Atractivos

Masái Mara (o Massai Mara o Maasai Mara) es una reserva natural nacional situada al sudoeste de Kenia en la región del Serengueti, y es en realidad una continuación del parque nacional del Serengueti. Se llama así porque la tribu masái, habita dicha zona, y por el río Mara que lo cruza. Es famoso por su fauna excepcional.

Características

Ocupa un área de 1.510 km² en la zona del Gran Valle del Rift. Su superficie se redujo de 1672 km² que tenía en 1984.1 Comprende tres secciones: el Triángulo de Mara, Musiara (donde está el Pantano de Musiara), y Sekenani.2

La mayor parte del territorio es sabana salpicada por las distintivas acacias. La fauna tiende a concentrarse en la zona occidental del valle, ya que el acceso al agua es más fácil. La frontera oriental del parque dista unos 224 km de Nairobi.

Fauna

El Masái Mara es famoso por su población de leones y por ser el hogar de especies amenazadas tales como el rinoceronte negro, el hipopótamo que se encuentra en los ríos Mara y Talek, y el guepardo, habiéndose reducido notablemente el número de ejemplares de este último. Otro carnívoro que puede ser encontrado en gran número es la hiena manchada.

Sin embargo, el verdadero poblador de este parque es el ñu, como ocurre en el Serengueti, ya que su número es estimado en millones. Todos los años, en el mes de julio, estos animales, igual que las cebras, migran desde las planicies del Serengueti en busca de pastos más frescos y regresan en octubre. Especies de ungulados viven en este parque como la gacela de Thomson y la gacela de Grant o el impala, y se encuentran igualmente manadas de jirafas.

El Masái Mara es también el hogar de más de 450 especies de aves.

Está administrado por el gobierno de Kenia, y tiene unidades contra la caza furtiva, situadas fuera de las zonas frecuentadas por los turistas.

Los principales habitantes de esta comarca son los miembros de la comunidad maasai, un pueblo ancestral que ha mantenido sus costumbres y tradiciones en plena sabana africana.

The Maasai Mara National Reserve (also spelled Masai Mara; known by the locals as The Mara) is a large game reserve in Narok County, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Mara Region, Tanzania. It is named in honor of the Maasai people (the ancestral inhabitants of the area) and their description of the area when looked at from afar: "Mara", which is Maa (Maasai language) for "spotted," an apt description for the circles of trees, scrub, savanna, and cloud shadows that mark the area.

It is globally famous for its exceptional population of lions, leopards and cheetahs, and the annual migration of zebra, Thomson's gazelle, and wildebeest to and from the Serengeti every year from July to October, known as the Great Migration.

The Maasai Mara National Reserve is only a fraction of the Greater Mara Ecosystem, which includes the following Group Ranches: Koiyaki, Lemek, Ol Chorro Oirowua, Olkinyei, Siana, Maji Moto, Naikara, Ol Derkesi, Kerinkani, Oloirien, and Kimintet

Geography

The Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) covers some 1,510 km2 (583 sq mi)[1] in south-western Kenya. It is the northern-most section of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, which covers some 25,000 km2 (9,700 sq mi) in Tanzania and Kenya. It is bounded by the Serengeti Park to the south, the Siria escarpment to the west, and Maasai pastoral ranches to the north, east and west. Rainfall in the ecosystem increases markedly along a southeast–northwest gradient, varies in space and time, and is markedly bimodal. The Sand, Talek River and Mara River are the major rivers draining the reserve. Shrubs and trees fringe most drainage lines and cover hillslopes and hilltops.

The terrain of the reserve is primarily open grassland with seasonal riverlets. In the south-east region are clumps of the distinctive acacia tree. The western border is the Esoit (Siria) Escarpment of the East African Rift, which is a system of rifts some 5,600 km (3,500 mi) long, from Ethiopia's Red Sea through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and into Mozambique. Wildlife tends to be most concentrated here, as the swampy ground means that access to water is always good, while tourist disruption is minimal. The easternmost border is 224 kilometres (139.2 mi) from Nairobi, and hence it is the eastern regions which are most visited by tourists.

Wildlife

Aerial view of a herd of Wildebeest following a few leading zebra in Maasai Mara

Wildebeest, topi, zebra, and Thomson's gazelle migrate into and occupy the Mara reserve, from the Serengeti plains to the south and Loita plains in the pastoral ranches to the north-east, from July to October or later. Herds of all three species are also resident in the reserve.

All members of the "Big Five" (lion, leopard, African elephant, African buffalo, and Black Rhinoceros) are found in the Maasai Mara. The population of Black rhinos was fairly numerous until 1960, but it was severely depleted by poaching in the 1970s and early 1980s, dropping to a low of 15 individuals. Numbers have been slowly increasing, but the population was still only up to an estimated 23 in 1999.[3]

Hippopotami and Nile crocodiles are found in large groups in the Mara and Talek rivers. Leopards, hyenas, cheetahs, jackals, and bat-eared foxes can also be found in the reserve.[4] The plains between the Mara River and the Esoit Siria Escarpment are probably the best area for game viewing, in particular regarding lion and cheetah.

As in the Serengeti, the wildebeest are the dominant inhabitants of the Maasai Mara, and their numbers are estimated in the millions. Around July of each year, these ungainly animals migrate north from the Serengeti plains in search of fresh pasture, and return to the south around October. The Great Migration is one of the most impressive natural events worldwide, involving some 1,300,000 wildebeest, 500,000 Thomson's gazelles, 97,000 Topi, 18,000 elands, and 200,000 zebras. These migrants are followed along their annual, circular route by hungry predators, most notably lions and hyena.[5]

Numerous other antelopes can be found, including Thomson's and Grant's

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