There are two rain periods, the short rains in November and the long rains in April / May.
After the rains the colour of the plains changes from yellowish to lush green with the white tissue paper flower, Cycnium tubulosum, beautifully scattered everywhere. The Mara is watered by the treelined Mara River and its tributary Talek River.

To the north east of the Mara river lies the Musiara swamp. This area ususally has several prides of lions resident and an abundant birdlife with the African Jacana, Saddle-Billed stork and the elegant Pied Avocet.
The forest bordering these rivers is home to a wide variety of birds and mammals with its canopy of Figtrees, African Olive trees and the East African Greenheart.

To the east the Ngama Hills with its sandy soils make up much of the bushland areas remaining in the Mara today. Candelabra trees, Euphorbia and Sandpaper trees, Cordia monocia, dominates the thickets hosting the precious black rhinocerus.
 
For further reading on the Masai Mara Game reserve we recommend Guidebook to the Masai Mara National Reserve by Friends of Conservation (FOC).

Wildlife

The Mara hosts an astonishing amount of game - wild animals. Of the big cats, the lions are found in large prides and it is not uncommon to see them hunting. Estimates say that there are about 400 - 500 lions in the Mara, compared to the less common Cheetah, counted only up to 40 individuals in 2003.

Leopards though are estimated up to over 100 individuals but are harder to spot being a very shy animal, mainly active during the nights. Elephant, buffalo, zebra and hippo also exist in large numbers within the reserve. Of the antelopes, the black-striped Thomson’s gazelle, the Impala and the larger Grant’s gazelle are found in huge numbers. Topi, Cooke’s Hartebeest and of course the Wildebeests are also found in plenty. Rhinos do exist in the reserve but because of being almost eliminated by poaching during the 60’s and 70’s, the numbers reduced heavily.

Today a total of 23 Rhinos are under an on-going monitoring programme by the management of the reserve and Friends of Conservation. Other common animals include the Masai giraffe, baboons in huge numbers, warthogs and many groups of spotted hyenas. The small carnivorous animals - most of which are nocturnal but can be seen early mornings or late afternoons - like the black-backed jackal, the bat-eared fox, the genet cat, the banded mongoose and the serval cat - all hunt grass rats and reptiles for food.
 
For further reading on wild animals we recommend Jonathan Scott’s Safari Guide to East African Animals. 

Birdlife

The Masai Mara is somewhat of a birdwatcher’s paradise, hosting more than 550 different species, ranging from the enormous ostrich to tiny sunbirds, from loud turacos to dull larks and cisticolas identifiable only by the experts. The Masai Mara is considered one of Kenya’s 60 important bird areas as it shelters globally and regionally threated birds and other biodiversity. Most experts agree that it is also one of the most exciting birding places in Africa!
 
For further reading on birds we recommend Birds of  Kenya and Northern Tanzania by Dale A Zimmerman, Donald A Turner and David J Pearson and Jonathan Scott’s Safari Guide to East African Birds