Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya – The Maasai Mara, sometimes spelled Masai Mara and locally known as The Mara, is a large national game reserve in Narok, Kya, adjacent to Sergeti National Park in Tanzania. It is named in honor of the Maasai people,

The ancestral inhabitants of the area, who migrated to the area from the Nile Basin. Their description of the area seen from a distance: “Mara” means “spotted” in the local Maasai language, because of the short bushy trees that decorate the landscape.

Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

The Maasai Mara is one of the largest wildlife and wilderness reserves in Africa, with populations of lions, leopards, cheetahs and African bush elephants. It also hosts the Great Migration, which confirms it as one of the natural wonders of Africa, and one of the wonders of the world.

Masai Mara National Park

The Greater Mara Ecosystem includes an area known as the Maasai Mara National Reserve, the Mara Triangle, several Maasai group farms and the Maasai Mara conservancy.

As a wildlife sanctuary, it covers only 520km² of currt area, including the Marine Triangle. The area was extended eastwards in 1961 to cover 1821km² and was converted into a Game Reserve. Narok District Council takes over the management of the reserve at this time.

And the remaining 159km² area is returned to the local community. An additional 162km² was removed from the reserve in 1976, and the park was reduced to 1510km² in 1984.

The Maasai are a community that straddles northern, central and southern Kya and the northern parts of Tanzania. The Maasai depend on their land to support their livestock, as well as themselves and their families. Before the establishment of the reserve, the Maasai were forced to move from their original land. Some of this was due to an outbreak of smallpox among the population as well as an outbreak of rinderpest among cattle.

Zebra In Maasai Mara, Kenya Stock Image

Tradition still plays a central role in the lives of the Maasai today, known for their high status, patterned shukas and beadwork. In 2008, it was estimated at half a million people

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Speak the Maasai language. This number includes not only the Maasai but also the Samburu and Camus people in Kya.

To the south is Sergeti Park, the Syria/Oloololo valley lies to the west. The Mara River, together with its tributaries Sungai Pasir and Sungai Talek, are the main rivers draining the reserve.

Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

The topography of the reserve is mainly grassland with seasonal streams. In the southeast there is an area of ​​unique acacia trees. The western boundary is the Esoit (Syria) Escarpmt of the East African Rift, which is a 5600km long escarpment system, from the Ethiopian Red Sea through Kya, Tanzania, Malawi and into Mozambique. Tds wildlife has the shortest cut here, as the swamp means there is always good access to water, while tourists are not much to worry about. The easternmost border is 224 km (139 mi) from Nairobi, and is the most visited eastern region by tourists.

Maasai Mara Game Reserve

The ‘long rains’ last about six to eight weeks in April and May and the ‘short rains’, in November and December, last about four weeks.

There is a large rainfall gradient: about 800 mm (31 in)/year in the east to 1200 mm/year in the west.

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Around July every year, these animals move north from the Sergeti plains in search of new pastures, and return south around October. The Great Migration is one of the most impressive natural events in the entire world.

Wildlife In Maasai Mara, Kenya Stock Photo

It includes approximately 1,300,000 blue wildebeest, 500000 Thomson’s deer, 97000 cap, 18000 common land and 200000 Grant’s zebra.

All members of the “Big Five” – ​​the lion, the African leopard, the African bush elephant, the African buffalo, the black and white rhinoceros – can be found all year round.

The Maasai Mara is the only protected area in Kya with a population of native black rhino that has not been affected by translocation.

Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Due to its size, the Mara is able to support one of the largest populations in Africa. The black rhino population was relatively large until the 1960s, but was severely reduced by poaching in the 1970s and early 1980s, dropping to 15 individuals. The number has slowly increased, but the population is still only up to about 23 in 1999.

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Rangers Of Maasai Mara: Silent Protectors Of Africa’s Wilderness

Marine Conservation, one of the reserve’s management agencies, reported 120 black rhinos in 1971 and 18 in 1984.

