Other Wildlife Sightings

The Big Cats Of Mara:

The Lions

The Mara cats are enjoying the last of the easy meals this month before the wildebeest leave. Many skeletons are strewn on the plains because of the big feast. As the wildebeest leave, the lion prides will become very mobile in search of prey, especially the ones with cubs. Some prides will split up because there will not be enough food to share around the pride.

Over the last few weeks, the Ridge Pride was seen roaming around the southern base of Rhino Ridge, Mara Intrepids and the Mara River area. There is one female with three-month-old cubs and one with two-month-old cubs. The females made easy kills when the wildebeest were all over their territory, which meant the cubs were well fed.

Leopards

Olive, our star female leopard and her three-month-old cubs are still around the junction of the Talek and Olare-Orok Rivers. They have lately been moving between this place and the little forest between Mara Intrepids and Explorer camps.

Binti and her daughter are downstream from where Olive is. They also took the opportunity to hunt the wildebeest when they were streaming down south through their territories and we saw a few young wildebeest' carcasses up in the trees along the river.

Cheetahs

Shakira, who for the past two years has been our star female cheetah, is still around with her three daughters. She has had some easy hunts because of the many gazelle fawns born in the past three weeks.

Honey's three male cubs, continue to roam far and wide from Musiara to Paradise Plains and south to Burrungat Plains. There is another cheetah between Talek and Olkiombo airstrip with three very tiny cubs. This is not Alama, who we reported earlier. In general cheetah sightings have been the best this season.

The Samburu Cats

Lions

Lions were seen throughout August and September. The prolonged drought has forced the herbivores to come to the Uaso River for the little grass and shrubs to sustain them. This has been good for the lions,
who have waited along the river to pounce on the poor prey. In Buffalo Springs, the Ngare Mara pride was seen thrice in a week along the Ngare Mara River.

Nanyeisho of Ngare Mara pride had two cubs, which were first seen in the beginning of September when they were two months old. The cubs were named by our guides as Ngooyeni (Lucy) and Ngayoni (Ricki) (the little couples). Many lions in the area have been forced to go to Isiolo River, which has a permanent water source in the region.

The Koitogo pride has split into smaller groups. The pride of four adults (two females and two males) with five youngsters is seen at Daraja-wire area north of the Uaso Ng'iro River. This is part of their territory, but they have also moved east towards the border of the reserves (Buffalo Springs and Samburu). Two lions were also reported at West Gate Conservancy. The scarcity of prey has forced the pride to split into three small groups.
The Ngare Mara pride has split into two smaller groups, both with little cubs. The White River females have two cubs, which were nearly six months old. Our guides named the female Uaso (Uaso was born by River Uaso which had water after a long dry spell) and the male is called Lengolong' which means; 'born during the bad drought'. The mother has been named Moduai, which is a Samburu word for 'rarely seen'. Moduai has settled in the southern part of the Uaso Ng'iro River, three kilometres east of the main viewpoint along the White River. The lion population in both the reserves is between 17 and 20.

The Intrepids guides have named all the lions in the area. The biggest pride Koitogo has Uni, a mother of two (Lentasat and Namunyak). Lentasat is the young male lion who is roughly 13 months old.

Namunyak is a Samburu word for the blessed one. The 13 female lionesses share the name with the lioness which adopted the Beisa Oryx fawn at the beginning of the millennium. Namunyak barely managed to survive a buffalo attack a few months ago when they were learning how to hunt.

Nashupai, another lioness, has three cubs Ngosouwan, Lolibuo and Naduaya. She is Naibor's daughter and Uni's sister. Her name in Samburu means 'smart girl'. Ngosouwan means the 'strong one' (buffalo like). She made her first hunt going for a buffalo during the dry season. In the normal circumstances a healthy buffalo, often stampedes towards the thicket where the young lions cubs are, doing their best to trample the cubs to death whilst warding off the lioness.

However, this time the buffalos were in for a surprise. Lolibuo, the young male was very eager to make a kill and when Ngosouwan jumped on the buffalo's back, Lolibuo followed and since it was the whole pride of seven, all the lions tried to help the little guys kill the buffalo. The enraged buffalo flung Ngosouwan into the bush and Lolibuo was left alone hanging on buffalo's back! Namunyak had nothing else to do but to help her half-brother. The buffalo saw it coming and got ready for it. Luckily, Ngosouwan came out of the bush with Uni and the two jumped on the buffalo.

Lion cubs have a rare survival rate, especially during the dry seasons when food is scarce. Furthermore, when one or more new males oust the previous male(s) associated with a pride, the conqueror(s) often kills any existing young cubs, perhaps because females do not become fertile and receptive until their cubs mature or die. Luckily this has not been experienced in Samburu National Reserve for a number of years now.

