Kenya Wildlife Update

Despite the departure of the migrating herds in November last year, game viewing is still good in the Maasai Mara. That’s thanks in part to the fact that the normal short rains due in  December  weren’t as great as usual, bringing  on a dry spell that caused most of the animals to remain in the park.

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. Other migratory plains animals can still be seen in smaller but stable herds.  Those large herds in the north are now heading back to the Loita Plains where the wildebeest normally calve in February.

To the north, in the Samburu game reserve, there are reports of good sightings of  Somali ostrich, gerenuk, Beisa Oryx, Grevy’s zebra and reticulated giraffe as well as large herds of elephant.    Cheetahs in the Mara have been seen regularly since the beginning of the year, while the lion prides are still largely 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.