Site 5: Masai Mara National Reserve (Jan 28th – 31st)

Written by:
Kathleen Godfrey, Samantha Morin, Julie Neal, and Margaux Sleckman

We left Lake Naivasha the morning of January 25th. The transition in terms of landscape and temperature between this site and Maji Moto was very dramatic. As we drove about four hours southwest towards the Mara and ascended in altitude, the temperature rose once again and the air became drier. This made sense because there is no large body of water nearby, such as in Naivasha.

What stood out most in the environment of Maji Moto were the cacti, birds, and hot springs. The hot springs are of utmost importance to the community to which they gave their name (“Maji moto” means “hot water” in Swahili). Even in times of drought, the people will have a constant source of water, which also relates to the pastoral livelihoods of those who inhabit the area. The highlight of our time in Maji Moto was definitely our homestays (see previous post for details), which gave us a glimpse into the day-to-day aspects of Masai life. On our last evening, we had the opportunity to witness the slaughtering of a goat, which was then roasted for dinner and was quite scrumptious. The majority of the group decided to watch and we found it an enlightening experience, as most of us had never been exposed to the process of how meat ends up on our plates.

Students look somewhat concerned as the goat is prepared for slaughter

After three nights in Maji Moto we headed to the Masai Mara National Reserve; a bumpy three-hour bus ride away. The main focus of our stay was wildlife conservation. We went on four game drives (two at dawn and two at dusk). We observed a diversity of African savannah wildlife, most notably several sightings of both cheetahs and hyena, and a lucky last-minute lion viewing. We were fortunate to see a hyena take a cheetah’s kill, which it yielded to avoid conflict due to its lesser strength. We also observed two incidences of parental care that are relatively rare to see: a hyena with its pups, and a cheetah with its kittens. On the last (optional) game drive, those who chose to go were not disappointed, as the intrepid Mukhtar led us to a total of eight lions. Two males were seen alone, and there was also a group of five females and one male that were lounging in the grass.

A spotted hyena forces a cheetah away from its breakfast gazelle

Aside from all the amazing things we saw in the reserve, rest assured, we did not neglect our studies. The students in the Natural History course participated in a data collection exercise during the game drives, observing ungulate social organization and relationships between various traits such as group size and anti-predator strategy. The students in the Ethnobotany course got to visit a local Masai family, where they learned about a traditional soup made by warriors when they go out in the woods to kill an animal. They also had the chance to talk to a local midwife who told them about the process of giving birth for Masai women.

Elephants on our first game drive in the Mara

While our visit to the Mara was relatively short, we certainly made the most of our time there and were able to explore many complex issues affecting the area, especially the issue of human-wildlife conflict. The director general of NEMA, the National Environmental Management Authority, Geoffrey Wahungu, took time out of his very busy schedule to explain the intricacies of environmental policy and balancing the needs of development with the needs of conservation. His talk left us with much food for thought and we left the Masai Mara with a new appreciation for the numerous ways in which individuals are attempting to protect the natural biodiversity and environmental health of Kenya.