Paul Kirui, Chief Safari Guide and Stephen Tilas, Head Naturalist, Samburu Intrepids

Migration Update: Issue 7

The Outbound Migration

The migration in the Mara is drawing to a close as anticipated. The wildebeest have been trickling back to the Serengeti this past week, where they are seen to concentrate on the recently burnt patches in northern Serengeti. Only a handful of herds remain in isolated pockets in the Mara, and these are mainly in the south Mara triangle. Looking around driving through the Mara plains, it is easy to understand why these animals have left; most of the plains are bare of grass.

A combination of a dry spell and over grazing has played a major role in the grass cover becoming depleted. This is not a new phenomena for the wildebeest will move on to new pastures to give time for the old grazing pastures to regenerate.

The wildebeest will gradually stream back into the Serengeti with the last herds expected to leave by end of November. They will be away till June-July next year when they will return to graze on the rich green grasses after the long rains of April-May. It will be another season of plenty for the predators and the prey, as the cats and crocodiles keep a close tab on the grazers.

When the wildebeest finally leave the Mara, the predators have to devise smarter methods of hunting for the elusive resident animals. At times they have to go for long periods between meals. The strong ones survive but for the weak and the old, this may be their last season – in the wild, this is the survival of the fittest.

Click Migration%20Update%2009-%207.JPG for the migration map

Paul Kirui, Chief Safari Guide
Kindly contact: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke for comments or inquiry on the migration and other interesting wildlifel sightings in the Mara, Rift Valley, Samburu and Tsavo West National Park

Humpback whales, Whale sharks and dolphins spotted in full view of Voyager

For the past week Humpback whales, Whale sharks and schools of dolphins 
have been spotted in the ocean from Voyager Beach Resort. Join us for daily dive and snorkeling
 excursions to see these amazing creatures.



Here's a bit of folklore. In Kiswahili, the whale shark is called papa shilingi, meaning
 "the shark covered in shillings". According to the local legend, God was so pleased when he created this beautiful fish, that he gave the angels gold and silver coins to throw from heaven onto the back of the shark. Luckily, the whale shark with its magical markings is easy to spot because it swims near the surface, catching the sun on its back. It's the whale shark's way of saying thank you to the maker.



Whale sharks have called Kenyan waters home for many years. Even though it's a shark, the fish behaves like a whale, feeding on plankton and other small sea creatures and it's completely harmless, making it a beautiful fish to swim with. Recently, there's been a significant increase in their sightings, possibly due to the post El Nino mantis shrimp invasion, which the whale sharks feed on.


However, the worrying bit about the increase in whale sharks along the Kenyan coast is that they have
 become more of a target with fishermen. Under international law, whale sharks are only given a secondary type of protection. They are listed under CITES Appendix II meaning that trade in whale sharks is allowed but must be monitored. But monitoring can only be successful if there are enough patrols at sea and the law is enforced. Most specialists are of the opinion that this level of protection is not enough and that we still do not know much about the biggest fish in the ocean.

Check with Buccaneer Diving for diving excursions with the whale shark. Buccaneer Diving is assisting with gathering information about these amazing creatures, working with Project AWARE to help protect these gentle giants of the sea.

Frederic van Lennep, Operations Manager, Buccaneer Water Sports and Diving
freshaevents@gmail.com

Migration Update: Issue 6

Overview

The long dry spell continues. It has affected wildlife in many areas and seems to continue. However, in the Mara, although it is dry, we have been fortunate to have had sporadic light showers earlier in the month.

Because of the showers, even though the grass is dry and coarse on the plains, there are still pools of water in the streams and rivers where the animals throng to quench their thirst after feeding on the dry grass. It's easy to see animals at the watering holes around midday.

We are also seeing stiff competition amongst the herbivores for grass. Whereas some parts of the Mara have been mowed to the ground, there are areas that have good grass and hence higher concentration of game.

Up north in Samburu the drought is much more intensive, with the rivers dry and the grass withered. The animals have taken to digging for water, which ironically has made game viewing easy since we just have to head for the dry riverbed.

Migration update

The Mara continued hosting a higher concentration of wildebeest in the past week. Most of the herds reported on the Mara Triangle, Paradise Plains, Rhino Ridge and Musiara Marsh are still there.

There were heavy river crossings in the north of thousands of wildebeest from Oloololo Gate area to Musiara earlier in the week. These have settled around Musiara Gate, Rhino Ridge and Paradise Plains on the eastern side of the Mara River because of the availability of grass. When most other areas in the reserve have gone bare, these areas still boast plentiful grass, despite being dry and coarse. But in times like these, anything will do.

Though the wildebeest concentration is only in certain places, it is still a superb sight. River crossings have been frequent at Paradise crossing point, with the animals crossing over to the Mara Triangle and those to the north crossing east to Musiara Marsh, hence making a circle. The herds on Rhino Ridge and south of Mara Conservancy have stopped moving around to concentrate on feeding.

