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Wonders Of The Masai Mara Game Park. A Safari Within The Mara Is An Escapade To The Finest Wildlife Reserve.
Undoubtedly the Mara is the finest savanna of Africa Safari. A bird's eye view of the spectacle below stirs my expectation.
Within a short time of flying into the Mara, we spot an elephant and giraffes below, and on the banks of the Talek River, a pair of hippos partially visible from the water.
It's end of June, just after the long rains and the period prior to great migration and the plains are full of tall golden green grass of different shades.
As we drive through, we encounter many Thomson's gazelles grazing by the road.
Farther, a mother cheetah with a rounded belly gazes our way as it devours what remains of an antelope. Meanwhile the cub is still savoring the meal, its nose red with blood.
"Cheetahs are diurnal. They hunt during the day," explains the guide. "They are not as well-built as lions and leopards, therefore they eat fast otherwise their meal will be stolen. They can even be chased away by packs hyenas or vultures."
Minutes away, we encounter another cheetah with her two cubs on an anthill. They watch us suspiciously but the mother's ears pick the sound of the cowbells and she sits up conscious, watching the plains. The herd of Masai cows is far far away and not sensing any danger to her cubs, she slops down again, at ease.
The long rains have halted and the plains are full of grass making it difficult for the smaller animals to graze. Mostly it is the sizeable animals like giraffes and elephants and the bigger antelopes that can be easily seen around.
This makes hunting hard for the cats and they end up with strange strategies. It is not rare to see lions and cheetahs trying to climb trees and anthills to get a high vantage position for locating prey.
Cheetahs claws do not foldup like those of the other cats and do not usually climb trees, but because they should locate prey, they'll try anything.
Cheetahs, unlike other predators, are weak so they hunt smaller antelopes, by pursuing them to fatigue as they go for the jugular vein of their prey to make a swift kill.
moments after our sighting of the second cheetah, we locate another cheetah Mother (Shakira).
"Shakira had five cubs however two were killed," the guide quips. "Cheetah mothers frequently keep moving when they have cubs to dodge lions and leopards killing their cubs."
Further on a pride of twelve lions appears comprising of a male, females and cubs. The male roars, the roar echoing across the plains, as it rolls over on its rear. The females arise ready to prowl the plains.
"This is my favorite in the Masai Mara," says the guide, "because there is less traffic and makes it easy to spot animals."
In another week it will be July, and the plains will begin to fill with wildebeests as they move from the Serengeti.
There will be 1.5 million plus wildebeests crossing the Sand River and moving to the far end of the Mara before turning to make the cyclic journey. By the end of November, the whole grass will be eaten by the wildebeests and some 400000 zebras and other animals.
In one afternoon, in a radius of 10 km, we have seen numerous wildlife. What a way to begin our Masai Mara safari.
The following morning, as the sun ascends in the horizon, the plains seem calmer. This morning we venture out seeking for the big five.
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