About Masai Mara & conservancies
From the Great Migration to close encounters with African big cats.
Masai Mara is a must visit destination for every safari traveler, soar to the crystal skies for a bird eye’s view of the golden African plains and its several inhabitants. For a more up-close and personal encounter, embark on a thrilling classic safari among the area’s lions, elephants and other wildlife. Masai Mara National Reserve & conservancies will never fail to excite you.
If you ask someone to describe Masai Mara, they will describe it as a dream destination. Wildlife enthusiasts dream of being in awe by wildebeest-spotted savannahs, of having their breath be taken away by unexpected lion encounters and have their hearts pounding in excitement while watching a thrilling chase between predator and prey. One of the best places on earth to have this African safari dream come true is in Masai Mara National Reserve and conservancies.
Why visit Masai Mara?
Picture a gentle rolling savannah stretching out as far as the eye can see, imagine countless wildebeest and zebras grazing lazing right there in front of you. The whole scene and feeling is humbling and inspiring all wrapped into one. Masai Mara is known for the highest concentration of wild animals in the world, more than 40% of Africa’s larger mammals can be found here. However, there is more to Masai Mara than endless plains. Aside from the main Masai Mara National Park, there are dozen community conservancies, several group ranches and quite a few Maasai Villages in the area.
Masai Mara conservancies
The Great Masai Mara Area consists of Masai Mara National Reserve, an unfenced reserve where animals are free to roam, but it also consists of several conservancies. These pieces of land are privately owned by the Maasai local people. Safari lodges lease the land from the Maasai which gives these families a chance to invest in their communities by funding education or development initiatives. From time to time you will see Maasai farmers and their grazing cattle at the conservancies. The introduction of these conservancies has been a win-win situation for the environment and the Maasai. Land that was once overgrazed by cattle is now being rewilded and the Maasai can invest in their communities through their earnings from the conservancies.
The Great Migration in Masai Mara
From July to October every year, the Masai Mara becomes the backdrop of one of the most spectacular wildlife shows on earth – The Great Migration. The sight of so many wildebeests dotting the plains is almost inconceivable, the rolling savannah’s sunburnt grasses become home to more than 1.5 million zebra, wildebeests and antelopes trekking from the Serengeti to the plains of Masai Mara in search of greener pastures and water. The Great Migration is unique to the Serengeti and Masai Mara, there is nothing else quite like it in the whole world.
There are no guarantees, but if you would like to witness this marvelous spectacle in Masai Mara, keep the following in mind.
Mid July:
The herds enter the Masai Mara and embark on their fateful Mara River Crossing, crocodiles and hippos living on the banks of Mara River are only two of the dangers the wildebeest and zebras encounter upon crossing the river.
September – October
This is the time of the year in which you will see a mind-blowing number of wildebeest enjoying the feasts of their labor on the endless plains of the Masai Mara.
African Big Cats
During the season of Great Migration, African big cats come to life. The endless stream of migrating prey offers the big cats a seemingly endless buffet of meal options. Lions, leopards and cheetahs grow stronger during this time of the year and are able to have healthy little ones with plenty of food to grow. There are quite a few lion prides in the Masai Mara that have lived in the area for decades, females are permanent members of the pride, however the male lions tend to get chased out of the group by other male lions.
At night you may even hear a deep roaring of male lions warning other males to stay away from their territory. For the best chance of seeing a lion on the prowl in search of prey, head out on an early morning or afternoon game viewing safari and you may see one of the females in action.
Masai Mara landscape
Masai Mara was named in honor of the Maasai people, the ancestral inhabitants of the area. The word “Mara” means “Spotted” in the Maa language. Upon visiting the Masai Mara, it won’t be hard to understand how this area got its name. The short bushy trees that dot the landscape do give it a kind of “spotted” look. The Greater Masai Mara ecosystem is massive, it covers 1,510 square kilometers, the area is bordered by the Serengeti in the south and to the north, east and west lie Maasai ranches. Although the riverbanks of the area’s three rivers (The Sand, Talek River and Mara River) are lined with shrubs and trees, most of the reserve is made up of open grassland spotted by an occasional flat-topped acacia tree.
History of the Masai Mara
Masai Mara has only been a wildlife sanctuary for approximately 50 years , it was originally established in 1961 and at the time it is consisted of only 520 square kilometers including the Mara Triangle. Later the amount of land covered in the sanctuary expanded and in 1974 the area received the status of a National Reserve.
A portion of the land was return to the local communities and currently the Mara Ecosystem consists of 1,510 square kilometers. The Maasai people have always relied on their land to feed their cattle and to provide for their families, thanks to the establishment of Masai Mara National Reserve as a protected area for the conservation of wildlife and wilderness and the areas designated as conservancies, the Maasai are able to sustain their way of living and improve their quality of life.