Click Migration%20Update%2009-%206.JPG for migration map

Looking around as you drive through the plains, you will understand why these animals are concentrated in places. A combination of a dry spell and over-grazing has played a key roll in the fast dwindling of grass forcing the herds to keep migrating. Overstaying in one area results in exhausting the food resource and hence for the herds to survive, they have to continue with their migration into new areas looking for new grass.

Predators' activities:

Lions

All lion prides in our game viewing territories are present in their home ranges. There were many sightings of these cats in the past week, hunting wildebeest, zebra and warthogs all to the excitement of our guests. One lioness from the Ridge pride with her cubs just 1 km from Mara Explorer gave us the sighting of the week, with her cubs coming out in the morning and late afternoon and playing endlessly. There are other lionesses with cubs as well. These are from Paradise, Olkiombo and Musiara prides.

Leopards

Leopard sightings have been very good and better than the previous weeks. The most exciting moment was when Olive and her two cubs showed up occasionally. She has made a few kills in the past couple of weeks with some being witnessed by our guests. She killed an impala a few days ago at the Olare-Orok crossing and dragged it into a bush before going to fetch her cubs. When coming with the cubs, it was nice to see her carrying one in her mouth so as to increase her walking pace to get to the kill. Binti, her older daughter was seen a few times near the rocky bend on the Talek River, a place which has been her area of abode for long.

Cheetahs

Cheetah sightings were also good and a few successful hunts were seen. Shakira has now moved up from Lookout Hill to Paradise Plains where she has been for over a week. The three brothers are also in the same location. There was drama recently, when the three brothers engaged Shakira and her three daughters in a fight that lasted almost an hour before the boys decided to leave the poor ladies alone. The sight of the seven cheetahs was quite unusual and our guests were treated to this rare show.

There is a new sighting of a cheetah with three small cubs (not the one mentioned in our past report) found to the east of Explorer, where she has been hunting over the past week. There is also one pregnant female in the same area that we think could give birth any time.

Paul Kirui, Chief Safari Guide
Kindly contact: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke for comments or inquiry on the migration and other interesting wildlifel sightings in the Mara, Rift Valley, Samburu and Tsavo West National Park

Migration Update 2009: Issue 5

Wildebeest Migration

The wildebeest migration is still on in the Mara. The concentration of the migrating herds is almost spread in the whole of the Mara triangle, with some big herds on Paradise Plains. The Serengeti herds in the past week kept streaming in from the south with the leading herds pushing further north and others west into the Mara Triangle. They kept crossing the River by Look Out Hill over the week. The grassland recently burnt in the Mara Triangle is still attracting the herds.

Most herbivores in this ecosystem have come to associate the burning with fresh grass, which is true only if there is some rain soon after the burning. Most of the Mara Plains are now a sea of over grown red oat grass. To most herbivores this is quite tough and rough for their digestive systems and this explains why the herds have just been rushing through the reserve where there is plenty of new grass.

The crossing at the Paradise Plains over the week, crossed to the west of the Mara River. These were the herds that were crossing east from the Mara Triangle last week. Now they are going back.

The crossing however is not as exiting as usual since the amount of water in the river is very low. The herds of wildebeest just walk across. However, the crocodiles are really struggling to make any kill. They cannot stalk anything in water since they can be seen approaching. Deep water helps them drown their prey easily.

Lions
The lions are having an easy time with the availability of prey everyday. Some lion prides have small cubs. All the lion prides in our game viewing territory have been present over the last two weeks. We witnessed great hunts and kills in the last two weeks.

Cheetahs
Cheetahs were also seen over the same period. Shakira has moved south of Talek River and lately has been beyond Olkeju-Rongai. Her three cubs are quite active and have been seen making their own kills.

Leopards
Leopards were also seen quite regularly around the area near Mara Intrepids. Olive has a new litter. She was seen for the first time on 27th July with a cub at Olare-Orok River crossing. After a brief disappearance, she appeared again two days ago with two cubs at a new location on the Talek. We are keeping a keen eye to see how she will behave with her older litter of Binti, Ayah and Kali.

Paul Kirui, Chief Safari Guide
Kindly contact: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke for comments or inquiry on the migration and other interesting wildlifel sightings in the Mara, Rift Valley, Samburu and Tsavo West National Park

Migration Update 2009: Issue 4

The wildebeest have made another dramatic come back. Over the last few days, the concentration in the south of the reserve swelled to an enormous number. Most of the herds as per our previous update have made a complete cycle in the past two weeks. They moved from the eastern part of the river, crossed west onto the Mara Triangle, then south into northern Serengeti and east from there before re-entering the Mara, crossing the Sand river south of Look Out Hill. Though some of the animals are entering the Mara near Naima-Lumbwa hill, the re-entry is not through the same point as they did in July when they first came. Looking down into northern Serengeti, just beyond the border, one can see thousands of animals on the plains heading north into the Mara.

