Despite the biting drought, the Maasai Mara is still teeming with game. Contrary to some reports, in fact, there have been more animals in the Mara this month than there have been in January for many years. The wildebeest are still here, with many opting to have their calves in Kenya – rather than their traditional birthing grounds in the southern Serengeti. Due to the poor rainfall and grass cover, the southern Serengeti has seen very few wildebeest this month, with most herds remaining in the north or west of the reserve. In the Mara, at least, we have had some rain in the past week – giving rise to lifesaving pools on the plains and in the stream beds.
Lions
The Ridge Pride has kept our guests excited throughout the past week, with hunts along both the Talek and Olare Orok rivers. The two males that dominate the pride have been moving over to the Olkiombo Pride, which has no permanent males at present. On January 25th, the two prides again had a fierce fight, with a lot of injuries sustained on both sides. Interestingly, the males did not step in to stop the warring parties, preferring to sit on the sidelines and watch!
Our guests at Siana Springs meanwhile have been enjoying regular sightings of three prides, one west of Keekorok, one south of Talek Gate, and a third near Roan Hill. All these areas still have large herds of herbivores, including wildebeest and zebra, providing the lions with superb hunting opportunities.
Leopards
Bella, our star leopard, has spent the past week patrolling up and down the Talek River, dodging the Olkiombo lions that share her territory. An encounter with these lions a few weeks ago left her with an injured hind leg – but fortunately that was all! Her son, Chui, has not been seen regularly over the past two weeks, and we believe he has now permanently left his mother’s home to look for his own territory.
Another female leopard with a small cub has also been spotted a few times by our Siana guides in the Hammerkop area, in addition to the one traditionally referred to as the Kissinger female, which also has a sub-adult cub.
Cheetahs
Cheetah sightings have also been good this week, with Kike still settled close to the Intrepid and Explorer camps. We’ve seen her on chases, at kills, and of course sitting in her favourite position atop the Intrepids vehicles! Of course, she remains our guides’ frontrunner in the quest for Kenya’s 2006 Miss Tourism!
That’s all for this week – happy cat hunting to all our visitors and operators!And remember: please send us any news of your own cat sightings, to pkirui@mitsuminet.com .
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