Tuesday 29 April 2014

Have an Adventure You Will Never Forget in Masai Mara Safari

The Masai Mara Safari is a vast area used as a game reserve in Narok County, Kenya shares common boundary with Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. The Masai Mara Safari is well known for having extraordinary numbers of leopards, cheetahs and lions. The Masai Mara Safari has a plethora of wildlife and culture and the natural habitats in this area are peaceful, placid and poised. The safari is known for its annual migration where animals like wildebeest migrate in large groups and present a majestic sight. The wildebeest migration happens every year and these majestic beasts move from Masai Mara Safari, to the Serengeti National Park and then back again. The best time to witness this event is a little after the months of July and before October is over.

The safari is spread in a very huge area of 1510 square kilometres. As it is located near the equator, the weather here is hot most of the times with sun shined ground most of the time. The rain occurs from March to May and from November to December. The temperature here not too high as Kenya is located on a plateau and the altitude keeps the temperature in the comfortable range.

The Masai MaraSafari is very rich in terms of wildlife population, the animals occupying the major area of the safari are:

·         Wildebeest
·         Zebra
·         Topi
·         Thomson’s gazelle
 
Thomson’s gazelle
Thomson’s gazelle

Topi
Topi

Wildebeest Migration
Wildebeest Migration

Zebra
Zebra


It also contains a huge population of lions, leopards, African elephants, African buffaloes and black rhinoceros. Mara and Talek rivers have large groups of hippopotami and Nile crocodiles. Lions and cheetahs are found the plains between the Mara River and the EsoitSiria Escarpment and is regarded as the best area for game viewing.

Plenty of tourists visit this heaven, every year for experiencing a first class safari. Inside the reserve and conservation area borders, there are numerous lodges and tented camps for the tourists. For an excellent game viewing and no poaching there are rangers patrol on a regular basis. The authorities have restricted the number of vehicles around the animal sightings so that the tourists have a better experience when on a game drive.

Wildebeest are an antelope which belongs to the genus Connochaetes and family Bovidae. There are two types of wildebeest found in Masai Mara Safari:

·         Black wildebeest
·         Blue wildebeest
Wildebeest Migration Kenya
Wildebeest Migration

Blue wildebeest
Blue wildebeest


All types of wildebeests are not migratory, black wildebeest are nomadic and often live in regular homes. Wildebeest migration takes place from the moths July to October between Masai Mara and Serengeti every year. Blue wildebeest migration takes place in East Africa, which is very long distance migration. The wildebeest migration takes place according to the annual pattern of rainfall and growth of the grasses. At the end of every rainy season wildebeest migration takes place to dry season areas due to lack of drinking water. When the rainy season starts again, the animals again shift back to rainy seasoned areas. The factors that are assumed for the wildebeest migration are:

·         Availability of surface water
·         Food
·         Predators
·         Phosphorus availability

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