Atta - Heritage Hotels Big Cat and Migration Updates

Friday, April 25, 2008

Big Cat Update - Maasai Mara, Kenya. April 25th, 2008

The continuing short rains are bringing back life to the Mara. Grass is sprouting all over, and the continued 'low traffic' is allowing the eco-system to replenish. Game is thriving, with mainly the Topi, Impala, water bucks, buffalo, elephants and giraffes resident. The weather is hospitable - warm during the day and a bit chilly at night, but our nightly camp fires and warm-water bottles are provided for your comfort. The plains roll out majestically as far as the eye can see, with only the distant hills to break your view in that inspiring way that only the African savannah can!

Lions
Game viewing has been dull for the last few weeks, ironically due to the onset of rains! Due to the rains, the grass in the Mara plains has grown tall and the animals have moved to areas where it is shorter to avoid predation and secondly look for more nutritious shoots.

Most lion prides are now highly mobile or have extended their territories to cover large ground where there is still prey. Some nomadic males have been seen roaming around trying to establish into other males' territories, with ensuing territorial turf wars between them and the dominant pride males.

Nevertheless, lion sighting would have been very poor were it not for the Olkiombo Pride still seen roaming the area to the east of Mara Intrepid/Explorer. The pride - 2 males, 7 females and 8 cubs - which took over the territory recently continues to stay despite the long absence of food. On the northern side of the reserve, our guests at Siana have enjoyed sightings of the Sekenani Pride just to the west of Sekenani Gate.

Leopard
Leopard sightings have never been better, with seven leopards regularly 'spotted' in our game viewing areas over the past 2 weeks! Bella, our female star is still around her territory where she asserts her presence by her roars at night and the few daily sightings.

A female whose territory is around Mara Intrepid was seen in broad daylight just across the river from tents 1 - 6 two days ago.

Meanwhile our guests at Siana Springs continued to enjoy the sighting of a couple of leopards around Kissinger area. Not natural open-ground hunters, the long grass has confined them up the trees scanning the plains for prey which they sneak up on.

Cheetah
Cheetah sighting has not been good lately owing to the long grass that makes it difficult for them to hunt. Most cheetahs have followed the herds outside the park, but we still get to see two females which got cubs recently, one to the east of Rhino Ridge and the other near the Mara River. In these areas are to be found small herds of gazelles, Impala and Topi, which they hunt during the difficult times.22-04-08%20MAP%20Issue%202.jpg

posted by heritagehotels at 10:33 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Big Cat Update, Maasai Mara and Samburu, Kenya, March 4th 2008

The only way to describe the Mara now is a jungle paradise! The current crisis in the country has been a blessing in disguise, with very few guests visiting the reserve allowing it to rejuvenate to its original wilderness state! Game viewing is also enjoyable owing to the little 'traffic', which is quite unusual in the Mara around this time, and the number of animals present in the reserve.

The short rains across the Mara plains recently have now left a carpet of lush green grass across the plains. At the onset of the rains, most of the remaining herds of wildebeest started migrating back to their usual calving grounds, leaving some of the Loita herds breeding in the Mara, which is quite unusual. The Mara predators have grabbed this opportunity to feed their young who would have otherwise been starving had all the migratory herds left as usual.

Lions:
All the lion pride prides in our game viewing territory are still around and actively hunting the resident herbivores. For the better part of the last month, the Ridge Pride has settled along Olare-Orok River, moving northeast to Double-Crossing area and back to Mara Intrepids' Olkiombo airstrip. However, they are split up, with one group found towards the Mara River and the other favouring the area near Mara Intrepids.

The Olkiombo Pride still roams along the Talek river. Two females from this pride have month old cubs. The two nomadic males from the Ridge Pride, Sala and Cheza have been spotted trying to take over this pride earlier in the month. This promises to be an interesting lion soap drama in the coming weeks!

