Big Cat Update, Masai Mara, Kenya June 4th 2007

Although the long, rain-swollen grass across the Mara made it difficult to spot game during much of May, our guests have been enjoying more regular sightings of all the Big Cats in recent days. The fairly consistent rain has also made access to several parts of the reserve a big challenge, although all of the main roads and tracks remain usable. Some of the marshier areas, however, are very difficult to negotiate, particularly following the heavy rains of the past week. Heritage will continue to update you regularly on the changing weather conditions across the Mara ecosystem.

Lions
Lion sightings were not good at the beginning of May, but improved significantly towards the end of the month. Most of our lions had split up and were highly mobile, due to the widespread lack of food. However, conditions have improved and the main lion prides have now regrouped. Several zebras have started to move into the reserve from the Loita Plains in recent days - normally a sure sign of the imminent onset of the migration.

The Ridge Pride had relocated to the new Olare Orok Conservancy but is now slowly moving back into its original territory. The Olkiombo Pride had also extended its territory to overlap with that of the Ridge Pride in the north. It was good to see them all in good health a few days ago. Normally, the Mara's lions are close to starving at this time of year, due to a shortage of food following the departure of the larger herbivores.

A group of Intrepids guests witnessed some fierce fighting between the two males of the Shonko Pride and the three males of the Paradise Pride. Despite being outnumbered, the two dominant males would not let the intruders move onto their turf, and - with the help of their females - managed to see them off.

Leopards
Bella, our star leopard, has been seen almost daily over the past two weeks in her new territory between Mara Intrepids and Rekero Camp. Although she appeared to be very thin in early May, the new concentration of plains game in the area has clearly helped to restore her health, and we are now hearing her regularly during the night. Guests also reported seeing Pili with a kill up a tree, while our guides discovered a third female with a seven-month-old cub near the Hippo Pool on the Mara River. Meanwhile, guests at Siana Springs continued to enjoy regular sightings of the Kissinger female and her grown cub, which have moved to the north side of the Sekenani-Talek Road.

Cheetahs
Cheetah sightings were not good at the beginning of May, but also improved markedly towards the end of the month. As well as regular sightings of three male cheetahs in the Maji ya Fisi area, our guests have been treated to several encounters with a female to the northeast of the Intrepids and Explorer camps.

Happy Big Cat hunting from all at Heritage Hotels!05-06-07%20Issue%20Map%203.jpg

Big Cat Update, Masai Mara, Kenya April 23rd 2007

The long rains earlier in the year have converted the Maasai Mara into a sea of grass. Although the length of the grass on the plains can make game-spotting quite a challenge, the extent of wet, marshy areas has forced many animals to move to particular areas of higher ground. Needless to say, our guides' deep local knowledge usually ensures that guests will find most of the animals they have come so far to see!

Lions
Despite the long grass and absence of prey, lion sightings have been very good over the past two weeks. The lions from the Ridge pride have now split up into small groups, with the larger group now on the northern edge of the park bordering the Olare Orok Conservancy. The Olkiombo pride has also split, with two groups roaming on either side of the Talek River east of Mara Explorer. The tendency of prides to split up is a survival technique caused by an absence of larger prey sufficient to feed the whole pride. Our guests at Siana Springs have also been enjoying sightings of a pride at Maji ya Fisi, which have given us some delightful encounters with their eight small cubs.

Leopards
The long grass has forced most of our leopards to take to the taller trees to scan the plains for prey - giving us plentiful opportunities to see them. Bella, our most famous leopard, has lately moved to the area between Rekero and Mara Intrepids on the south side of the Talek River, where there is a lot of game grazing on the relatively short grass. Bella's son, Chui, has not been seen too often, although he has been briefly viewed to the west of Intrepids, downstream from where his mother has settled. Our other female leopard, Pili, has also been seen roaming her territory to the east of Mara Explorer on the north side of the river.

Cheetahs
Cheetah sightings have been intermittent over the past few weeks. Our only regular sightings have been of a female with sub-adult cubs at Maji ya Fisi, which appears to have separated from her cubs about a week ago - leaving the cubs in the same area. We will keep monitoring this family for you over the coming months.

From all at Intrepids and Explorer, happy game-watching!

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Big Cat Update, Masai Mara, Kenya, Tuesday 2nd January 2007

Firstly - and most importantly - a happy new year to you all! Despite the torrential rains that have made much of the Mara impassable during the last three weeks, the three Heritage camps - Mara Intrepids, Mara Explorer and Siana Springs - have all managed to escape relatively unscathed. The swollen waters of the Talek River stopped short of reaching the Intrepids bridge and Explorer's dining deck, and all of our occupied tents remain dry! Needless to say, the sunshine that arrived on Sunday has been a very welcome sight - and promises to let us extend our game-driving territory over the coming days.