Everything now on the migration front is just like last month when the wildebeest first got into the Mara. The highest concentration is around Look Out hill and eastwards along the central plains. The westward bound herds have spread out on the south and north of Look Out hill again, with many animals have started crossing the Mara River west. For the past three days, our guests have witnessed many animals crossing below Look Out hill. The animals are crossing over into the Mara triangle just as before and others heading north from lookout hill, with the first ones now around Olkeju-Rongai and lower Burrungat plains. The western concentration is around Oldoinyo Olkineji and south to the border of Serengeti, while others are heading to the escarpment.

Most of the herds here have settled temporarily on the short grass from a previous burning. The unseasoned rains have played a crucial role in the sprouting of the grass. The crossing points in the north around Paradise plains have been teeming with activity, with most animals crossing back and forth. The water in the river is quite shallow now, hence easy crossing by the animals. We are glad it is happening all over again.

While all these are going on in the south, the northern section of the park seems to have slipped into a brief quite period. The area around Musiara gate/marsh has only a handful of wildebeest whereas earlier in the month, this area was all covered with wildebeests. On the triangle as well, the northern section is still empty. Most of the herds on the Mara triangle are only from Olpunyata swamp and Kurao plains southwards. These herds have also been crossing at the Paradise crossing eastwards. We expect huge crossings at Paradise in the coming week when the animals will start crossing the river east to paradise plains.

Predators
There is still a lot of predation activities in the Mara even with the brief absence of the migrating herds from some areas. The Ridge pride of lions kept roaming their territory; two days ago they were just between the Olkiombo airstrip and the camp (Mara Intrepids). The Marsh pride is at Bila Shaka. They had killed a buffalo yesterday and all the 16 lions were there. All the other prides are also in their respective territories.

Leopard sightings improved over the past week as a couple of them were seen. On 27th July, a leopard believed to be Olive was seen carrying a cub in its mouth near Olare-Orok river crossing. She headed towards the junction of the river with the Talek where she has been seen quite often in the same locality fro the past few days. The cubs are still small and she must be hiding them some where there.

Cheetahs sighing were good too. Shakira is still in the location of the Talek river crossing back and forth.

Paul Kirui, Chief Safari Guide
Kindly contact: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke for comments or inquiry on the migration and other interesting wildlifel sightings in the Mara, Rift Valley, Samburu and Tsavo West National Park

Migration Update 2009: Issue 3

The migration took a dramatic change at the end of last week. All the excitement at the crossing died out when most of the herds from the eastern side of the Mara River crossed west. Once in the Mara triangle (the western side of the park) most herds headed south into northern Serengeti. This was a quick exit, since they were expected to stay in the Mara till November which is always the case.

Our observations show that the change in the rain pattern and the burning of the grass in northern Serengeti has played a role in this change of events. Driving along the border shows that the herds have settled on the Serengeti side in the recently burnt plains. There is usually a massive burning of the grass in July in Northern Serengeti. When the short rains come in August, these plains flourish with lush nutritious grass thereby attracting many herbivores including the migrating herds.

Most of the central Mara is now quite empty of the wildebeest herds except for a high concentration of an isolated herd to the north between Rhino Ridge and Musiara Marsh and to the south just below the Look Out Hill. All is not lost because the movement of the herds inside Serengeti shows they are bound for the Mara again. Most of them once inside the Serengeti are heading east along the burnt grounds, feeding as they move and entering the Mara again just south of the Look Out Hill.

There have been sporadic crossings below the Look Out Hill and on the Paradise Plains crossing point. These crossings however, are not as dramatic as in the past because the water level is very low in the river making it easy for the wildebeest to walk through. The low level in the river can be attributed to the failure of the short rains at this time.

From experience, as was the case in 1998 and 2005, when the wildebeest herds disappeared only to return shortly, we expect the herds to be in the Mara soon. However the change in the rain patterns and the confusion brought by sporadic burning of the grass are expected to cause some changes in the concentration and duration of stay of the wildebeest in the Mara.

Big Cats

Lions

All the lion prides in our game viewing areas can be seen and have been giving our guests good sightings including day time hunts. There are six prides of lions in our area around Mara Intrepids and Mara Explorer. The lion prides are the Lookout pride, Olkeju-Rongai pride, Ridge pride, Paradise pride, Marsh pride and Olkiombo pride. With all these prides in our game viewing zone, you can’t ask for any better lion sightings.

Leopards

Leopards’ sightings have been good during the past week. There was however an unfortunate incident where a female leopard was killed by another due to territorial fights south of the Talek River.

Cheetahs

Cheetah sightings have been very good. We had a record of seeing 12 cheetahs in one day recently. With the concentration of plain game going up, we will have superb sightings in the coming weeks.

