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

Wildlife Update, Kenya 24th November 2008

Overview:
With the exit of the wildebeests from the Mara, we shall keep you abreast of with how the Big Cats in the Mara cope through the lean period till the herbivores return next year. Our updates will also focus on the cats and other interesting sightings across our units as reported from our field staff.

We have had two weeks of life-bringing rain in the Mara from the beginning of the month, which is quickly grassing the plains with a fresh carpet of lush green shoots. The herbivores are now congregating into small herds in areas that are dryer, normally for two reasons: to avoid fungal infection in their hooves and maximize their vigilance of the predators.

There were active river crossings at paradise at the beginning of the month just before the rains, with many zebra from the Loita migration were crossing from the Mara triangle heading east to the Loita plains. Almost all the migrating herds have now left the Mara. There are only a handful of zebra and wildebeest from the Loita herds still on the edge of the park to the east.

Big Cats:
The Mara big cats are now adjusting to the sudden decrease in the food supply following the departure of the migrating herds. They will now have to go for long periods without food., which is normal for them, except that the wildebeests left very abruptly this year, giving them little time to adapt.

All our lion prides - Marsh, Ridge and Olkiombo - are still holding their territories, even though they are now becoming more mobile as they look for food. Hunting at this time requires energy and well executed hunting strategies since the remnant animals are few and much more vigilant, and the plains are yet to be fully grassed.

Shakira, our female cheetah star has now moved to the area near Mara Intrepids where she has been for the last one month. This place has proved convenient for her to bring up the cubs as she has little harassment from hyaenas when she makes a kill. She has been making kills here regularly and the cubs are doing well.

Olive, the female leopard and her cubs Ayah, Binti and Kali are still in their usual area at the confluence of the Talek and Olare-Orok Rivers. Binti keeps more to herself, while the others stay together.

Bella is now better in health than in October when she was frail and sickly. She come to Mara Explorer on 12th November and stayed for two hours from 7.00 am in front of the restaurant, drinking and even trying to hunt some of the resident waterbucks. Ironically, this was unfolding when our guests were out on an early game drive - looking for leopards! The only two guests present, Stephen and Heather from England, who did not go the drive enjoyed the sighting all to themselves! This was a nice send off for them as they were leaving that morning.

Paul Kirui. Chief Safari Guide
Kindly contact: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke for comments or inquiry on the migration and other animal sightings in the Mara
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News from Maasai Mara, Kenya October 29th 2008

The final herds of migrant herbivores are now exiting the Mara. The short rains that washed the plains over the last couple of weeks have just stopped, and it is drying up fast.

The herds can now be distinguished between the Loita from the Serengeti ones from the direction of their final exit. The Loita herds are heading east, while the Serengeti bound herds are heading south. There is still a concentration south of the Mara Triangle, south towards the Mara Bridge, and along the Mara-Serengeti border around the salt lick area. There is a high concentration of zebra around Paradise crossing point that is coming from the Mara Triangle heading east across the Mara river. All the herds seen between Talek and Sekenani Gates are heading east, meaning these are the Loita groups. There are also small herds between Talek and Sand Rivers all heading south into northern Serengeti.

The departure of the wildebeest from the Mara this month is normal, albeit a little earlier than usual. They will be away till June-July next year, when they will come back again to new pastures. After the long rains of April-May, the Mara plains will be transformed into a sea of grass just before the arrival of these natural mowers, and then once again it will be another season of plenty for all, herbivores and predators alike.

From now onwards the Mara predators will have to devise smarter methods of hunting for the elusive resident animals. At times they may have to go for longer periods between meals, but they easily adapt to this though the weak ones may never make it to the next season. This is a natural selection at its best!

Big Cats Update:
The Mara cats are having their last easy meals before the last of the herds leaves. Many skeletons still lie across the plains as an evident of a big feast that was in the last season. Lion prides will be highly mobile in search for food especially the ones with cubs. This is also the time when the larger herds will split due to competition for the few available resources.

The Olkiombo pride was seen regularly over the past two weeks along the Talek River east of Mara Explorer. We are going to follow them keenly to watch how they adapt to the lean period, especially considering the pride is quite large with about six cubs that require regular meals.

Olive, our female leopard star is still at the junction of the Talek and Olare-Orok Rivers with her cubs Kali and Ayah. Binti, her older sub-adult daughter, is seen regularly near the same location hunting and keeping to her own.

Shakira, the female cheetah has now settled near Mara Intrepids with her three cubs, who have survived many dangers from lions and hyaenas. The present location is safer since there are fewer hyaenas that would normally pose a threat to the cubs and also steal her kills. The three brothers (Honey’s cubs) are also in the same area and were seen yesterday killing a full grown wildebeest.

This is the last issue of the Wildebeest Migration. We hope it has been enthralling to you as it has been for us. All pictures featured were of the actual characters taken by Paul Kirui. We look forward to keeping you informed on how the Big Cats cope with the this exit, and more importantly, other interesting sightings of all the other wildlife within the Mara Reserve, Samburu National Reserve, Tsavo West and Naivasha in the Rift Valley.

