The Masai Mara Game reserve is situated in the south western region of Kenya. The area is known for its wide expansive wilderness that measures up t about 1510 square Kilometers of plains. The Masai Mara game reserve is bordered with the Serengeti National park of Tanzania. The Masai Mara has very unique wildlife due to the many years of good conservation efforts here. The area offers the best experience of the big cats with the area being the best location to see the leopard in Kenya. Some of the unique wildlife here include: Lions, Cheetah, Elephant, Rhino, African Buffalo, Wildebeest, Giraffe and Zebra.
The annual wildebeest migration, which takes place during the dry season. Animals from the Serengeti migrate to the Masai Mara in search of better pastures. Another wonder here is the Masai tribe. The lifestyles of these group of people are incredibly distinctive. Another thing to watch out for is their transition out of this kind of life.
The park gets its name from the locals of the area. The work Mara mean ‘spotted’ which generally refers to the flat topped acacia trees, shrubs and bushes that dot the landscape across the reserve. The great migration of the wildebeest here usually happens between July and September and over a million of wildebeests and other animals like Zebras and some cats move to the Masai Mara from the Serengeti National park.
There are several activities that you can enjoy while in the Masai Mara game reserve like the game drives, nature walks cultural experiences, horseback riding, hot air balloon safari and bush meals. A flight from Nairobi to the Masai Mara will last about an hour. You can also access this game reserve by road which is about a 3 hours drive.
Rhinoceroses in Masai Mara
There are two species the black rhinoceros and the white rhinoceros. The Masai Mara National Reserve has the black Rhinos.
These black rhinos are an endangered species. They have been killed a lot for their tusks to near extinction. The Masai Mara National Reserve is among the few places in Tanzania where you will be able to view these Black Rhinos. By the year 1965 there were about 100 black rhinos in the Masai Mara National Reserve alone. By the time we go to the 1980s after poaching had been criminalized in Tanzania, the number of these rhinos increased a little. The rhinos are now monitored by the authorities every minute of the day. By the year 2004, the number of these rhinos had grown to 17. Black Rhinos are highly endangered and have been poached to near extinction. The Masai Mara National Reserve is one of the last places in Tanzania where you can still reliably see wild black rhinos. They are very hard to miss here.
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