Get learned about the abundance of wildlife in Masai Mara National Reserve from its animals, birds to its plant life. Aquatic life also exists in this game reserve.
Masai Mara National Reserve is a Kenyan National Reserve located within the Rift Valley province. This large wildlife reserve is a haven for all enthusiast in nature and wildlife ecosystems. It’s abundant in plant life, animals and birdlife all inhabiting its magnificent topography of acacia woodlands and savannah grasslands.
This game reserve sees the habitation of numerous animals, i.e. the carnivores and herbivores, nocturnal animals, and the aquatic species. The park has an impressive count of bird flocks too in its magnificent landscapes. Expect to observe all these beautiful species at your visit to Masai Mara National Reserve.
This well renowned wildlife haven is notably visited by tourists to observe the big five animals in this park plus the great migration. The great migration is one of the most exhilarating activities for tourists to observe wildlife at this park. It’s an exclusive encounter and Masai Mara happens to be one of the fewest game reserves for visitors to witness this animal trek.
What are the big five?
The word big five can simply be understood by tourists as the term for the top five most challenging wildlife species to encounter on foot in game reserves and national parks. These are dangerous wildlife animals that can potentially cause harm to tourists if not well guided and led by experienced personnel and sometimes armed.
The big five are characterized by aggressive behaviors, enormous sizes and sharp senses. This makes these animals unpredictable of what they are capable of showcasing if encountered without a park guide. These fierce species are astoundingly beautiful to look at and their ways of life are amazing indeed.
The big five are basically the African Elephant, the lions, leopards, African Buffalo and the Rhinoceros. These prolific animals are the most iconic pull factors for tourists to visit Masaai Mara National Reserve and generally the rest of African National Parks.
Besides the big five, Masai Mara has more herbivores, more carnivores, extensive flocks of birds and beautiful semi-aquatic species. Take a look at the present animal species in the different classes of wildlife this game reserve inhabits.
Carnivores
Carnivorous animals are wildlife species whose diet primarily consists of flesh. These animals are hunters and for them to get flesh they need to feed on other animals. They are basically predators and hunt down prey to maintain their feeding diets.
Apart from the lions (Panthera Leo) and leopards (Panthera Pardus) in the big five, Masai Mara is also home to Cheetahs, spotted Hyenas, the African Wild dogs, Jackals, caracals, servals and the African Civet. All these wild species are primarily day hunters except the African Civet. The Civet is primarily a nocturnal hunter that feeds on small animals. Expect to encounter all these beautiful nature animals on your visit to the Masai Mara.
Herbivores
Herbivorous animals are nature species that have a feeding diet centered on plants and pastures. They were modeled with digestion processes that are primarily adapted to digesting nutrients from plant life.
Herbivores are ideally the most calm wildlife species to encounter in the Masai Mara in regards to their uncanny character. These species have no major potential harm they can cause to tourists. This is so because of their absent need to hunt on mankind as they are not flesh eating species.
Herbivores in the Masai Mara, besides the African Buffalo and the African Elephant are Wildebeests, Zebras, Giraffes, Impalas, the Grant’s and Thompson’s Gazelles and Antelopes. These magnificent species are sometimes referred to as the prey in the Masai Mara because the big carnivores in the park hunt down these gentle species for their flesh.
Bird species
Masai Mara National Reserve is a renowned habitat by wildlife enthusiasts as a bird haven. This game reserve harbors an extensive array of birds in its acacia woodlands and savannah grasslands amounting to over 300 different species. In its landscapes lies a variety of birds including the endangered birds.
The following are the some of the bird species you should expect to observe at your visit to Masai Mara;
- The African Fish Eagle
- The African Jacana
- The secretary bird
- The grey Crowned Crane
- The Marabou Stork
- The Lilac-breasted Roller
- The Hammerkop
- The Superb Starling
- Ostriches
- The Yellow-billed Oxpecker
- Vultures
- The African Grey Hornbill
Semi-aquatic species
Whereas the Masaai Mara is a famously renowned sanction for on ground wildlife species, it harbors semi-aquatic animals too. These unique species spend their days both in the savannah grasslands of the Masai Mara and in the water logged features of this game reserve.
The prominent semi-aquatics of this game reserve include the Hippos (Hippopotamus amphibious). These hippos are large aquatics that are effortlessly observed on the banks and inside the rivers and water bodies in the Masai Mara. They are quite more of aquatic dwellers and spend large amounts of their time in water than on land.
Besides the Hippos, the other next astounding semi-aquatic dwellers of the Masai Mara are the Nile Crocodiles. They are powerful carnivores that are effortlessly observed basking along the banks of the water bodies in the Masai Mara.
Other semi-aquatic wildlife you ought to encounter at the Masaai Mara include the African Clawless Otter, the Terrapins and the turtles.
In conclusion, Masai Mara National Reserve is an ideal destination a wildlife enthusiast should plan to visit. Be it any time of the year, observation of the abundant wildlife this game reserve has to offer is guaranteed. Book a travel plan with us and await an exquisite encounter to this park. With Your Drive Kenya, we shall pick you up from anywhere you will be, lead you through the various splendid things to do at this game reserve, to your preferred accommodation facility and back to your initial abode or desired Safari end.
We ought to give you the best choice of Safari 4X4 vehicles for your self-drive adventure, and an expert driver for your chauffeured adventure. Pick through our fleet of Land cruiser TX/TZ series, V8/VX series, 70 series and the Toyota Rav4 series. All our cars are guaranteed of an exceptional adventure you ideally plan it to be. Visit our contact us page for bookings and travel plans for you and your associates.