Wildlife

Wildlife is abundant in the area and game-viewing is good any time of year, peaking from July to October. Besides large numbers of other plains game including zebra, different species of antelopes, giraffe and warthog, there are many prides of lions, which follow the herds, but some are resident in the area all year round. Mara is a perfect kingdom for these lions, the most powerful of hunters, who dominate the grasslands. Cheetahs, spotted and striped hyena, and smaller predators including all three types of jackal also roam the Mara area. Leopard tend to be but territorial and thus our guides know where to find them. To complete the big five list, elephant, buffalo and the rhino can also usually be found. Hippo and crocodiles abound in the Mara and Talek rivers.

Birds

There is also a wealth of bird-life: Over 550 species have been recorded, including the migrant species who visit during the European winter. Raptors are abundant including some large eagles. Meanwhile smaller birds continue to delight amateurs, while rarer species impress the experts. Butterflies, many species of insects and arachnids, including the Golden Orb spider are also interesting. There are also many species of trees, shrubs and grasses, many of which are used medicinally by the local Maasai. After the rains the wildflowers dot the plains and forests with colour, many of them rare species.

Background

Several hundred years before the coming of the first Europeans in the late 1800’s the Maasai had migrated into Kenya down the Nile valley. It wasn’t until 1948 that the Mara area became a national game reserve. Today Maasai Mara is under the control of the local Narok county council and local community group ranches. Maasai Mara remains most famous for its annual migration. One of the most extraordinary natural events on the planet, the great migration involves a mass movement of ungulates, most notably the wildebeest.

Maasai

Karen Blixen, writer of Out of Africa, wrote home to Denmark early last century full of admiration for the tall handsome Maasai. Another early white settler, writer Elspeth Huxley described them as the tribe that shared these enormous, sun-drenched plains with the wild animals. The Maasai have remained dominant in the Mara area, while being encouraged to protect the ecosystem and wildlife. Your visit to the Mara will re-enforce and promote the necessity for this. The Maasai, who are fierce warriors, have largely remained very independent people, many of whom still adhere to their values and lifestyle. The Maasai never hunted, but lived peacefully alongside the wildlife in harmony. This continued co-existence makes Maasai Mara one of the world’s most interesting and unique wilderness regions.

Migration

Towards the beginning of every July vast numbers of these curious looking creatures move en masse from the southern plains of the Serengeti in Tanzania to cross the Mara river and head north in search of the green flush of grasses watered by Kenya’s long rains of April and early May. It is estimated that more than half a million wildebeest enter the reserve each year, followed by large numbers of zebras. Those who haven’t drowned in the river, been torn apart by crocodiles, or brought down by the big cats will dutifully return south around October to the now-greener pastures of Tanzania, leaving the Mara’s dusty plains to recover with the onset of the short rains in November.

Do or die

As millions of hooves annually trample a circular route around Mara in search of greener pastures and water, this powerful migratory instinct overrides any fear of the dangers of crossing the Mara River. During the migrations the river banks witness daily dramas as the wildebeest wrestle rapids and currents. Even more probable than drowning is ending their journey in the cruel jaws of the crocodiles, who lurk beneath the mud-brown surface of the churning waters, awaiting their chance.

Guides

The staff at ilkeliani camp have been hired from the surrounding villages and educated in the art of service. Most of the staff have a minimum primary school education. Some hold higher level degrees. Many of the staff have been at the camp for a number of years and speak a variety of languages including English, Kiswahili and their local tribal.

We work with the locals