Migration Update 2009: Issue 2

Migration:

The movement of the wildebeest in the Mara over the past week progressed much faster than anticipated. With plenty of long grass all over the central Mara plains, we thought the animals would move slowly north and westwards as they usually do. However, in a departure from their normal routing over the years, all the herds headed north across the Meta plains and settled on Burrungat plains. They arrived at the Talek gate area, where they settled for a couple of days before heading west towards the lower Burrungat. Some animals on reaching Mtamaiyo lugga (an offshoot stream of Talek river) crossed north and have for the last few days settled on the higher grounds east of Mara Explorer.

The crossing over the Talek supplemented the main crossing at the Mara when the animals crossed the almost dry riverbed in such a rush that it resulted in a few casualties. The stampede was intense and created a cloud of dust in the area, making it quite a photogenic activity.


The rest of the herds proceeded west upto the Mara river where they crossed over in a couple of places, though these were not big herds. The main herd headed south to the Look Out hill area. These started crossing the Mara river onto the western side of the Mara. The crossing here is not yet as dramatic as the other points because there are only a few wildebeest crossing. The water level is also quite low and hence the animals just walk across the shallow river.

We now have wildebeest lining the east side of the Mara river from the hill upto the Talek-Mara junction. The rest of the herds are spread out on the plains behind this location.

The northern migration (Loita herds) is now spread across from Musiara gate down to Ntiakitiak River and Rhino ridge area. Since last week they have been streaming in small numbers towards Paradise plains with some crossing over to the west onto Mara Triangle.

Needless to say, our guests at the camps have had a week full of excitement on game drives.

Big Cats

Lions

It's also been a great week full of activities with the predators. We saw more lion kills than in the past months. The Olkiombo pride has settled along the Talek river at the spots where the wildebeest have been crossing. Some members of the pride have moved north and are now in Olare-Orok conservancy, just on the edge of Mara.

The Bila Shaka pride of lions has been around Musiara gate for the past week. They have been less mobile than the previous months, because there is now plenty to eat. The Ridge pride has been north of the Mara-Talek junction earlier in the week but has now moved across the river into the Mara Triangle. These lions have now extended their territory to across the Mara river.

Cheetahs

Shakira has settled along the Talek river since last week, sometimes crossing south to Maji Ya Fisi area. She gave us quite dramatic sightings over the week when she hunted gazelles in these areas. There were other cheetahs seen during the week.

Leopards

Olive and Kali were at Mtamaiyo Lugga earlier in the week, where she was seen hunting wildebeest that were crossing there. However Kali is now back to their usual base by the Rock Fig after he was chased back by Big Boy who also moved to Mtamaiyo. With Kali now 14 months old, the big male is becoming less tolerant of him. I saw him yesterday trying to hunt wildebeest which were obviously too big for him. He had to give up. Binti was seen in the same location as Kali over the last few days, though not together

Other leopards seen were: the Olare-Orok female and her 2 sub adult cubs; Olkeju-Rongai female and her very aggressive mother. This particular female killed a gazelle and took it up the tree, but climbed down when she heard the vehicles approaching, leaving the carcass in the tree. A bateleur eagle landed on the tree and started feeding on carcass, which was really awesome.

Paul Kirui, Chief Safari Guide
Kindly contact: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke for comments or inquiry on the migration and other interesting wildlifel sightings in the Mara, Rift Valley, Samburu and Tsavo West National Park

Migration Update 2009: Issue 1

The wildebeests have now entered the Mara! This has been confirmed today after a fact finding mission round the entry points along the Mara and Serengeti border. Though this is still in its’ initial stages, every indication shows that the stage is set for the world’s most fascinating wildlife spectacle.

A herd of almost 30,000 wildebeest have crossed the border near Sand River gate. They were seen this morning taking their traditional route towards Roan Hill, while some have already moved all the way up towards Talek gate. The plains now between Mara Sarova, Roan Hill and Talek gate is teeming with the first herds that have moved into the area.

The Loita population has also moved into the Mara. They came in about a week ago. A herd of about 4,000 zebras and wildebeest can be seen around Musiara gate in the north and others just south east of the Talek gate and this consist mainly of zebras. Their concentration however is still low but we expect a build up in the coming weeks.

The northern Serengeti national park patrol personnel have reliably informed us that the migrating herds have taken two wings – one heading north from Grumeti area to the west, while an eastern wing is the one now moving into the Mara.

However, their movement is slower because of the amount of grass in their way. Since May we have continued having intermittent rains which has made the plains covered in long green grass. This is expected to slow the migration movement north. Looking onto the Serengeti from the sand river, one can see isolated herds of zebra and wildebeest heading north though reluctantly. We anticipate this concentration to build as the herds push up north into the Mara.

