A VISIT TO MAASAI MARA

WESTERN SIDE OF THE GAME RESERVE

We then moved to the western side where we encountered a herd of buffalos who were feeding on the drying grass. They resembled big herds of cattle, but above their heads, their big horns made a difference of an incomplete circle.

They looked fierce and brutal. Nevertheless, some daring birds were seen perched over their bodies picking ticks from their skin. All the pupils remained silent in fear. I was personally frightened, making my heart skip a mighty beat. It pounded like millet in a mortar as i heaved a sigh of relief.

“The Cape buffalo or African Buffalo as it’s also known, is one of the most dangerous animals in East Africa,” said the tour guide. Lone males in particular can be aggressive, unpredictably and they weigh approximately eight hundred kilograms. They are a dangerous combination.

Female buffalos protecting their young ones are also extremely aggressive. In the Mara, buffalos are generally found in herds of approximately one hundred individuals or more. "They are mostly found near water sources, especially during the dry season,” he added.

“In addition to the 'Big Five',” he continued, “the Maasai Mara is home to a wide variety of other species of wild animals." The group of wild animals known as the 'Big Nine' is made up of the Big Five plus the giraffe, cheetah, hippo and zebra.

Chances are good that you'll spot most of them when on a safari truck in the Maasai Mara. As you can see beyond the herd of those buffalos, are the protruding heads of giraffes above the shrubs. "Driver, kindly take us there,” he said.

As we approached the giraffes, they stopped feeding on the shrubs and stood still. They were tall and looked pleasant with a yellow colour full of continuous black spots. Their young ones were happily breastfeeding. One of the amazing facts about them is that they are five-horned animals, two short ones and three trimmed-like horns.

“The Maasai giraffe is the tallest of all land animals, having an extraordinary vision,” said the tour guide. The giraffe is known for its graceful movements and for being very picturesque. At top speed, the giraffe can run up to fifty to sixty kilometers per hour. Kenya is home to different giraffe subspecies.

In Northern Kenya you'll see the reticulated or Somali giraffe. Particularly rare is Rothschild's giraffe, about which there is an ongoing open discussion about whether it concerns an actual subspecies.

In Southern Kenya, you'll come across Maasai giraffes. Maasai giraffes are different from reticulated giraffes in that they have jagged spots on their bodies, instead of polygonal liver-coloured spots.

An approximation of thirty-three thousand Masai giraffes live in this region and most of them live in small groups. Roughly, sixteen to twenty hours of their day is spent on feeding.

What is their favorite snack? Acacia tree leaves. Their long tongues and lips craftily avoid the Acacia tree thorns to snack on the tree’s leaves. As long as they have fresh vegetation, they can go without water for weeks.

Typically, the males feed from the top branches of the Acacia trees and the females feed from the bottom branches. Their greatest enemies are hyenas, lions and poachers. "Their greatest defense is their ability to flee at high speed and, if necessary, they pack a mean and powerful kick,” he explained.

Instantaneously, they were scattered by a group of cheetahs. The cheetahs aimed at one nearby fat warthog which ran like lightening to save itself from death that was knocking on her door.

After a short distance, one of them rushed on its back and firmly grasped her neck. It gutturally shouted for help, but the giraffes watched from a far distance as she slowly kicked the sack and settled on the ground.

“One of the most iconic animals in the Maasai Mara is the cheetah,” said the tour guide. It hunts out in the open in groups of up to five cheetahs. These big cats have flexible spines that can flex and straighten. This, in combination with their powerful hind legs, allows them to achieve incredible speeds of up to one hundred and ten kilometers per hour.

In just three strides, they can accelerate from zero to sixty-four kilometers per hour. Their seemingly long tails are used as rudders, enabling them to make sharp turns when chasing their prey.

Although they are at times confused with leopards, the cheetah is in fact slimmer and has a longer body frame. Its face is also smaller and rounder than that of a leopard. Female cheetahs always live silently; male cheetahs, however, do not.

The females only interact with adult male cheetahs in order to breed, but raise their cubs on their own. When the cubs are eighteen months old, the mother leaves them to feed on their own. The sibling cubs generally stay together in a pack for approximately six months.

At around the two-year mark, the female siblings leave the group to live solitary lives. In contrast, the male siblings stick together for life, forming a coalition. Each coalition consists of two to three siblings and is a very tight-knit group.

Cheetahs hunt in the early morning and late afternoon and generally prey on small antelopes. They also enjoy hunting kudu, warthog, hartebeest, Oryx and Sable.

They are also known to feed on game birds and rabbits. Unfortunately, the cheetah is now classified as one of the critically endangered species due to the sharp decline in their numbers over the years. It is believed that there are only ten thousand to twelve thousand cheetahs left living in the wild,” he further explained.

Far in the northern area, near the curve of the Mara River, we could see a few hippos. Some were seen basking in the sun while others were grazing on the green pastures along the Mara River. They all looked huge and fatty.

As we drew closer, one male hippo yawned, opening its mouth wide enough to almost one hundred and eighty degrees. A bad odor from its mouth reeked through our noses, leaving everyone’s palms fully closed.

“The hippo is the third-largest land animal,” said the tour guide. On average, an adult male weighs nearly one thousand and five hundred kilograms on average. You’ll come across hippos in rivers, swamps and along lake shores.

The hippos mostly spend their days keeping cool in water and mud. At dusk, they sneak from the water to graze on grass. There are large numbers of hippos in the Maasai Mara National Reserve.

Male hippos, or bulls, rule over a particular stretch of river and generally have five to thirty female hippos and their young to watch over. The hippo is one of the most aggressive animals in the world and therefore one of the most dangerous animals in Africa.

"Approximately, a record of one hundred and twenty-five thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand hippos live throughout Sub-Saharan Africa,” he explained.

All of a sudden, a herd of zebra was seen descending towards the Mara River to quench their thirst. On reaching the river bank, they were disrupted by monkeys, but since the herd was big, the monkeys gave way.

The sun shone brilliantly and the water in the river glittered invitingly. The zebras looked healthy and energetic. They resembled donkeys, unlike their white and black stripes. They seemed friendly and peaceful.

As some entered the river to drink water, others were left on the banks watching in case of invasion by enemies. In a moment, one zebra spotted a predator and, signaling to the rest of the herd, brayed wildly. Without hesitation, they all moved outside the water and attentively stood along the river bank.

“The Maasai Mara is home to large herds of plain zebras,” he began. This type of zebra is slightly smaller than the Gravy’s zebra, yet larger than the mountain one. Its stripes are broader than those of the other types of zebras.

Plain zebras live in treeless grasslands and savanna woodlands and can be found in either tropical or temperate climates. These zebras are played on by spotted hyenas, lions, crocodiles, cheetahs and African wild dogs.

The plains zebras are a very social species. They form harems consisting of one single male stallion, several female mare zebras and their young ones. Apart from these family groups, there are also bachelor male zebra groups.