Masai Mara

Masai Mara National Reserve of Kenya is one of the few places in the world where one can see a large variety of mammals – including Lions, Cheetahs, Elephants, Zebras and Giraffes - in their natural habitat. For anyone who loves nature and wildlife, it is a compelling attraction.

It is late afternoon when we reach the park after a long drive from Nairobi. But even before entering the park’s gates, we get a taste of what awaits us. Cutting through Masai villages to bypass the dilapidated main road, we see scattered Zebras and Wildebeests on fields on both sides of the road. After entering the park, the gravel road stretches out ahead of us with long stretches of grassland backed by distant hills on both sides.

The Wildebeest is by far the most common animal here. It grazes in herds large and small. Also known as the Gnu, it is a distinctive horse-like antelope. The frenzy of thousands of Wildebeests crossing the Mara river that divides Serengeti in Tanzania from Masai Mara in Kenya has become a wildlife icon. They cross the river in search of better pastures. Seen up close, their most remarkable feature is the horn followed by the beard.

Zebras are also commonplace here. Their bold stripes look like evolution gone awry because, instead of camouflaging to help evade predators, these stripes make them stand out in their surroundings. I also notice these handsome creatures are prone to extreme skittishness.

They remind me of the scientist Jared Diamond who writes that large, powerful civilizations have depended on domesticated animals (for example, the Aryans and their horses) for spreading their reach. Diamond speculates that lacking horses, the zebra was probably the best candidate for domestication in the African continent. However, its skittishness made domestication impossible. Having no domesticated animals to support them, Africa-based civilizations never spread far.

Back on Mara, there are several types of deer including Thomson’s Gazelles, dainty creatures with a bar of black and white on its side. The Spotted Deer of Sundarban are prettier and larger, but when a herd of these gazelles moves, their patterns - along hundreds of short bushy tails flicking unanimously - are mesmerizing.

Other members of deer family here include Elands, Dik Diks, Topis, Impalas and Reedbucks.

For those of us used to lush green forests in Bangladesh, the park appears bald and dry with few rivers, streams or ponds. Plant life is mostly shrubs that occupy patches of the grassland. Thorn trees dot the land and occasionally a black or yellow acacia stands tall. Indeed, the word Mara means “dotted land” in Swahili, a reference to the scattered thorn trees. Near rivers and waterways there is more vegetation.

We visit the Mara River several times during our stay, but Wildebeest crossings elude us. Instead, we are treated to sights of hippopotamus swimming in the shallow waters. They are the most dangerous animals in the park, more so in land than in water. The hippo also has a hilarious style of defecating. It rapidly swings its behind to and fro as its faeces sputter out in a spray of globules flying over great distances. That is an evolutionary adaptation I cannot explain.

Next week: Predators of Masai Mara.

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