The Mara predators in the areas where the herds are concentrated have suddenly woken up to the season of plenty again. The Marsh pride lions have now established themselves along Bila Shaka stream where the wildebeest are coming for a drink. Since the entry of the migrating herds into the area, these lions have always had something to eat, and we expect to start seeing more hunts for the big cats within our game viewing areas.

Look out for more updates and coverage of the Official Migration in the Masai Mara.

Paul Kirui, Chief Safari Guide
Kindly contact: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke for comments or inquiry on the migration and other interesting wildlifel sightings in the Mara, Rift Valley, Samburu and Tsavo West National Park

Wildlife Update 7

Weather:

We have come to the end of the rains in the Mara and the plains have transformed into a sea of grass. The resident animals, mainly herbivores are congregated into groups where the new grass has sprouted. This short and highly palatable grass is much favoured by the small and medium sized herbivores such as the gazelles, warthogs, hartebeests and the wildebeest. The rest of the reserve is still covered in long and overgrown grass, which the larger herbivores such as the elephants and buffaloes graze on and therefore you can see them easily.

The rains that pounded the Mara in late May and early this month were unusual. We do not normally have rain at this time of the year. Even as late as early this month, there were heavy thunderstorms in the afternoons, which continued into the nights. The Mara’s long rainy season is from mid-March through to April. However, the situation now is back to normal though the ground is still wet especially in areas where the marshes are.

With the weather back to normal, the skies are clear on most days, interspersed with a few cloudy days. On some days we have sporadic drizzle in isolated areas. As July approaches, we can feel the temperature changing. The last few days have been cold in the mornings with temperatures reading as low as 13ºC. But this changes within the first two hours after sunrise and by noon the temperature rises between 25-28ºC.

Wildlife:

The Lions

All the lion prides in our game viewing territory are still around. However, they have been highly mobile in the last few weeks, with some prides splitting up into smaller groups. This is due to the scarcity of food. With most of the herbivores concentrated in certain areas, the lions are finding it difficult to hunt. Lions are territorial and will chase away other lions not belonging to the same group or pride if the outsiders try to hunt in their territory. Even then, the lions in the areas where the prey (the herbivores) is currently found, are not having it easy. Their intended prey stay in close groups forming an 'anti-predator device' so that they have more alert eyes looking out for the predators. This minimises the chances of the predators getting close.

It is a very difficult time for our lions and seeing them on termite mounts or up in trees, is not unusual at the moment, as they scale higher vantage points to scan the grassland for potential prey.

The Olkeju-Rongai Pride patrols the area between Talek and Olkeju-Rongai rivers. This area has a small concentration of game for the Olkeju-Rongai pride to hunt.

To the north of the Talek River, the Olkiombo Pride now rules that section up to Ntiakitiak River. Here, there is also a small concentration of game and the cats have been making successful hunts regularly.

The Ridge Pride roams between the Talek, Olare-Orok, the Mara River and the Topi Plains above Rhino Ridge. This pride however, has split into three groups, but the groups come together occasionally. There is one female in particular who has been in the area to the west of the Talek and Olare-Orok Rivers for a long time. She is now seen often with two sub-adult cubs.

Cheetahs

Cheetahs are seen quite regularly. Shakira, the star in the BBC Big Cat Live program, has settled on Topi Plains for the last couple of weeks. She and her three cubs sometimes venture northwest up to Bila Shaka stream which is a few kilometres away. The area between the two places is teeming with game like the gazelles, which forms her main prey. Her cubs are doing very well.

There is another cheetah with two very small cubs to the east of Mara Explorer. We first saw her on 13 June and we think that was when she moved her cubs out for the first time. The tall grass is making her uneasy as the cubs keep getting lost in the grass and she has to call them constantly. It is a very difficult task for her to bring up the cubs at this time when visibility is poor and prey scarce. We hope she will be able to rear them successfully. We have seen other cheetahs too at this time, sometimes up in tree, which is quite unusual. Even they have to climb up to look for prey.

Leopards

Olive the leopard, showed up about a week ago after disappearing for a month. She has no cubs yet as was thought by some guides. She was reported to be mating with Big Boy across the footbridge at Mara Intrepid on 10 June. Her daughter Binti was seen regularly along the Talek River just west of Mara Intrepids. Kali has been a frequent visitor in our camp for the last month, coming for the resident dikdiks. Big Boy has also been seen patrolling the river just across from Mara Intrepids, in clear view of the guests in their tents and often heard.

We have not seen Ayah for sometime now. We think she is by the lower Talek River where it meets the Mara River.



Paul Kirui, Chief Safari Guide
Kindly contact: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke for comments or inquiry on the migration and other interesting wildlifel sightings in the Mara, Rift Valley, Samburu and Tsavo West National Park

Wildlfe Update 19th May 2009

There has been unexpected rain in the Mara region over the past two weeks. The rains, though not as heavy as the usual long rains in April has turned the plains in the Mara into a sea of grass. The animals are now concentrated only in a few overgrazed patches in the reserve. The rain has also made some areas difficult to drive through, which is normal when we get this amount of rain.

