Back from break

Topi & Flowers, a common sight now in the reserve

Fire ball lily; One of the many flower species that can be seen now

I would like to apologize to my followers on this blog for the long lapse in updating them on the happenings in the Mara. I have been on leave, hence the long lapse in my update here. I have just come back to the Mara to a very welcoming carpet of short green grass on the plains, mainly the recently overgrazed areas. With the short rains we have started receiving, there is now plenty flowers growing on the plains and the on the edges of the bushes. it is very beautiful especially if you are taking a picture of a subject which is right in teh middle of the flowers.

The rivers Talek and Olare-Orok which had almost dried out are now flowing again. Hopefully the rains we have will last a lot longer.

All our big cats can be seen around. Olive i was told had been lost for 3 weeks, but only two days after arriving in teh Mara on my first game drive, i found her with Impala kill up a tree near the smelly crossing. The Ridge pride can now be found along the Mara river while Olkiombo pride along the Talek towards the gate. other lion prides are still in their places and ineterstingly many of them now have got cubs. Nodge's gang are with the ridge pride. Shakira is now in the north.

I will keep yopu updated as i gather more information on game drives aroudn the reserve.

The Mara cats update

Shakira & Daughters on paradise plains earlier

One of the males in Notch's gang

One of Olive's cubs

Olive & one of her cubs

The Mara cats are having their easy meals this month before the last of the easy prey leaves. Many skeletons still lie across the plains as an evident of a big feast that was in the last season. From now on lion prides will be seen highly mobile in search for food especially the ones with cubs. Some prides go to an extend of splitting up because there is barely enough for them all at one go.
Over the past couple of weeks, the ridge pride have been roaming between around the southern base of Rhino ridge, Mara Intrepids and the Mara river area. There is one female with 3 month old cubs and one with 2 month old. They made very successful if not easy kills in the past months when the wildebeest were all over their territory.

Olive, our female leopard star and her 3 month old cubs are still around the junction of the Talek and Olare-Orok rivers. They have lately been moving between this place and the little forest between Mara Intrepids and Explorer camps.
Binti, her daughter is just downstream from where Olive is. They also took the opportunity when the wildebeest are streaming down south through their territories. We saw few young wildebeests’ carcasses in trees along the river.

Shakira, who for the past two years has been our main female cheetah star, is still around and still with her 3 daughters. she was seen the last two days at the border of Mara-serengeti on the south Mara Triangle. The many gazelle fawns born since the past 3 weeks have been providing her with some easy meals. The 3 brothers who are Honey’s cubs continue to roam far and wide from Musiara to paradise and south to Burrungat plains. There is another cheetah between Talek and Olkiombo airstrip with three very little cubs. This is not alama which we reported earlier. In general cheetah sightings have been the best this season.