Maasai Mara

The Masai Mara game reserve (or Maasai Mara) is a large nature reserve located in the southwestern part of Kenya, the plains of the Serengeti. Administratively, the eastern part of the district of Narok and Western District Transmara.

The reserve adjoins the Serengeti Park in Tanzania with which it forms a unique ecosystem. The name of the reserve is derived from the Maasai people (who live several areas in the plains of Serengeti) and the Mara River. The reserve is known for its exceptional concentration of wildlife and the famous migration of wildebeest and zebra that takes place in October and April.

The surface of the Maasai Mara is 320 km ². The whole area is crossed by the Great Rift Valley that combines the Mediterranean Sea to South Africa. The habitat represented is that of the African grassland or savannah dotted with acacia trees typical in the southeast. Most of the wildlife is concentrated on the western edge  where the marshy plain is rich in water and less frequented by tourists, who are concentrated in the east  about 224 kilometers from Nairobi.

The most famous icon of the Maasai Mara is probably the image of the lion of which there are large herds , in the park ther are still all the so-called Big Five , although the population of rhinos is in serious danger (in 2000 it was estimated the presence of only 37 rhinos). Hippos are numerous in the Mara river and the river Talek . The cheetahs are also present, but they are also considered to be in danger, perhaps because of the disorder that causes tourists to their hunting day.

As in the Serengeti Park, the wildebeest are the main inhabitants (million units). They migrate from the Serengeti to the Maasai Mara in the fall and vice versa in the spring. There are also numerous other antelope species, in particular the Thomson's gazelle and Grant's gazelle, impala, and others. Large herds of zebra are found everywhere in the reserve. Also living in the plains are the giraffe. The fauna includes hundreds of species.

The reserve, established in 1961, is not protected as a national park but as a game reserve and therefore is not administered by the Kenya Wildlife Service (the government institution of environmental protection), but by the local district. Entrance tickets to the Maasai Mara (as the other national parks) are an important source of income for Kenya. Inside the park there are accommodations, from comfortable lodges to tented camps.