Rain notwithstanding, game viewing is still good. For a first-time visitor to the Mara, it may appear empty, but you would require local knowledge to guide you to where the animals are currently concentrated. In these patches of short grass, it is now a constant competition between the grazers and the speed by which the grass is growing, due to the rains.

All the prides in our game viewing territory are still there and quite active. I should say it is also unusual to see lions very healthy at this time of the year, especially the cubs. Normally they would have already started getting thin as the food availability would be scarce now. The Ridge pride have taken the area between the Mara river and Topi plains over Rhino ridge as their territory.

Ol-Keju Rongai pride can be found just across the river from Mara Intrepids where there is a small congregation of herbivores on a short grass patch that has always been a rutting ground for the Topi.

Shakira the cheetah can now be found between Rhino ridge and Bila Shaka area. This is the area where there is still a concentration of game. Her three female cubs are quite active and each time perfecting their hunting skills as they learn from their mother.

The three male coalition of cheetah can still be seen around, and would occasionally meet with Shakira.

We also have one male in around Rhino ridge and another young female towards paradise plains all of whom adds to the list of the numerous cats we have around.

Olive, our leopard star has not been seen for the past four weeks. We see Binti and Kali though separately. Their sightings have also been very irregular. The high and amount of grass along the river where we usually see them makes it very difficult to see them sometimes. Some of the guides believe that Olive may be expecting a new litter but only time will tell.

Our guides also reported of another Leopard at Ol-Keju Rongai which was seen quite a few times.

Paul Kirui, Chief Safari Guide
Kindly contact: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke for comments or inquiry on the migration and other interesting wildlifel sightings in the Mara, Rift Valley, Samburu and Tsavo West National Park

Wildlfe Update: May 2nd, 2009

The just ended month of April, has been very good in terms of game viewing in our units. The anticipated long rains across the country was erratic and less than anticipated, leaving most of the country still dry.

In the Mara, the rainfall was sufficient to quench the ground and grass the plains across the recently burnt areas. In some areas the grass has now grown very tall and most herbivores are avoiding them because predators take advantage to prey on them. Because most animals have moved to areas where the grass is short, it has now created a wilderness concept in the Mara which is a total contrast to what we see from July onwards. For those guests who want to have great moments of solitude, this is the best time to visit.

In the closing week of the month of April we enjoyed great sightings. All the lions prides in our game viewing areas were seen regularly, so were cheetahs including Shakira who has been on the Topi
plains for sometimes now. Leopards were seen often in their usual place, most of the time hunting impala and Thomson's gazelles along the Talek river just south of Mara Intrepids. Big boy was seen killing a big warthog near Mara Explorer on 30th April.

Up north in the Samburu National Reserve, it has been dry for a long time now. During the dry seasons, it is not uncommon for these master predators to combine efforts in order to survive. A few weeks ago, our guides reported seeing a coalition of two male lions combining to kill an adult buffalo. They have been seen together ever since.

The sightings over the month have been fabulous. The reserve boasts a pride of lions with cubs which are mainly sighted at Koitogo region. Our guests at Samburu Intrepids were on hand to see two male lions being chased by a herd of buffaloes up Koitogo Mountains a couple of weeks ago. Four lion cubs were sighted at Daraja ya Wire where their mother had left them to go hunting.

Plenty of other game have been seen, including dozens of Oryx, a lioness crossing the river to the Buffalo Springs area of the reserve, just opposite Daraja ya Wire, dozens of crocodiles at Isiolo River and hundreds of resident and migratory birds all over the reserve.

A female leopard was seen with a cub at Choo ya block, while another with two cubs and a gerenuk kill was sighted one morning. In the evening the same female was seen with her two cubs and the male leopard with two kills hanged up in the same tree. These cats have become super hunters.

Paul Kirui, Chief Safari Guide
Kindly contact: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke for comments or inquiry on the migration and other interesting wildlifel sightings in the Mara, Rift Valley, Samburu and Tsavo West National Park

Wildlfe Update April 14, 2009

General Overview
Since our last wildlife update, on the cats and general info from the Mara, not much has changed in terms of the amount of game present in the reserve. The wildebeest are still in the Mara, which is quite unusual for this time of the year. Seeing the wildebeest with newly born calves is the most unusual thing, since calving normally happens in southern Serengeti and on the Loita plains for the resident herds. There is still a reasonable concentration on the North Mara, and areas immediately bordering the reserve to the east. Over the past one month, we have witnessed predators, hyaena, jackals, cheetahs and lions go after the helpless calves. The terrain in the Mara makes them very vulnerable, especially when they go to the river to drink.