Shonko Pride - with the two black maned lions - are still at Ol-Keju Rongai, from where they hunt the resident animals, mainly Topi, Impala and buffalo. Bringing down any of this requires cunning strategies since they stay in groups and are always on the look out, which the Shonko Pride has perfected. There are no small cubs in this pride currently, though some females are expecting.

Up north in the Samburu National Reserve, lion sighting is now almost guaranteed since the resident pride has stationed itself along the banks of the Uaso Nyiro River, where the animals would come for a drink in the heat of the day.

Cheetah:
Cheetah sighting has likewise been superb.

In the Mara a few individual cheetahs kept our guests enthralled by their sightings and hunting activities. The three brothers continue to roam around Rhino Ridge down to Burrungat Plains, where their hunting strategies leave everyone - guests and naturalists alike - stunned by their agility and determination. They have been hunting animals previously believed to be least on the Cheetahs menu, from adult Topi, wildebeest and Impala! What we are witness to is a remarkable change in animalistic behaviour, and we are proud to share it with our guests.

Our guest in Samburu have also been treated to cheetah kills, and we hope this will keep up in the coming weeks.

Leopards:
Leopard sightings have never been better. There are seven leopards around our game viewing area that we can now almost guarantee a sighting on every drive. Bella was seen two days ago at the junction of the Talek and Olare-Orok Rivers. She has lately extended her territory to Olkeju-Rongai where there is another young female with her mother in the same area.

Olive and her two cubs can be found between Mara Intrepids and the junction of the Talek and Olare-Orok. The cubs are now starting to relax in the presence of vehicles.
Guests have also been treated to regular encounters with two other leopards towards the Mara river, a young female and an adult male.

Leopard sighting at Samburu Intrepids is also almost guaranteed daily. The leopards here are not as shy as their Mara cousins, and live mainly along the river, where most animals are also found.

Watch this space for more breaking news from the world’s favourite felines!

PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR THE BEST WILDLIFE DESTINATIONS

posted by heritagehotels at 8:43 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Migration Update, Maasai Mara, November 6th 2007

After another lively migration season, the majority of the wildebeest herds have finally left the Mara for the Serengeti. After a busy week at the Paradise crossing point, only a few isolated herds are still 'residing' on the Kenyan side of the border - principally in the Musiara area and the area outside the park to the north. But by next week, these last few herds should also have joined their brethren back in Tanzania.

Looking around the now barren Mara plains, it's easy to understand why most of the wildebeest have left. The combination of a dry spell and overgrazing has played a key role in the continuous southern movement of the herds over the past three weeks. The wildebeest will now be away until June-July next year, when they will be drawn back north by the Mara's rich pastures, transformed into a sea of grass after the long rains of April-May.

From now on, the Mara's predators will have to devise smarter methods of hunting for those grazers that remain in the reserve. At times they will go for longer periods between meals - another natural 'selection process' that will help to ensure that only the stronger animals survive.

Predators
The Mara cats have been having their last easy meals before the migration moves south. Many skeletons still lie across the plains as evidence of the big feasts enjoyed in the last 'season of plenty'. From now on, the lion prides will have to become increasingly mobile in their search for food - particularly those prides with new cubs. Some prides may go to the extent of splitting up to ensure there is more food to go around.

Over the past two weeks, the Ridge Pride has been roaming between the southern base of Rhino Ridge, Mara Intrepids, and the Double Crossing area. They have made some very successful if not easy kills while the wildebeest were all over their territory.

Bella, our female leopard star, is still around and continues to patrol her usual territory along the Talek River. She also took the opportunity when the migration was moving through her territory to capture a few young wildebeest, whose carcasses can still be seen in trees along the river.

Several guests have reported sightings of a cheetah with two cubs between Mara Intrepids and the Paradise Plains. She has been seen catching young gazelle fawns and letting her cubs use them for 'hunting practice'. Cheetah sightings have generally been excellent during this past season.

Wishing you all happy (visual) hunting from Heritage Hotels!

Paul Kirui, Lead Safari Guide, Heritage Hotels.
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posted by heritagehotels at 10:58 AM 0 comments