Holiday Season - Maasai Mara

The weather is great after the recent short rains. It’s clear in the mornings and cool in the afternoons with rain on the peripheries of the Mara.

The grass is green and fresh after the annual world-famous wildebeest migration. The old grass was grazed upon by the migrating wildebeest and zebras from the neighbouring Serengeti in Tanzania.

The lactating herbivorous females are well-fed on the fresh grass and are able to produce a lot of milk for their young ones.  In this season of plenty, the grasslands are dotted with wild flowers in bloom.

       

Updates

The Domestic Migration of Wildebeest and Zebras

The herds of wildebeest and zebras from the Loita Plains (east of the Mara Reserve) form the domestic migration. They have not returned to their calving grounds because there has been no rain in the area.

Therefore we are still enjoying big herds around the Olkiombo Plains. This means that predators like the big cats are in close range of the Mara Intrepids and Mara Explorer camps and our guests are treated to good sightings of the cheetah, leopards and lions.

There is an abundance of other plains game. The elephants have also come out of the bushes after the migrating wildebeest and zebra cropped down the tall grass. The elephants are now gorging themselves on the new shoots.

 

        

 

   

PREDATORS SIGHTINGS

LIONS

Lion sightings are good around Olkiombo Plains. 

All the prides are coming together to strengthen their bonding. Notch and his sons are with the Olkiombo Pride.  The lioness in the pride has two cubs aged three months. One of the cubs has a deformed foreleg but it manages to move around.

The Ridge Pride has also returned to its residential place after hanging around for a month by the Olkiombo airstrip and Notch and his boys refusing to join the pride. However a young male joined the pride from somewhere and was seen mating with the Ridge female on recently. We do not know this male and will keep tabs on him.

The Paradise Pride is doing well with three males who took over from the Notch group without a fight.

   

LEOPARDS

Olive mated with the Ridge male between Olare Orok and the Rhino Ridge three weeks ago. We are expecting the new cubs by the end of February 2013.

Bahati mated one and half months ago near the Fig Tree rock by the junction of Talek and Olare Orok, west of the Mara Intrepids Camp. The cubs are due by January 2013.

Olive and Bahati are still sharing the same territory but Bahati is spending a lot of time west of Mara Intrepids Camp. Olive is still with Saba who is ten months old, patrolling her territory around Smelly Crossing at Olare Orok.

CHEETAH

Cheetah sightings are also good around the Olkiombo Plains.

Malaika is with her cub aged nearly eight months. They are eight kilometers south of Mara Intrepids Camp on the Central Plain where the grass was burned. It now attracts a large population of gazelles browsing on the new shoots.

Alama with her two cubs aged seven months is east of Mara Intrepids Camp between Olare Orok Conservancy and Maasai Mara National Reserve.  

Heritage Hotels (Kenya) manages two luxury camps in the Masai Mara - Mara Explorer and Mara Intrepids - in the confluence of the four game viewing areas of the Masai Mara. The camps are on the banks of the Talek River, with most tents spread along the banks.  Report and pictures by John Parmasau &  Dixon "DC" Chelule, Mara Explorer & Mara Intrepids Camp ©Heritage Hotels Ltd, Kenya.http://www.heritage-eastafrica.com/

  

Egyptian Geese Compete For Nesting Ground

The flock of Egyptian geese at the Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort has been in residence on Caroline Island on the fairway for over five years. For the first time, the flock has successfully hatched nine goslings much to everyone’s delight.

However one of the goslings was killed by the competitors (other geese) who wanted to use the same area for nesting. Eventually the territorial parents managed to win the fight and are raising their goslings on the island and by the water dam.

The Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus) is a large, distinctive, pale-colored water bird which is easily recognized by the conspicuous dark chocolate-brown patch around its eye. The head and neck are pale buff, and there is another dark brown patch around the base of the beak, usually joined to the eye patch by a narrow line.

Picture courtesy Sarah Joos

The Egyptian goose has buff-colored under parts, which become paler on the flanks and belly, and a variable but distinctive chocolate-brown patch on the lower breast. The upper parts usually vary from reddish- to grey-brown, with a black back, rump and tail, while the crown and back of the neck may show dark mottling, sometimes appearing reddish-brown. There is a narrow, dark reddish-brown collar around the base of the long neck. The ends of the wings are black and bear an iridescent green, which is separated from the contrasting white forewings by a narrow black line. The Egyptian goose has pinkish legs and feet, which become redder in the breeding season. The eyes are orange and the beak is pink, with a black tip, black nostrils and black edges.

