While growing up, I have had interest in the African continent though I know very little about it. I have had very little information about the continent’s growth but plenty of negative and devastating opinions from presenters, scholars and even stories from friends; who according to me after this research, I assume knew very little about the continent and have neither been or researched exhaustively about the continent. Their arguments in most cases, I feel seem shallow and not well versed with the region. With the little knowledge about the continent, I took an attempt to research on either some important facts but my interest was captured by the country Kenya. The country has made huge steps since independence. Due to my interest in travelling, my focus will be on its tourism sector and more specifically the Masai Mara.
Maasai Mara is Africa’s Greatest Wildlife reserve situated in the Kenya’s Southwest region. It is commonly known for its abundance of lion, Maasai people, often known for their distinctive custom and dress and most importantly, the region is known for the Great Wildebeest Migration, named as the “seven Wonders of the World.” From these features and lots of other game animal, Maasai Mara remains Africa’s most famous destination for safari rides and game tours. The region stretches well over 580 square miles and it’s highly raised above 2100m above the sea level. In order to make it to Maasai Mara, one has to travel 270 km west of the country’s capital Nairobi taking approximately 40-45 minutes by flight or 5-6 hours by road. The Maasai Mara holds one of the highest lion densities in the world and this is the arte where two million wildebeest, zebras and gazelles migrate annually. The park holds above 95 species of mammals and over 500 recorded species of birds (Ogutu & Dhulin 2009).
The area is mainly marked with open grassland and seasonal rivers and clusters of acacia tree. The game part also borders nice undulations of Rift Valley escarpments extending close to 4000 m providing a good scenic view of the rift valley from the national park. There is a larger concentration of wildlife in the Maasai Mara due to a larger concentration of swampy grounds thereby providing access to water to the animals. They are near the Rift Valley is highly populated with the animals as there is low disturbance to the animals by the tourists since the rugged terrain along the Rift Valley often does not permit easy ride to the region thereby only allowing for aerial view of the animals as such animals tend to concentrate in this section of the Mara (Mara Reserve 2010).
The Maasai Mara also enjoys seasonal migration of animals from their counterpart in Tanzania, Serengeti national park. Often, Zebras, Wildebeest and gazelles migrate from Tanzania across river Mara to the Mara National park in search of green pastures and water in the Kenyan sides. These animals migrate in big herds and across the river in a long chain that provides a good attraction to the tourist and has become popularly known as the Seven Wonders of the World. In addition to these animals, The Mara also includes the inhabitation of the lions, leopards, elephants and the African buffaloes in addition to the black rhinos. However, the population of these animals especially the black rhino was numerous until the 1970s when illegal poaching starting depleting the population of these animals (Mara Conservancy 2010).
The animals such as the Wildebeest are the dominant inhabitants in the park with numbers estimated as of 2012 to be millions. This is facilitated by the yearly migration of the animals from the north of Tanzania’s Serengeti plains in search of fresh water and pasture. The stay in the Mara national park till around October the great migration starts again back to Serengeti. The great migration as I pointed out is the most impressive natural event worldwide that involves over 1.4 million wildebeest, over 500 000 gazelles, elands, topi and zebras. These migrations are often accompanied by large routes of hungry predators of lions and hyenas (Mara Conservancy 2010)
For the lovers of cute gazelles, numerous gazelles can be found within the park like the impalas, duikers and eland the popularly known as the hartebeests. The park is also inhabited with large roan of antelopes as well as the nocturnal fox that are rarely present elsewhere around the world but in the Kenyans reserve borders. In the park are also distinctive massai giraffes as well as more species of birds that have been identified in various parts of the park with close to 100 species of reptiles (Mara Reserve 2010).
Works Cited
Masai Mara National Reserve (2010). Guide for Africa.
Ogutu, J.O. ; Piepho, H. P. & Dublin, H. T. (2009) “Dysfunctions of Maasai Mara Serengeti ungulates in relation to land use changes “Journal of Zoology.
The Greatest Show on Earth (2010) Mara Conservancy.