The month of April is normally a little quiet bit in terms of game viewing. With the usual long rains, the grass grows tall and as is the case always at this time of the year, most animals would move to areas where the grass is shorter. This is mainly for one, to avoid predation and secondly look for more nutritious shoots.

Lion sighting has been very good, especially with the arrival of the Pump-house pride into our game viewing areas, between the camps and the Mara River. This pride consisting of females, their young and two male, totals sixteen in number. Usually they are found around Maternity area south of Rhino Ridge, but over last month, their territory has extended to encompass the area just south of the Talek river, all the way south of Mara Intrepids/Explorer. So expansive is their territory now that they have displaced the Olkiombo pride, which usually resides along the Talek River east of Mara Intrepids/Explorer. The later have now moved towards Olare-Orok conservancy.

Leopard sightings are very scanty. They have been reported only a handful times over the month. The long grass along the river banks and on the plains makes it quite difficult to spot. You can easily drive past a leopard 2 metres from the road. However Olive is still in her territory now shared with her almost independent daughter, Binti and Ayah.

Cheetah sightings have been very good. Shakira has settled near our camps lately. She is seen regularly hinging on the plains to the east of Mara Explorer. Her three cubs are growing very well. The three brothers are never far from her and have been giving us exciting sightings of great hunts.



Paul Kirui, Chief Safari Guide
Kindly contact: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke for comments or inquiry on the migration and other interesting wildlifel sightings in the Mara, Rift Valley, Samburu and Tsavo West National Park

Wildlife Update, Kenya : 13th February, 2009

Welcome to our New Year Wildlife Update!

Despite the departure of the migrating herds in November last year, game viewing is still good in the Mara. The absence of the normal short rains in December brought on a dry spell that caused most of the animals to remain in the park, where pasture was still available. We started to receive some rain two weeks ago, though these are likely to be short-lived off-season showers.

Large herds of zebra and wildebeest, which form the Loita Migration, came back to the park and settled in the northern part of the reserve. These herds are now concentrated along the northern edge of the reserve, creating a "mini migration" spectacle. Other plains game can be seen in smaller but stable concentrations.

Paradise Plains was one the most attractive places in the Mara this season, with all the general plains game seen in large numbers. However, the large herds in the north started declining after the rains two weeks ago-they were heading back to the Loita Plains where the wildebeest normally calve in February.

At the Great Rift Valley Lodge in Naivasha, our guides reported excellent game viewing at Lake Nakuru Game Park, with regular sightings of rhino, lions, buffalo, leopard and large flocks of flamingo. There was also good birding activity at Lake Naivasha.

To the north, in the Samburu game reserve, there were reports of good sightings of general game, and what we call the "Samburu Five"- the Somali ostrich, gerenuk, Beisa oryx, Grevy's zebra and reticulated giraffe. There were also large herds of elephants that came for a sip or a dip in the Uaso Nyiro river in the heat of day.


Big Cats
Cheetahs:
Cheetahs in the Mara have been seen throughout the beginning of the year, but not without several misfortunes. On 4th of January the Olkiombo pride of lions killed a female and two of her three cubs, near Mara Explorer. The surviving cub then wandered alone vulnerably in the same lion territory, until we rescued it on the 7th of January. The cub was only 3 months old and would have almost certainly died, as it was still dependent on its mother. We took it to the camp where we made it a nice cage and a small playing ground. We are now rearing the cub, which has come to be known by the staff at Mara Intrepids as 'Namunyak', Maasai for "blessed one".

Namunyak has adapted well to the new environment and we hope to release it once it's able to survive in the wild. This may not be soon, though: cheetahs take up to 18 months in their mother's care before they can acquire the hunting and survival skills they need to go out on their own.

Another cheetah with cubs survived a lion attack near Musiara Gate later the same month. We watched in horror as a single lioness went after mother and cubs. Luckily, she lost them somewhere in the croton bushes and the cheetah family escaped.

Lions:
The lion prides in our game viewing areas are still intact and active. This is because food is still available in their territories. The prides in the Mara normally split up when food gets scarce, usually from March, until the arrival of the first migrating herds.

Leopards:
Olive and her cubs, Ayah, Binti and Kali, are still in their usual area along the Talek river next to the Mara Intrepids camp. Lately, however, they have extended their range to the forest between Mara Intrepids and Mara Explorer. The thick forest cover sometimes makes their sighting a bit more difficult, but luckily they don't stay too long before returning to their usual grounds downstream of the camp. These cats have had some very successful hunts in the past month, several of them witnessed by our guests while on game drives.


We will continue to update you with News from the Wild.



Paul Kirui. Chief Safari Guide
Kindly contact: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke for comments or inquiry on the migration and other interesting wildlifel sightings in the Mara, Rift Valley, Samburu and Tsavo West National Park