NEW YEAR WILDLIFE UPDATE
Wildlife Update.
Welcome to our New Year wildlife update!
Big Cats:
Cheetahs: Cheetahs in the Mara have been seen through out the beginning of the year. However, there have been a lot of misfortunes on the cheetah front. One female that had three cubs near Mara Explorer was killed by Olkiombo pride of lions together with two of the cubs on 4th January. The surviving cub then wandered alone vulnerably in the same lion territory until we rescued it on the 7th of January. The cub only 3 months old could have just died as it was still dependent on the mother. We took the cub to the camp where we made it a nice cage a small playing ground. We are now rearing the cub which has come to be known by the staff at Mara Intrepids as ‘Namunyak’ in Maasai meaning a blessed one. It has adapted well to the new environment and we hope to release it once we believe is able to survive in the wild. This may not be soon since cheetahs take long before going on their own. They take upto 18 months being with mother as they acquire hunting and survival skills before they go on their own.
The other cheetahs continue to be seen but it seems it has not been a good season for the cheetah with cubs. One other cheetah with cubs survived a lion attack near Musiara gate later in the month. We watched in horror as a single lioness went after her with the cubs. Luckily she lost her somewhere in the croton bushes and the cheetah managed to get out of danger with her cubs.
Lions: Lion prides in our game viewing areas are still intact and active. This is because of the availability of food in their territories. The lion prides in the Mara normally split up when food gets scarce and this is usually from March till the arrival of the first migrating herds.
Leopards: Olive and her cubs, Ayah, Binti and Kali are still in their usual area. They can be found along the Talek river next to Mara Intrepids camp. However, lately, they have extended their range to the forest between Mara Intrepids and Explorer. This sometimes makes their sighting a bit difficult since the place has a thick cover. The good thing is that they do not stay too long in this new place before going back to where they are usual found down stream from the camp. There have been very successful hunts by these cats in the past month which made our leopard sighting exciting. Our guests even witnessed some of the hunts while on game drive.
Wildlife Update.
Welcome to our New Year wildlife update!
Big Cats:
Cheetahs: Cheetahs in the Mara have been seen through out the beginning of the year. However, there have been a lot of misfortunes on the cheetah front. One female that had three cubs near Mara Explorer was killed by Olkiombo pride of lions together with two of the cubs on 4th January. The surviving cub then wandered alone vulnerably in the same lion territory until we rescued it on the 7th of January. The cub only 3 months old could have just died as it was still dependent on the mother. We took the cub to the camp where we made it a nice cage a small playing ground. We are now rearing the cub which has come to be known by the staff at Mara Intrepids as ‘Namunyak’ in Maasai meaning a blessed one. It has adapted well to the new environment and we hope to release it once we believe is able to survive in the wild. This may not be soon since cheetahs take long before going on their own. They take upto 18 months being with mother as they acquire hunting and survival skills before they go on their own.
The other cheetahs continue to be seen but it seems it has not been a good season for the cheetah with cubs. One other cheetah with cubs survived a lion attack near Musiara gate later in the month. We watched in horror as a single lioness went after her with the cubs. Luckily she lost her somewhere in the croton bushes and the cheetah managed to get out of danger with her cubs.
Lions: Lion prides in our game viewing areas are still intact and active. This is because of the availability of food in their territories. The lion prides in the Mara normally split up when food gets scarce and this is usually from March till the arrival of the first migrating herds.
Leopards: Olive and her cubs, Ayah, Binti and Kali are still in their usual area. They can be found along the Talek river next to Mara Intrepids camp. However, lately, they have extended their range to the forest between Mara Intrepids and Explorer. This sometimes makes their sighting a bit difficult since the place has a thick cover. The good thing is that they do not stay too long in this new place before going back to where they are usual found down stream from the camp. There have been very successful hunts by these cats in the past month which made our leopard sighting exciting. Our guests even witnessed some of the hunts while on game drive.
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