Masai Mara is a Reserve and not a National Park and it belongs to the Masai people.
The Masai Mara lies in the Great Rift Valley, which is a fault line some 3,500 miles (5,600km) long, from Ethiopia's Red Sea through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and into Mozambique.
Masai Mara is divided in four topographies: Ngama Hills to the east with sandy soil and leafy bushes liked by black rhino, Oloololo Escarpment forming the western boundary and rising to a plateau, Mara Triangle bordering the Mara River with lush grassland and acacia woodlands supporting masses of game especially migrating wildebeest; Central Plains forming the largest part of the reserve, with scattered bushes and boulders on rolling grasslands favoured by the plains game.
Animals & Birds
The plains are full of wildebeest, zebra, impala, topi, giraffe, Thomson's gazelle. Also regularly seen are leopards, lions, hyenas, cheetah, jackal and bat-eared foxes. Black rhinos are a little shy and hard to spot but are often seen at a distance.
Hippos are abundant in the Mara River as are very large Nile crocodiles, who lay in wait for a meal as the wildebeest cross on their annual quest to find new pastures.
Every July (or sometimes August), the wildebeest travel over 600 miles (960km) from Tanzania's Serengeti plains, northwards to the Masai Mara and the Mara River is the final obstacle.
In October or November, once they have feasted and the grass has all but gone, they turn around and go back the other way.
The Mara birds come in every size and colour and include common but beautiful ones like the lilac breasted roller and plenty of large species like eagles, vultures and storks.
There are 53 different birds of prey in Masai Mara.