After a premature departure to the Serengeti, the return of the great wildebeest migration to the Maasai Mara is heralding a season of plenty on the plains of the world's most famous wilderness. Over the past two weeks, the usually empty plains to the east of Lookout Hill have been teeming with thousands of wildebeest, with many more crossing the Mara River westwards into the Mara Triangle. For the past few days, early birds have been treated to some spectacular river crossings, sometimes as early as 8am.
The return of the wildebeest has brought a "second course" of hunting for the legendary lion prides of the southern Mara. The Olkiombo Pride has been particularly evident in the Olkinyei area of the central plains. The Intrepids guides christened the pride after its dominant male - instantly recognisable from his completely black right foreleg - which was born in the area known locally as Olkiombo, near Mara Explorer.
While the southern plains have become a hive of activity, the north of the park has slipped into a period of relative calm. The area around Musiara Marsh, teeming with wildebeest last month, has again fallen quiet. The northern section of the Triangle is also quite empty, with most of the herds congregating around Olpunyata Swamp and south of Kurao Plains. Now that the wildebeest are again expressing their satisfaction with Kenyan grass, we expect most of the herds to remain this side of the border at least until November!
The Cats
Intrepids and Explorer guests have been blessed with daily sightings of cheetahs - including our beloved Kike - since our last update. With plenty of gazelles in the area, the cheetahs - especially the mothers with cubs – have been enjoying a bountiful hunting season. Leopard sightings have also improved dramatically, with the BBC's Big Cat diarists making it easy to track our friends Bella and Chui. The two cats have been giving us the best leopard sightings one can probably find anywhere in the world right now (it's small wonder they've picked our backyard for a special documentary on the species).
Apart from the Olkiombo pride, the Ridge Pride has been dominating lion news in the area, with regular kills in the vicinity of our two camps. Last Sunday, they killed two wildebeest along the Talek River, and by Monday had moved their hunts into topi territory.
It's no wonder so many aficionados consider this the best place for big cat viewing on Earth. But don't take our word for it - come see for yourself! And as usual, if you have any interesting accounts of wildlife activities in the Mara, please feel free to drop a line to our head guide, Paul Kirui, at: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke. From all at Heritage Hotels, we wish you happy migration watching!
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