Facts About Masai Mara National Reserve
Little-Known Facts About Masai Mara National Reserve.
Facts About the iconic Masai Mara National Reserve, also known as the Mara, one of the largest game reserves in Kenya, is considered worldwide to be the greatest wildlife reserve. Spanning nearly 580 square miles of savannah, Masai Mara, located in southwest Kenya, protects one of Africa’s most spectacular ecosystems, comprising lush grassy plains, the Mara River and picturesque woodlands comprising the northernmost stretch of the oldest ecosystem in the world, the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, within East Africa’s spectacular Great Rift Valley.
The Mara is named in honour of the Maasai people (the ancient inhabitants of the area) and their description of the area when looked at from afar. “Mara” means “spotted” in the local Maasai language of Maa, due to the many trees dotting the landscape. The reserve is renowned for its exceptional population of lions, cheetahs, and leopards. Masai Mara is also home to Africa’s Big Five: lions, leopards, cape buffalo, rhinos and elephants.
As you plan to visit Masai Mara on a Kenyan safari, here are the facts about Masai Mara National Reserve to know:
- Home to Amazing Wildlife
Masai Mara National Reserve was first designated as a conservation area in 1961. This remarkable Kenya safari destination is regarded as a year-round safari destination, as it offers more or less an ideal climate with an abundance of wildlife for spectacular game viewing throughout the year.
Masai Mara National Reserve is home to Africa’s famous Big Five: lions, leopards, cape buffaloes, elephants and rhinos, as well as other wildlife species like warthogs, giraffes, cheetahs and more than 400 bird species identified in the reserve, including the migratory species and almost 60 raptor species.
- The Great Wildebeest Migration
Selected as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the Great Wildebeest Migration is the movement of a million or more wildebeests from the Serengeti in Tanzania northwards into the adjoining Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. The migration is one of the world’s most spectacular and thrilling displays of wildlife behaviour; it takes place every year with the animals’ primal instincts guiding them towards greener pastures following the climatic rainfall patterns over the Serengeti-Masai Mara ecosystem.
The Great Migration arrives in Masai Mara National Reserve every year, between late July and the end of September, though the timing can vary somewhat due to prevailing rainfall patterns. During these months, the savannah plains of the Mara are dotted black by more than 1.5 million wildebeests, zebras and antelopes on their annual search for green pasture and water and as part of their mating and birth cycles.
- Lions
With close to 850 to 900 lions, Maasai Mara National Reserve hosts the largest population of lions in Africa, and you can spot these magnificent cats while on a game drive. Sight of lions in Masai Mara National Reserve is often the highlight of a safari game drive, and most tourists visiting the reserve have it on top of their wildlife spotting checklist.
Lions are social animals, and in Masai Mara National Reserve they are sighted living in prides of 15 to 20 members, with up to three males, several adult females (one dominant), and a number of sub-adults and cubs. Males may hold territory of between 20 and 400 square kilometres, within which are several prides of females. In Masai Mara, females do most of the hunting, helped by males in taking down large animals. During the Great Migration, lions are often seen hunting the wildebeests and zebras; without the migration, they are seen preying on buffaloes and warthogs.
- The Fascinating Maasai People
The fascinating Maasai people are arguably the single most iconic tribe in Africa; they are nomadic pastoralists who traditionally make a living out of herding cattle. Originally a Nilotic ethnic group, said to have migrated centuries ago from the semi-arid Nile Valley north of Lake Turkana, the Maasai inhabit the region around the Masai Mara National Reserve as well as large portions of the Great Rift Valley. This fascinating tribe possesses a unique nomadic culture and way of life, a vibrant traditional dressing of brightly coloured red “Shukas”, or body drapes.
The Maasai people’s traditional life mainly concentrates on their cattle, which make up the primary source of food. The Maasai mean a man’s wealth in terms of children and cattle, so the more the better. They believe that a man who has plenty of cattle but not many children is considered to be poor and vice versa. According to their myth, God offered them all the cattle on earth, resulting in the belief that rustling from other tribes is a divine right of them claiming what is rightfully theirs, a practice that has now become much less common.
- Area and Location
Located in southwest Kenya, Masai Mara is part of the East Africa region. In fact, a major part of Kenya is carved almost vertically by the Great Rift Valley, and the Mara Reserve is actually situated within the vast valley formations.
In terms of land area, Masai Mara covers approximately 1,510 square kilometres (580 square miles) and borders the Serengeti National Park to its south. In fact, the reserve is the northernmost section of the Mara–Serengeti ecosystem, the oldest ecosystem in the world, covering approximately 25,000 square kilometres in Tanzania and Kenya.
- Scenery and Landscape
The word “Mara” is a Maa language word meaning “spotted” in English, and the reserve earned this name due to the typical landscape of short bush trees and shrub dotting the huge rolling grassland plains, commonly referred to in Africa as the savannah.
Masai Mara National Reserve has several hilly outcrops as well as steep cliffs on the western part of the reserve, known as the Oloololo Escarpment. The Oloololo Escarpment, also referred to as the Siria Escarpment, is a spectacular escarpment that rises up to a height of 400 metres and is located on the western border of the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. The escarpment provides breathtaking views of the plains and river within the reserve and acts as a scenic backdrop for the Masai Mara safaris.
