Wildlife at Masai Mara Reserve
Maasai Mara, also known as Masai Mara, and locally simply as The Mara, is a large national game reserve in Narok and Trans Mara Counties, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, established in 1961 as a wildlife sanctuary, the Mara covered only 520 km2 (200 sq mi) of the current area, including the Mara Triangle. 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 when looked at from afar: “Mara” means “spotted” in the local Maasai language, due to the many short bushy trees which dot the landscape. Wildlife at Masai Mara Reserve is amazing to encounter.
Despite comprising only 0.01% of Africa’s total landmass, more than 40% of Africa’s larger mammals can be found here. Across the vast plains of the Mara, visitors are able to witness lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants, and an infinite variety of other species in their natural habitats.
Of the other Big Five, elephant, and buffalo are plentiful, but black rhino is trickier and can only be found in certain areas. Wildebeest, topi, 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. Hippopotami and crocodiles are found in large groups in the Mara and Talek rivers. Hyenas, cheetahs, jackals, servals, and bat-eared foxes can also be found in the reserve. 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. Contact us to explore wildlife at Masai Mara Reserve.