Picture courtesy Sarah Joos

The female Egyptian goose resembles the male, but is smaller and often has darker markings on the beak. The sexes can also be distinguished by their calls - the male gives a strong but hoarse hissing sound while the female has a harsh, trumpeting quack. Juvenile Egyptian geese are duller in color, with a grey tinge on the forewings, a darker crown and neck, and a yellowish beak and legs. Juveniles also lack the distinctive dark eye and breast patches of the adult.

Report by Daniel Kilonzo, Resident Naturalist at Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort. Pictures by Sarah Joos via Stock.Xchng.

Heritage Hotels (Kenya) manages The Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf resort in Naivasha, just an hour an a half's drive from Nairobi. The lodge is famous for one the longest holes in Kenya - the par 5 -  17th ‘signature’ at 598 metres (654 yards)!
 ©Heritage Hotels Ltd, Kenya.

Eburru Geothermal Power Project In Operation

The Eburru Geothermal Power project close to the Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort is now in operation.

Commenced in 2011, the project is a branch of the famous Olkaria East Geothermal power project. It now supplies five megawatts.

Geothermal energy
It is the natural heat from deep within the earth’s crust stored in rocks and water.

This energy can be extracted by drilling wells to tap steam at depths shallow enough to be economically justifiable. The steam is led through pipes to drive electricity generating turbines.

This technology was pioneered in Italy in 1904.

Kenya is the first African country to tap geothermal power for national development.

Report and pictures by Daniel Kilonzo, Resident Naturalist at Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort

Heritage Hotels (Kenya) manages The Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf resort in Naivasha, just an hour an a half's drive from Nairobi. The lodge is famous for one the longest holes in Kenya - the par 5 -  17th ‘signature’ at 598 metres (654 yards)!
 
©Heritage Hotels Ltd, Kenya.

Eastern Colobus Monkey, Impala & Warthogs At The Lodge

For the first time, a male colobus monkey (Colobus abyssinicus) was seen at the Great Rift Valley Lodge. This is seen as a good sign, for these shy creatures are rare and very selective feeders. Being arboreal, they spend their time in tree tops and feed on leaves.

A lone male was seen at the lodge, feeding on the ipomoea flowers which are now common around the tennis courts and the surrounding bushes.

We hope that he will be joined by the rest of the troop. They are common around Lake Naivasha and the Crater Lake which are seven and eighteen kilometers away respectively.

Fact File

The name “colobus” is derived from the Greek word for “mutilated,” because unlike other monkeys, colobus monkeys do not have thumbs. Their beautiful black fur strongly contrasts with the long white mantle, whiskers and beard around the face and the bushy white tail. The Eastern black-and-white is distinguished by a U-shaped cape of white hair running from the shoulders to lower back, whereas the Angolan black-and-white has white hairs flaring out only at the shoulders.

Habitat

There are three types of colobus monkeys found in Kenya. The Angolan colobus monkey is found at the coastal forests, the Guereza colobus in inland high-country areas. The Red colobus monkeys, the rarest are found in the forests of the Tana Delta.

Behavior

The colobus is arboreal and only rarely descends to the ground. It uses branches as trampolines to leap up to 50 feet across. Their mantle hair and tails are believed to act as a parachute during these long leaps.

Colobus monkeys live in troops of about five to 10 animals—a dominant male, several females and young. Each troop has its own territory which is well defined and defended from other troops. Adult troop members, especially males, make croaking roars that can be heard resonating throughout the forest.

Fighting over mates rarely occurs. There is no distinct breeding season although most mating probably occurs during rainy season. Because a female suckles her infant for over a year, an average of 20 months passes before she gives birth again. Other troop members often handle very young infants. In the first month when the infant still has a pink face, it may be handled three to five times an hour in resting groups. Infant mortality is high even though the young are carefully tended.

The newborn colobus monkey is covered with white fur, and at about 1 month gradually begins to change color, finally gaining the black and white adult coloration at about 3 months. The infant monkey is carried on the mother's abdomen, where it clings to her fur. As it matures it spends a lot of time playing with its mother and certain other adults and at about 7 months begins playing with other juveniles. The games they play exercise their bodies, and as they get older, these develop into wrestling matches and mock displays.