Hippopotamus and Nile crocodiles are found in large groups in the Mara and Talek rivers. The areas between the Mara River and the Syrian Esoit Escarpmt are probably the best areas for watching game, especially lions and cheetahs.

Large carnivores are found in the reserve. Lions are the strongest and can be found here in large numbers.

The spotted hya is another abundant carnivore, and often competes with lions for food. Leopards are found everywhere in the reserve where there are trees to escape to. Large numbers of East African cheetahs are also found in op savannas, hunting gazelles and wildebeest. African wild dogs are rare here due to the widespread spread of diseases such as distemper and the fierce competition they face with lions, which often decimate their populations. Their packs also move and move far across the fields, making it difficult to track them down. Smaller carnivores that do not directly compete with the latter include the African wolf, black-backed wolf, African spotted fox, caracal, serval, honey badger, aard wolf, African wild cat, striped wolf, eared fox, striped fly , African foxes, get, several species of mongoose, and African clawless beavers.

A Masai Mara Safari In Kenya: All You Need To Know

Antelope can be found, including Grant’s gazelle, impala, duikers and Coke’s hartebeest. The plains are also home to the distinctive Masai giraffe. A large roan antelope

It is an important area for endangered birds that call this area home for at least part of the year. These include: vultures, marabou storks, mysterious birds, hornbills, crowned cranes, ostriches, long-tailed eagles, African owls and the purple-breasted roller, which is Kya’s national bird. The remaining Martial Eagle is in danger.

Until 2023, Marine Conservation will manage the Marine Triangle on behalf of the region, while Narok District Government will manage Narok Region.

Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

The more visited eastern part of the park, known as the Maasai Mara National Reserve, is managed by the Narok District Council. The Western Marine Triangle has been managed by Marine Conservation, on behalf of the region, since the early 2000s.

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The range is managed by Maasai community farms. The land is shared, although some members receive more benefits than most landowners.

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The Maasai Mara is a major research center for the spotted hya. With two field offices in the Maritimes, the Kay E. Holekamp Laboratory based at Michigan State University studies the behavior and psychology of these predators, as well as conducting comparative studies between large predators in the Maritime Triangle and their counterparts in the Eastern Sea. .

A flow assessment and management plan was prepared for the transboundary river basin between Kya and Tanzania for the river to sustain the ecosystem and the basic needs of the 1 million people living in its waters.

The Mara Predator Project also works in the Maasai Mara, cataloging and monitoring lion populations across the region.

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Working in a northern conservation area where communities coexist with wildlife, the project aims to identify populations and responses to changes in land management, human settlement, animal migration and tourism.

Has been working on a Mara cheetah population study, estimating population status and dynamics, and assessing the impact of predators and human activities on cheetah behavior and survival. The Project Leader, Ela Chelysheva, worked in 2001–2002 as a Research Assistant at the Maasai-Mara Cheetah Conservation Project of the Kya Wildlife Service (KWS). During that time, he developed an original method for cheetah identification based on visual analysis of specific spot patterns on the forelimbs (from toes to shoulders) and arms (from toes to hips), as well as spots and rings on the tail

Collected over several years, the photographic data allowed the project team to trace relationships between generations and construct the genealogy of Mara cheetahs. The data collected helps reveal partial relationships between individuals, cub survival rates, cheetah longevity and personal breeding history.

Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

The resilience of the playground model and the impact of the covid pandemic have also been assessed to consider issues of equity, and fairness.

Maasai Mara National Reserve

The show follows the life of a big cat who lives in a sanctuary. The exhibition features views from the Musiara Reserve and the Leopard Gorge swamps, Ara Tree Ridge and the Mara River, which separates the Sergeti and Maasai Mara.

In 2018, the Angama Foundation, a non-profit organization affiliated with Angama Mara, one of the Mara’s luxury safari camps, launched the Best Maasai Mara Photographer of the Year competition, showcasing the Mara as a year-round destination and raising money for active people. conservation initiatives in the Sea.

Paolo Torchio won in 2020, Harry Collins in 2021, Preeti and Prashant Chacko in 2022, and

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