Lions
Despite the rains, lion sightings have been very good and several of our guests have enjoyed close-up hunts. The Ridge Pride kept our guests enthralled throughout December, hunting animals that had been stranded between the Talek and Olare Orok rivers by the floods. The Olkiombo Pride stayed further east to avoid confrontations with their main Ridge rivals. The Shonko Pride also continued to give us exciting sightings with their three tiny cubs. Our guests at Siana meanwhile enjoyed the sight of a new pride with eight small cubs at Maji ya Fisi. Full of life, the cubs play continuously and can keep you entertained forever.

Leopards
Bella, our superstar leopard, has been prowling the southern banks of the Talek over the past week, dodging the Olkiombo lions that share her territory. An encounter with these lions a couple of months ago left her with an injured tail. For the past two weeks, we have enjoyed several sightings of her at the Mtamaiyo Lugga, often with kills. Bella's son, Chui, has not been seen regularly over the past two weeks, although Pili, our normally shy female, has been seen several times just east of Mara Explorer - usually feasting on a recent kill in a tree.

Cheetahs
Cheetah sightings have been intermittent this season. One female was seen for about a week near our camps, while a male came through the area but after crossing north over the Olare Orok River was prevented from returning by the floods. The three males we usually see south of the Talek are still around, but the floods have prevented us from reaching their territory in recent days.

Watch this space for more breaking news from the world’s favourite felines!

"Lately there has been no better place to film leopards in the Mara than the area around Mara Intrepids and Explorer. Since we first filmed Bella here in 2003, 90% of our filming of leopards for Big Cat Week has been done within 5km of the same location"
- Nigel Pope, Producer, Big Cat02-01-07%20%20Map%201.jpg

Big Cat Update, Masai Mara, Kenya, Wednesday 6th December 2006

With the long rains finally here, the Mara is already flooded in several places. This has begun to change the animals' behaviour, with the wildebeest returning back to their usual calving grounds in Tanzania. Many wildebeest had their young in the Mara earlier this year, in an unusual occurrence associated with the prolonged drought. Over the past two weeks, the Mara plains have changed radically, from dusty bare earth to a carpet of bright green.

Lions
All of the lion prides in our game-viewing territory are still around and actively hunting. The Ridge Pride has settled near Mara Explorer over the past week, moving between the Double Crossing area and the Intrepids Airstrip. For some time now, they seem to have avoided confrontations with the Olkiombo Pride, which had earlier cost the l ives of one member from each pride. The main cause of these fights was the two Ridge males, which have taken to shifting between the two prides. One of the Olkiombo females now has two small cubs sired by one of these males. The Shonko Pride with the two black-maned males, meanwhile, is still at Ol Keju Rongai. Its three cubs are doing well, although from now on their survival will depend upon the agility of the pride’s females to hunt the resident topi, impala and other plains game.

Cheetahs
Cheetah sightings have been rather poor over the past week, due to the high levels of the local rivers, which have impaired the cats' access. One female cheetah has kept our guests entertained while hunting to the east of our camps. Our main star Kike has, however, not been seen for the past two weeks.

Leopards
Bella was seen two days ago at Kichaka ya Round, along the Talek River, while her son Chui has settled between Mara Intrepids and Rekero camp. Another leopard, a two-year-old female, has been spotted regularly at the seasonal stream just north of Mara Explorer. She had a kill stored up a tree, where she stayed for at least four days last week.

Please visit our website at www.heritage-eastafrica.com for more information on the wild comings and goings around our camps.

"Lately there has been no better place to film leopards in the Mara than the area around Mara Intrepids and Explorer. Since we first filmed Bella here in 2003, 90% of our filming of leopards for Big Cat Week has been done within 5km of the same location"
- Nigel Pope, Producer, Big Cat
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Big Cat Update, Masai Mara, Kenya, Friday 24th November 2006

Lions
Lion sightings have reached a record high around Mara Intrepids and Explorer over the past month. The Ridge Pride, which has settled near our camps, has been giving guests thrilling daily sightings, with its 10 cubs - eight females and two males - regularly out and about. Over the past few weeks, the pride's territory appears to have expanded from around the Maternity Area south of Rhino Ridge towards the Talek River east of our two camps. This has brought them into occasional conflict with the neighbouring Olkiombo Pride, which once roamed freely along the Talek's banks, but now appears to have moved further east. Earlier this month, the two prides had a major confrontation, in which one of the Ridge females sustained serious injuries. The two dominant Ridge males have also been attending to the females from Olkiombo, which lost its dominant males last year. The pair has also seen off a couple of nomadic males that have also been trying to inveigle their way into the Ridge territory. These inter-pride battles are likely to continue for the foreseeable future, until both prides are taken over by new males. Our guests at Siana, meanwhile, continue to be blessed with regular sightings of the Sekenani Pride just to the west of Sekenani Gate.