Diet

Colobus monkeys are strictly leaf-eaters and spend most of their time in treetops, preferring to eat the tender young leaves found there. Their complex stomachs enable them to digest mature or toxic foliage that other monkeys cannot.

Predators and Threats

At one time the colobus was hunted excessively for its beautiful fur, leading to its extermination in some areas. Its skin has been used to make costumes, hats and capes. Today, the greatest threat to it is the loss of habitat as forests are cut down.

Did You Know?

• The name colobus derives from a word meaning "mutilated one" because unlike other monkeys they do not have thumbs.
• The monkeys communicate with a song-like call, a warning call and a mating call. Local tradition says they are good weather forecasters because they become silent when bad weather is coming. 

 Resident Impala and Warthogs

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The new bush dinner area is called Volans after the flying fish. It is named after a constellation. It can be seen from the Lodge during the star gazing sessions but its visibility depends on the time of the year.

In addition, there are now twelve resident impalas and three warthogs living on the grounds of the Lodge, happy with all the grass they have around them to feed on.

A nature walk at the lodge has become one of the most interesting activities.

Report by Daniel Kilonzo, Resident Naturalist at Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort. Pictures, File.
 
Heritage Hotels (Kenya) manages The Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf resort in Naivasha, just an hour an a half's drive from Nairobi. The lodge is famous for one the longest holes in Kenya - the par 5 -  17th ‘signature’ at 598 metres (654 yards)!
 ©Heritage Hotels Ltd, Kenya.
 

Life Thrives In the Mara

It’s cloudy in the Mara, a sign that the short rains are due. The temperatures for are cool in the early and late day. The grass has changed from brown to green after a recent spell of rains.

As usual, during the migration it does rain a few days during which the topis, warthogs and Thomson gazelles drop their young ones. It’s a good time for them to do so for the grass has been cropped down by the wildebeest and zebra making it easy for the antelopes to scan the horizon and take their young ones to safety in case of predators. The new shoots also provide healthy grass for lactating females to produce milk for the young.

    

 THE GREAT MIGRATION OF THE WILDEBEEST AND ZEBRAS

The Loita migration (Kenyan one) of the wildebeest and zebras is on and the animals are everywhere. Large groups are congregating at Olkiombo Plain, Topi Plain and Paradise Crossing close to the Mara Intrepids Camp.

The Loita Plain is still dry and hence the grazers are reluctant to go back to their home ground, which is favorable for calving mothers in the month of February when the grass is short and safe for the hapless calving females.

The ranting season is over and the wildebeest females are expectant. There’s no more chasing and fighting by the males for mating rights.

The crossings are taking place at Paradise Crossing with the wildebeest moving west to the Mara Triangle.

All the grazers are enjoying the lush grass and fresh water in the natural water pools. In two months the zebras will begin to drop their foals after the topis, warthogs and Thomson gazelles have had their turn.   

   

 

   

PREDATOR SIGHTINGS

LIONS

It was one of the best sightings recorded close to Mara Intrepids Camp at Smelly Crossing.

The wildebeest were crossing Olare Orok River to the Rhino Ridge, when a lioness came out of the bush and got a wildebeest in the middle of the dry river bed. While a struggle ensued, a troop of baboons alerted Olive the leopard from her hideout and chased her towards the lioness with a wildebeest kill. The lioness dropped the kill and chased Olive away.

The Ridge Pride has settled between Talek and Olare Orok River waiting for the wildebeest to cross to Rhino Ridge.

The Notch group of five males is now mating with the Olkiombo lionesses east of the Mara Explorer Camp. A lioness from this pride has two cubs aged three months. Notch will still stay with them until they are old enough to look after themselves. Notch loves cubs and has always been a good father. The Marsh Pride has 11cubs and the Paradise Pride has two.     

LEOPARDS

Olive and Saba are patrolling between Talek and the Olare Orok River, close to Mara Intrepids Camp.

Bahati is independent on the side of food, but still shares the hunting grounds with her mother. She has started spraying on the bushes, a sign that she’s ready for a mate.

CHEETAHS

Cheetah sightings have been good around Mara Intrepids Camp, with Alama and her two cubs aged three months seen between Intiakitiak and Olare Orok River.

Malaika went south of Mara Intrepids Camp and joined another cheetah with four cubs aged five months.