Paul Kirui, Chief Safari Guide
Kindly contact: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke for comments or inquiry on the migration and other animal sightings in the Mara

News from Maasai Mara, Kenya October 15th 2008

The past week has seen the wildebeests slowly exiting from the Mara and heading back to northern Serengeti. Most of the plains are now empty with only a handful of herds in isolated pockets in the reserve.

The nourished herds have left plains are bare of grass in their wake. A change in the rain patterns in the region has been a factor that contributed to the endless mass movement across the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. Overstaying in a place results in exhausting of the grass and hence a migration into new areas becomes necessary.

Many animals crossed the river at Paradise crossing point over to the Mara conservancy. From here the herds head towards the border around Engoikwateet salt lick. The herds on the eastern side of the river have split up, taking two directions. The Serengeti ones are heading south, while the Loita ones have taken the usual eastbound route - both going to their calving grounds.

There were other crossings at the lower Mara Bridge over the past week. However, these were not as spectacular as it was earlier, since they only involved a handful of animals each time. This is expected to continue in the next couple of weeks before the herds finally leave the Mara. This exodus has come a little earlier than expected, but Mother Nature works in her own unique way, and we just take a comfortable front-row seat to appreciate her marvels!

Big Cats Update:
The Big Cats have started preparing for the imminent departure of the herbivores, as they face another difficult period of food scarcity. The past week was full of predatory activities as these super predators took the last chance of the season of plenty to feed. They will now have to survive on whatever is available and adapt to the tough hunting strategies if they have to live till the next season of plenty.

Olive, our female leopard star who featured over the week on BBC Big Cat Live was always around Mara Intrepids over the whole filming period (www.bbc.co.uk/bigcat/animals/leopards/index.shtml) . On some of the days, she and her cubs were just barely a hundred metres from the tents next to the river, where they have been seen every day for the last three weeks. Currently this location is a popular landmark for many driver guides in the Mara looking for leopards, with some traveling up to 90 kilometres just to get here.

Lion prides were also quite active over the past week. Our guests and guides witnessed three cubs escape death from some marauding males that found them east of Mara Explorer along the Talek River. Other lions in our game viewing locations treated our guests to plenty of shows with hunts and their social interactions.

Our cheetahs were seen over the past week. However, there was an unfortunate incident where one cheetah female, Shakira, lost two cubs to hyaenas.

Paul Kirui, Chief Safari Guide
Kindly contact: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke for comments or inquiry on the migration and other animal sightings in the Mara

News from Maasai Mara, Kenya October 4th 2008

Just as our guides had reported last week, the herds have now started streaming back into northern Serengeti. The concentration of animals on the Central plains decreased remarkably in the last few days. River crossings have reduced as the herds now concentrate on feeding, but even with a few animals, it still is interesting for first timers.

The second exodus of the migration could mark the end of their stay in the Mara, albeit a little earlier than usual. Most years the final exit is in November. It is not known if these animals will return for a third time, but there are still a few animals on Paradise plains and scanty concentration in various areas

There have been sporadic showers across the plains in last few days. If this continues, then all the overgrazed areas will soon be teeming with new and lush shoots of grass. This in return will also bring forth flowers mainly, cycnium tubulosum (tissue paper flowers), scadoxus mulitflora (fire ball lilies) and crinum macowani (pyjama lilies). This ushers in the season of regeneration, when the plains are carpeted with flowers as far as the eye can see. It is also the best time for birders since the migratory birds from the northern hemisphere are usually resident in the Mara at this time for a period of about four weeks.

Big Cat Update:
Predation activities by the big cats hunts were reported throughout the past week. Most of the prides have to hunt to feed their young. All the lion prides in our game viewing areas have now settled in their usual territories. With food in plenty, they are expected to maintain their territorial space until the migration ends.

The deaths of many cheetah cubs from being trampled by buffalo have not affected the survivors. Our guest at Mara Explorer and Intrepids witnessed a lot of hunting activities over the past week, with varying degrees of success. With young cubs, which are now learning hunting skills, the mothers have to be busy. A female cheetah normally catches gazelle fawns and brings it to the cubs to play with as they hone their hunting skills. Many gazelles, especially Thomson’s, are giving birth this month, and this will provide a good training opportunity to the cheetah cubs.

Leopards were also seen throughout the week. Our main characters, Olive, Ayah, Binti and Kali were seen regularly near Mara Intrepids camp. In fact some days they were just 50 metres from tent 29 & 30 when the BBC Big Cat Live team were filming. This is the location where they were filmed for four consecutive days in the past week. The three were seen walking together most of the time, a rare sight for leopards.

The Big Cat Live program will be on air from the 6th-12th October and will be showing these characters filmed just next to our camp and whom we see regularly.

Paul Kirui, Chief Safari Guide
Kindly contact: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke for comments or inquiry on the migration and other animal sightings in the Mara
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