Leopards
Leopard sightings have also been very good this month, with the unexpected return of the wildebeest providing improved hunting for Bella, Ntito and Kijana in their home ranges along the Talek. Guests at our two camps have been regularly entertained by their distinctive roars during the night. Guests at Siana, meanwhile, have continued to enjoy sightings of an unnamed female and her cub in the Kissinger area, where, due to the absence of larger prey, she has been seen hunting dik-diks and other smaller mammals. This female has also been seen several times in the typical - and very photogenic - 'leopard pose' on a high tree branch, scanning the plains below for potential prey.

Cheetahs
A coalition of three male cheetahs has been hunting on the plains around Mara Intrepids/Explorer in recent weeks, providing fantastic 'tours de force' for our guests. The trio, when locked onto a young wildebeest or topi, shows tremendous persistence in getting their catch. Other cheetahs have also been wandering in and out of our game-viewing area, providing us with welcome sightings. The female cheetah that we spotted with six cubs last month has now headed northeast into the new Olare Orok Conservancy, from where we hear from the guides that all the cubs are still doing well.

Other Predators
Three wild dogs were seen last week on the Aitong Plains - a sign that this rare and enigmatic predator may be making a welcome return to the Mara. We join local conservationists in praying that these members of this highly social and greatly misunderstood species will be allowed to establish themselves in their former stronghold on the Mara plains.


If you have any interesting accounts of wildlife activities in the Maasai 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!


"Lately there has been no better place to film leopards in the Mara than the area around Mara Intrepids and Explorer. Since we first filmed Bella here in 2003, 90% of our filming of leopards for Big Cat Week has been done within 5km of the same location"
- Nigel Pope, Producer, Big Cat

News from the Maasai Mara, Kenya Friday 24th November 2006

With one of the longest wildebeest migrations on record, it’s appropriate that 2006 was the year in which U.S. television giants ABC chose to name the Maasai Mara as one of the seven wonders of the natural world. Now well into the latter half of November, there are still thousands of wildebeest on the central and southern Mara plains, from where they are gradually – if belatedly – making their way back to the Serengeti Reserve.

The drawn-out nature of this year's migration has been largely due to the light rains that fell on the Mara in early November, drawing many of the straggling herds back from the Serengeti. This was most fortuitous for the film crew from ABC's Good Morning America, which chose Heritage's Mara Intrepids Camp from which to watch the migration from November 13th-18th - and from where anchor Kate Snow showed the most "moveable natural wonder of the world" to millions of enthralled viewers.

This week, the few wildebeest herds still in the Mara have settled south of the Mara Triangle and west of Musiara Gate, down to Rhino Ridge and Paradise on the eastern side of the Mara River, where there is still plenty of grass. Over the last few days, the reserve has received several sporadic showers, which should carpet the overgrazed areas with lush new shoots of grass - and perhaps keep the wildebeest here for a few weeks more.

Although river crossings have been reduced to a few small groups of wildebeest over the past week, they are still a sight to behold, particularly for first-time visitors. But what would one expect of the world's most wonderful natural spectacle?


If you have any interesting accounts of wildlife activities in the Maasai 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!


"Lately there has been no better place to film leopards in the Mara than the area around Mara Intrepids and Explorer. Since we first filmed Bella here in 2003, 90% of our filming of leopards for Big Cat Week has been done within 5km of the same location"
- Nigel Pope, Producer, Big Cat Week24-11-06%20Map%2010.jpg

News from the Maasai Mara, Kenya Wednesday 31st October 2006

The wildebeest have made a really dramatic come back. In a confounding marvel of nature, we are now experiencing a similar scenario like last year where we witnessed a 'second migration'! In just a week, herds in the plains south of the Mara have swelled enormously. In a repeat of the July entry, the herds have been split into two groups, one heading north into the Mara Triangle, and the other southwards to the northern Serengeti before crossing the Sand River Gate - back into the Mara. From this reentry, the westbound herds are spread out over Burrungat, the Central and Meta Plains, with some animals already crossing the Mara River near Lookout Hill.

The northwards bound herds are now around Mara Intrepids, while most of the herds 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, and most importantly, attracting these herds back. The crossing points in the north around Paradise Plains are awash with activities, with easy back and forth crossings since most of the rivers almost empty.

Predators
There are still a lot of predation activities in the Mara even in the brief absence of the migrating herds from some areas. The lions had started to adopting lean period hunting tactics, but with the return of the herds, so has the season of plenty. The Ridge Pride has been roaming their territory bar two males who are now serving the females from Olkiombo Pride abandoned by their males. In the gist of events, should other males come into the fold, the progeny of the Olkiombo Pride could be killed in the harsh jungle law of maintaining one's own offspring.

Leopard sightings increased over the past week, with a young waterbuck kill right in front of Mara Explorer in full view of the guests. The same leopard later killed another waterbuck in the same location and proceeded to hoist both kills up the tree. Cheetah sighing has been good as well.


As usual, if you have any interesting accounts of wildlife activities in the Maasai 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!