Olive, The Queen Is No More

Weather: Cloudy, rain with sporadic bursts of sunshine and generally warm during the day.

Some of the river crossings, luggas and swampy areas are unmanageable with two wheel drive vehicles. Only 4x4 vehicles can cross them.

Everything is green with wild flowers in bloom. The plains animals like the topi, Thomson gazelle and warthogs and the predators like lions, hyenas and leopards are beginning to give birth. This is because the plains game has enough rich grass for females to produce milk for the young. For the predators there is enough prey to sustain the families.

   

THE GREAT MIGRATION OF WILDEBEEST AND ZEBRAS

The wildebeest and zebras are back from the west of Mara River after exhausting the ‘Mara Triangle’ plain along Oloololo escarpment’ following the rain and the rejuvenated grassland. They are on the eastern side, from Topi Plain to the border of Kenya and Tanzania. Posse Plain is holding a big concentration where the migrating animals are not in a hurry to cross the border.

For three consecutive days, the animals crossed to the east of Mara River where the river is high, making it hard for the animals to get to safe exit points. Many have been washed downstream and trapped in cliffs and steep walls while others have been caught in stampedes created by wildebeest and zebra toppling over each other.

The crocodiles are relaxed and attack at leisure or wait for those who have been overpowered by the strong river current.

     

  

          

PREDATOR SIGHTINGS

Predator sighting is great around Olkiombo by Mara Intrepids Camp.

LIONS

The Olkeju Ronkai pride and Olkiombo pride are the highlight of lion sighting in the Mara because of the young cubs. Notch and his bully boys are there to protect their offspring and territory. The rest of the prides are scattered.

     

LEOPARDS

Olive sadly was found dead three hundred meters from the river bridge at Mara Intrepids Camp with deep bites on the back of her head. We don’t know if this resulted from a fight with a lion bite or another intruding leopard. Bahati and Saba will be our future stars around Mara Intrepids Camp.

Pic courtesy Paul Kirui ©

Lerai is with her three-month-old cub who is very calm and friendly.  

Lorien is in the south along Olkeju Ronkai. To the west of the pump house is the female with her two cubs aged four months.

Olive. Video courtesy Gurgeet Chana

 CHEETAHS

Solitary cheetahs are common at the moment except Narasha (or Alama) who has not separated from her cubs.

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 by John Parmsau. Pictures by John Parmasau & Paul Kirui. Video by Gurgeet Chana.  ©Heritage Hotels Ltd, Kenya. http://www.heritage-eastafrica.com/

On A Night Game Drive - Giraffe Crossing

The highlight of the night game drive is to see nocturnal animals that you wouldn’t see during the day such as the aardvark, the hares, the owls and others.

On a recent night game drive, not far from the camp we spotted a female wild cat with two kittens. She was training them on how to kill a mouse.

Besides the nocturnal animals, it’s always exciting to come across the regular big game like the elephants. We saw a herd of them including Masai giraffe trying to cross the stream. It took more than ten minutes for the giraffe to get across giving guests ample time to photograph them. 

Heritage Hotels (Kenya) manages one luxury camp on the western edge of Tsavo West National Park - Voyager Ziwani Camp. Located on a private sanctuary on the western edge of Tsavo, the camp sits on a secluded dam on the Sante River – home to turtles, crocodiles and hundreds of basking hippos.   Reports and pictures by Stephen "Chameleon" Lekatoo, Voyager Ziwani Camp ©Heritage Hotels Ltd, Kenya. http://www.heritage-eastafrica.com/

Fun Facts: Elephants in Samburu

Did you know...

• That in Samburu we have 66 families of Elephants, which make a total number of 750 residents’ elephants?
• During rainy seasons, the number can exceed up to 1200 individuals.
• Young baby elephants are weaned in their first year. The calf depends on the mother for three to five years

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• A new-born elephant at birth weighs 77-113 kg. But they weigh only 4% of an adult female's weight and only 2% of an adult male’s and may consume 11.4 litres of milk a day.
• They have good memories and their brain is 30-40% the size of an adult. Mothers allocate care and interact differently depending on the baby's sex.
• The young calves are tended not only by their mothers, but also by other females of the herd. 

There are many eyewitness accounts of the females in the herd gathering around to welcome the new-born.  Within minutes of the birth, the mother and other females trumpet, rumble and scream, oozing temporal secretions down the side of their faces.  During these initial minutes the mother also attempts to help the new-born rise to its feet. This is a matter of survival since the new-born must stand to drink its mother's milk. Without this necessary food, the calf is sure to perish.

Watch Samburu animals and elephant numbers in the video below.

Steven Tilas, Resident Naturalist, Samburu Intrepids Camp ©Heritage Hotels Ltd

The Mara Comes Alive

Weather update:

Clear mornings - 17^ºC with cold breeze

Afternoons - 27^ºC

Evenings - clouds build-up in course of the day with showers of rain on the peripheries of the reserve.

Driving And Terrain:

Tough for two-wheel drive vehicles because it is wet.

Ravines and river crossings are only manageable with 4x4. 

THE GREAT MIGRATION OF WILDEBEEST AND ZEBRAS

Following rain and green pastures, the migration continues. The crossing from Mara Triangle in the west of Mara reserve to the east is on since last week. The crossings are best seen in the early hours of the morning.

The crocodiles here are not as active as those at Paradise Crossing. Hence there are few casualties recorded in these particular crossing points.

There are new shoots sprouting around Mara bridge through to the Meta, Central, Posse up to Olkiombo plains. The lush, fresh grass triggers the migration faster, and the plains are covered with herds of wildebeest and zebra creating beautiful patterns of black and white. The wildebeest – clowns of the plains - are still busy mating and fighting over mating rights. The zebras are yakking, chasing each other and kicking the air with their back legs aiming at the opponent chin’s as they too are fighting for mating rights.

For those who are eager to see the great migration, now is the time.

PREDATORS’ SIGHTINGS

Predators’ sightings is the best ever recorded around Olkiombo plain, especially of the leopards and the cheetahs. During every game drive, leopard sightings are recorded and more than one cheetah seen.

LIONS

There are new born cubs in all the prides around Olkiombo.

Marsh pride has three cubs aged three months old.

Ridge pride has two.

Paradise pride has two.

Olkeju-ronkai pride female has four.

The rest of the prides have not yet brought out their young from cover.

Mating:

Mating continues. Two females in the Marsh pride are in estrous.

Ridge pride has three females in estrous.

Notch and one of his son’s is at Hammerkop lugga with the Olkiombo pride with ten cubs.

The other three sons are with Olkeju-ronkai pride at Shonko crossing. The Ridge pride and Paradise pride have been taken over by Notch’s three other sons.

LEOPARDS

Bahati was west of Olkiombo airstrip hunting impalas.

Olive was not far from her daughter Bahati, also trying to hunt impalas.

Lerai lost her cubs to the hyenas.

CHEETAHS

Malaika and her son are at Hammerkop lugga.

Amani’s cubs are still together. The three are at Posse plain trying to hunt wildebeest calves. They are still not experienced hunters. 




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 by John Parmsau. Pictures by John Parmasau &  Edwin Mirara  ©Heritage Hotels Ltd, Kenya. http://www.heritage-eastafrica.com/