A safari to Maasai Mara National Reserve
A safari to Maasai Mara National Reserve : One of the best safari destinations in Africa to see animals is regarded as Kenya’s Maasai Mara. It’s understandable why. You may enjoy an unparalleled wildlife experience in these private reserves, accompanied by the best guides in the nation, thanks to the fabled wildlife and the greatest luxury camps and lodges. Continue reading this article to know more about a safari to maasai mara national reserve.
In your mind, what comes to mind when someone asks you to describe the classic safari? Maasai Mara will perfectly match this description. The majority of people react with broad, open savannah plains right away. Check, second, amazing fauna: the Great Migration and the Big Five. One more tick
Why is Kenya’s Maasai Mara one of the best destinations in Africa for wildlife safaris?
It is diligently to beat when it comes to the predators, specifically cheetah and leopard, which are growing more and more difficult to find, as well as lion. Excellent elephant herds coexist with an abundance of other amazing animals.
And then there’s the double whammy of the Great Migration in terms of wildlife. Nowadays, the image of an African safari is most closely associated with this magnificent cycle of zebras and wildebeest. We owe this awareness to David Attenborough’s legendary BBC wildlife documentaries, which masterfully capture Africa’s most remarkable wildlife phenomenon. The most spectacular spectacles occur when two million animals gather at the Mara River and make their dangerous journey through a sea of crocodiles that are descendants of creatures who roamed the earth over 70 million years ago.
Cultural experiences in the Maasai Mara.
I would always advise spending time and learning about the life and culture of the kind Maasai people that reside here to enrich and compliment your safari experience in Kenya. The distinctive red and blue blankets, known as shukas, are still worn by the Maasai, who have blended western and indigenous cultures since the 15th century.
As they trade them on their smartphones and transfer the money through their Mpesa accounts, you will witness them grazing cattle over the plains! There’s no need to drive to a town when everything can be done from a distance.
After three to five days, the buyer shows up on foot to pick up his cattle, and the Maasai herder goes back to his ramshackle mud home to sleep on the ground with his head resting on a wooden stool just as their ancestors did generations earlier. Its efficacy and simplicity are really quite lovely to observe; may it continue for a very long time.
The annual spectacle of the Great Wildebeest Migration.
So, why is the Great Migration such a sought-after event to experience by safari goers? My answer is that it is the largest migration of land mammals in the world! Over two million animals engage in what has been dubbed “The Greatest Show on Earth” throughout the 100 000 km2 Mara-Serengeti eco system. These species include 1.3 million wildebeest, 350,000 Thomson’s gazelles, 300,000 zebra, thousands of eland, and other ungulates (hoofed mammals).
The wildebeest’s endless cyclical journey appears to be determined by their response to the weather; they follow the sprouting of new grass and the rains. Nobody is quite sure how they know which way to go. While late rainfall postpones the Migration, early rainfall causes earlier movements.
In February, the herds of wildebeest give birth to their calves in the short-grass plains that graze the lower northern slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater highlands and the area surrounding Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge. In a span of two to three weeks, about 400,000 calves are born here. That works out to almost 8,000 fresh calves every day.
The southernmost Serengeti in Tanzania experiences a dry spell in March, marking the conclusion of the brief dry season. The wildebeest then depart, moving towards the western forests.
In June, they relocate to the Grumeti section of the Serengeti, which is along the western corridor. After that, they travel to Kenya’s Maasai Mara. Although they have crossed in the past as early as June, this usually happens around the middle of July. They usually remain here until September.
The herds are dispersed throughout the Serengeti and the northern Maasai Mara region of Kenya by August after overcoming the difficulty of crossing the Mara River. The fear and confusion at the crossings, coupled with lurking predators and rushing currents, can result in a significant death toll during years when the river is at its highest.
Not to mention the lions and other large predators who patrol the banks, ready to attack any wildebeest that manage to cross, the crocs take their toll, even in years when the water flows rather softly. There isn’t just one crossing, but there are some that they frequently use: There may be a small group of animals present at some locations, or there may be a large group of animals moving nonstop for hours.
You really shouldn’t get fixated on simply visiting the Maasai Mara during the migration season, even while it is amazing to witness the Maasai Mara during their regular migrations and you can plan to see a particular portion of the trek as part of your travels on a Kenya safari.
