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Magic Of The Masai Mara Game Park. A Safari Within The Mara Is An Escapade To The Ultimate Wildlife Reserve.
Unmistakably the Mara is the number one savanna of Africa Safari. A bird's eye view of the spectacle below stirs my anticipation.
Within several minutes of flying into the Mara, we spot an elephant and giraffes underneath, and on the banks of the Talek River, a pair of hippos somewhat revealed from the water.
It's end of June, just following long rains and the time before the great migration and the plains are brimming with tall golden green grass of different shades.
As we proceed through, we come upon many Thomson's gazelles browsing by the road.
Farther, a parenting cheetah with a round belly looks our way as it devours the remains of an antelope. Meanwhile the cub is still savoring the meal, its nose covered with blood.
"Cheetahs are diurnal. They hunt at daytime," explains the guide. "They are not as powerful as lions and leopards, so they eat fast else their kill will be stolen. They can even be driven away by packs hyenas or vultures."
Minutes away, we discover another cheetah and her two cubs on an anthill. They view us warily but the mother's ears pick the sounds of the cowbells and she sits up vigilant, scanning the plains. The herd of Masai cows is way far away and not sensing any threat to her cubs, she slouches down again, peaceful.
The big rains have gone and the plains are full of long grass making it tough for the smaller wildlife to graze. Mostly it is the huge animals like giraffes and elephants and the bigger antelopes that can be easily seen around.
This makes hunting complex for the cats and they wind up with strange strategies. It is not uncommon to see lions and cheetahs trying to mount trees and anthills to get a high vantage point for spotting prey.
Cheetahs claws never foldup like those of the other cats and cannot often climb trees, but because they have to locate prey, they'll attempt anything.
Cheetahs, not like other predators, are not strong so they hunt minor antelopes, by running them to fatigue as they go for the jugular vein of the prey to make a brisk kill.
moments after sighting the second cheetah, we encounter another cheetah Mother (Shakira).
"Shakira had five cubs but two were killed," the guide quips. "Cheetah mothers regularly keep relocating when they have cubs to escape lions and leopards eliminating their cubs."
Ahead a pride of twelve lions emerges composed of a male, females and cubs. The male roars, the roar echoing over the plains, as it flips over on its back. The females rise ready to roam the plains.
"This is my favorite in the Masai Mara," says the guide, "because there is less traffic and makes it easy to see wildlife."
In another full week it will be July, and the plains will start filling with wildebeests as they cross from the Serengeti.
There will be 1.5 million plus wildebeests passing the Sand River and moving to the far end of the Mara before whirling to make the cyclic process. By the end of November, the grass will be consumed by the wildebeests and some 400000 zebras and other wildlife.
In one afternoon, inside a radius of 10 km, we have found lots of wildlife. What a way to begin our Masai Mara safari.
The next day, as the sun goes up in the horizon, the plains seem calmer. This sunrise we go forth in search for the big five.
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