Migration News: Mara River rises following some rain

There has been rain over the Mara in the last week. This has quickly filled the Mara and Talek Rivers and temporarily halted the crossings. The herds are backed up at Paradise and Pump-House crossing points waiting for the rivers to subside a bit. The rain should bring some much needed sustenance to the grass plains that have been maintaining huge herds of wildebeest. The herds are spread across most of the Masai Mara and adjoining Maasai community land, conservancies and ranches.

This has been a spectacular season for the migration. The wildebeest numbers are probably the highest seen in a number of years and at least comparable to 2001. There has been sufficient rain and generally the migration has been running a few weeks ahead of the normal migratory pattern. The grass was burnt back around June in the Masai Mara and the Serengeti. This was following by a decent level of rain which resulted in excellent grazing conditions for the arriving migration. They will now stay north in the Masai Mara and northern Serengeti until the first signs of rain in the southern Serengeti. They are likely to start heading south only towards October, giving them a long stay in the Mara this year.

Crocodile and lion killing wildebeest crossing the Mara River

This is an excellent video that was taken this week in the Masai Mara. It shows a huge crocodile taking a wildebeest crossing the Mara River. These safari guests then saw a lion ambush a lion. The video also shows the migration in full swing.

News from the Masai Mara

The wildebeest and zebra are spread across most of the Reserve, with more arriving from the Serengeti in the south. The highest concentration of herds are on the central and north plains. The core herds have been moving north from the Mara triangle onto Paradise Plain. Huge numbers have been crossing the Mara River in an almost constant procession, at Paradise and Pump-House crossing points.

There were light rains a few days ago. This has caused the herds to spread out across the reserve and move north from the Serengeti. The herds have also moved into some of the ranches that border the northern part of Masai Mara, notably Olare Orok Conservancy.

The Masai Mara is the best place to be based to see the migration. At the moment, almost any camp is ideally located for the migration. There are still some herds in the Serengeti, Tanzania, but not in great numbers.

Migration News: Mara River crossing continues

The wildebeest and zebra continue to cross the Mara River and spread out across the Masai Mara. Grazing is good on both sides of the border, in Kenya and Tanzania. The wildlife numbers are impressive with herds as far as the eye can see. All camps have reported excellent sightings of the migration herds and some spectacular predator action.

This time of year is also great for predators, with lots of sightings of cheetah, leopard and lion. There are a number of resident families of cheetah in the reserve and adjoining ranches.

News from Porini Lion Camp

One of our favourite camps in the Masai Mara, Porini Lion Camp in Olare Orok Conservancy, currently have resident cheetah. These cheetah were recently seen chasing a hyena off their kill. This is an extremely rare sighting.

The camp shares an unfenced boundary with the Masai Mara Reserve, offering easy access into the reserve, but also exclusive access to the conservancy.