Happy New Year

The 3 brothers on a termite mount before the rains

One of Olive's cubs up in a tree this morning

The trio having a drink after a hunt recently

The Ridge pride: males drinking while females feed on hippo in water

Happy new year to all:

It is another year, everyone making new resolutions for the year and all with high hopes for better things ahead. Here in the Mara we are no exception; we do hope the year will be better than the last especially on climate. The past year has seen the Mara river drop to lowest level ever, and this made last year’s wildebeest crossings just like a joke, because the animals could easily walk across. We therefore missed the usual action that goes with such activity. That was last year. Now we do hope that this year will be different climate-wise. We have just started the year with lost of rain over the Mara and many other places in Kenya, which is actually good news. In fact just as I write this, at 1400hrs Kenyan time, it is raining, and has been going on since 1.00am

The lions have to move around and follow the herds which are now congregating on drier higher grounds. The past two days we have seen the Olkiombo pride split into two by the Talek river which has suddenly gone up. They can’t now cross easily to either side. The ridge pride has now moved towards the southern side of Rhino ridge, away from the Mara river area where they have been for sometimes. It was nice seeing them recently feeding on hippo in the water. The sub-adults are still moving around on their own. The last two days, the almost had a confrontation with Olkiombo pride when they ventured into their territory.

Olive is now near Olkiombo airstrip with her two cubs. We found her this morning near Olare-Orok crossing, and now with eh two rivers full, they will have to stay around longer. The three cheetah brothers (Honey’s boys) are still around between the two rivers. They killed a young warthog yesterday after a dramatic hunt;

Masai Mara Latest

Olive stacking a herd of Implala

Heavy downpours in the afternoons, now common

Streams flood, but still fun driving through

The long awaited rains finally arrived two days before Christmas. Most parts of the country received a lot of rains over the past four days. It was so heavy in some places that it resulted in lose of human lives.

The rains would not have come at a better time. The Mara needed more rain to enable th grass re-grow after heavy grazing over the last five months by both wild and domestic animals in some areas. The Maasai people, who have this year been affected more than any other year by the drought, can now afford to smile, because their remaining cattle will survive now that there is food.

Although the rain is welcomed, it is now going to limit us from moving into certain areas fro game viewing. The little streams which we have been just crossing through with ease have now changed into rivers;

On the Big Cats fronts; Olive is still at the Olare-Orok river, around the smelly crossing. She is still with her two cubs. There were false reports earlier that the cubs had been killed, but she still has them. Another leopard upstream, near double crossing point, has been there for the last one week is looking expectant and might bring forth new cubs soon. Binti was seen last week just below the junction of the Talek and Olare-Orok rivers. We had a rare show on 21st December, when Kali confronted the Rhino ridge male (the father of Olive’s small cubs). He spooked and chased him for about 300 metres before the male turned around only to find it is just a small boy, at which point he turn back and chased him. But before long, Kali turned back and charged at him again but he was given a fright and had to run fro his live. I can see him becoming a very strong male in future.

The Ridge pride is still near the Mara River with Notch and his gang still accompanying them. Paradise pride is at their usual place at paradise plains near the wildebeests crossing