Masai Mara

A brief history

For over 300 years, the Maasai people have lived here. They lived in harmony with the abundant wildlife, for they did not, except in times of famine, hunt wild game for food. The first Europeans arrived in the late 1800s. Prior to the Second World War, great concentrations of game came to inhabit the Mara region. After the war, the region was opened to hunting. For a while there was uncontrolled slaughter for trophies and meat. Fires set by poachers and honey gatherers destroyed much of the thick bush, opening up the grasslands again to the Maasai cattle.

In 1948, the Mara Triangle, a 520 sq. km area between the Siria (Oloololo) escarpment, the Tanzanian border and the Mara River, was declared a National Game reserve and shooting was regulated. In 1961, the reserve was brought under the control of the Narok County Council and it’s borders extended east to encompass a 1813 sq.km. area. Three sections were excised in 1984 to give access to watering points for Maasai cattle and the Masai Mara National Reserve was brought to its present size of 1510 sq.km. In 1995, following the creation of the Trans Mara District, the control of the reserve was divided between Narok and Trans Mara County councils.

Today the various areas of the Masai Mara eco-system are under control of the following bodies; Narok County Council, Mara Conservancy, Community Group Ranches (Koiyaki/Lemek, Siana etc) and Olare Orok Conservancy.

The Wildlife

The Masai Mara and the adjoining Loita plains form the northern-most part of the Serengeti – Mara ecosystem a 25 000 km² area usually encompassing the annual movements of the migratory wildebeest. The Mara receives the highest rainfall in the ecosystem. Rain falls here throughout the year but has peaks and troughs.

The eco-system is home to the Worlds greatest wildlife spectacle, the annual wildebeest migration. These grazers, together with zebra and Thompson’s gazelle traverse the eco-system through the year, and whilst there are resident animals in the Mara throughout (those that don’t migrate), numbers swell to gigantic proportions during the drier season, July/August to October/November. Of other herbivores, there are good concentrations of topi, impala, eland, dik dik, Grant’s gazelle, and waterbuck.

The Mara’s abundant herbivores make it a paradise for predators. The large carnivores include the big cats – lion, leopard and cheetah as featured yearly on the BBC’s Big Cat Diary, and the spotted hyaena. The larger mammal species and also present - elephant, buffalo, giraffe, hippopotamii, and rhino, whilst genet, serval, various mongoose species (Kicheche is Swahili for a banded mongoose), bat-eared fox, black-back jackal, springhare and civet are usually also seen.

The Birdlife

Over 550 resident and migrant species of birds have been recorded in the Mara, a fascinating and diverse array ranging from the enormous ostrich to tiny sunbirds, from gaudy touracos to drab larks and cisticolas identifiable only by the experts. The Mara is placed among the 60 Important Bird Areas in Kenya as it shelters both regionally and globally threatened bird species.

Birding in the Mara, however, need not be restricted to the experts as many colourful and easily identified species can be spotted on the plains or perched on top of the large trees scattered across the vast grasslands. From the magnificent lilac breasted roller to the regal kori bustard, one can easily spot and identify dozens of species on a morning game drive. At kills, squadrons of vultures wait to clean up after the predators have eaten their fill - species like Ruppells Griffon, lappet-faced and white-backed are a common sight.

Spend time on the banks of the Mara or Talek Rivers to hear the haunting cry of the African fish eagle or watch the beautiful white-fronted bee eaters hawking insect over the turbid flowing waters.

Other life

And although the main attraction in the Mara is the big game, an even more fascinating world is waiting to be discovered by those who are prepared to take the time to look into the insect communities of the plains and woodlands. Butterflies are everywhere after the long rains of April and May. Spiders are masters of camouflage and except for one exception, the Golden Orb web Spider of the Argiope species, are not often seen by the casual visitor, and in the early evening, when the bird song quietens, the insect chorus starts, and at times can become quite deafening. Our walks through the grassland in the early morning before the dew dries will reveal this different world to you.

The Habitat

The grassland community, opened up by elephant and fire, is the most dominant vegetation in the Mara, and the most common grass is the Red Oat Grass, Themeda Traindra. In its early stages of growth it is very palatable and nutritious and forms the staple diet of the majority of the grazing herbivores. Other important food species of grass include the Guinea Grass, Panicum Maximum, that occurs in well-shaded areas and along river lines, and Broad Leafed Bristle Grass, Setaria Megaphylla, a large leafed grass species which grows in deep shade and is a preferred species of the larger grazers.

Tree populations have been dramatically reduced over the majority of the Mara
plains by the combined effects of what has made the area a grassland (elephant and fire). However, certain species have survived owing to their resistance to fire or their unpalatability to elephants and now help to create some of the classic landscapes of the plains.

Notably, in the heavy, poorly drained clay soil areas, the Desert Date, Balanites Aegyptica, is dotted in seemingly organised fashion across the grasslands. Another species that is increasing despite the pressure of fire and browsing is the Orange Leafed Croton, Croton Dichogamus. Coppices of this species are scattered across rocky ridges and although never attain a great height, supply welcome resting places for predators such as lion from the midday heat. Forested areas along gully and river lines consist mainly of tall evergreen
species like Euclea, Euclea Divinorum, Teclea, Teclea Simplicifolia, The Kenya Greenheart, Warburgia Ugandensis.

In the lower lying and dryer areas where soils are better drained, Acacia species are dominant with the Whistling Thorn, Acacia Drepanolobium and the Fever Tree, Acacia Xanthophloea the most notable.

The Maasai people

The Masai Mara National Reserve and surrounding countryside is located on the land of the Maasai people. The origins of this ancient warrior tribe is shrouded in mystery, but it is thought that their ancestors came from North Africa and migrated south along the Nile Valley, arriving in Kenya about the mid fifteenth century. Conquering tribes in their path, they continued southwards; by the end of the nineteenth century, they extended from northern Kenya through the Great Rift Valley into central Tanzania. Today, Maasailand covers a much smaller area, as land was taken for European settlement in the Rift Valley and Laikipia Plateau, and later by African agriculturists.

The il-Maasai are composed of a series of sub-tribes or sections (il-Oshon). The Mara region is shared by several sections, primarily the il-Siria, the il-Purko and the Il Loitai. People from the Il-Moitanik and Il-Wuasinkishu sections also live there. Each section has it’s own territory, dialect and customs, but all Maasai are united by a common language, Maa, and a clan system.

During your stay with us, our guides will be pleased to go through all aspects of Maasai life – their traditions, their past, and their future in an ever-changing world.