Maasai Mara National Reserve

 

The Maasai Mara is the northern extension of the Serengeti Plains.  It is almost entirely made up of open grassland and is simply teeming with game including large pride of lion, which visitors can regularly see hunting.  Other big cats that are frequently seen in the Mara include cheetah and leopard. There are around 40 black rhino that live in the Maasai Mara, although they are rarely spotted. 

The national park supports particularly big herds of elepant, buffalo, zebra, Thomson's gazelle and Grant's gazelle - and an interesting array of other game including impala, topi, wildebeest, Coke's hartebeest, Maasai giraffe, warthog, jackal, bat-eared fox and spotted hyena.  

 

The wildebeest migration

However, the most amazing spectacle in the Mara is the wildebeest migration, which takes place from July to August each year, when thousands upon thousands of these animals make their annual journey north from the Serengeti in order to reap the benefits of the lush, green grasses that spring up across the Mara following the April / May rains.  They then turn back to Tanzania in October. 

Having said this, the migration can be very fragmented and visitors should be aware that going to the Maasai Mara during these months by no means guarantees a sighting of this extraordinary event although we will be happy to advise you on your best chances of seeing it.