Why we love June in the Masai Mara
Rain tapers off and we have warm mornings around 22 degrees Celsius and hot mid days at around 33 degrees Celsius. Clear skies return and with no light pollution, the stars at night are spectacular with many of the big constellations on show.
Out on the grasslands the savannah grasses are tall and lush, waiting for the imminent arrival of the wildebeest migration. Some years, the wildebeests begin to enter the Mara River early, crossing at Sand River towards the end of the month. This is the wildebeest rutting season and males are seen jumping, cavorting and bumping heads as they compete for short-term territory and females.
Huge herds of elephants (up to 200 individuals) are in the Marsh area, feeding and bathing. There are often plenty of young calves amongst the herds. Sensing the imminent arrival of the wildebeests, the elephant begin to move into the acacia woodlands bordering the reserve. Large groups of giraffes tend to pass by our Mara camps on the periphery of the forests, often with young calves within the family groups, and the resident herd of buffalos graze around the marsh areas.
Lions spend their time between the boundary of the reserve and the Marsh, following the available food and feeding mostly off warthogs, waterbuck and topis. The Marsh Pride remains close to Governors’ Camp. Cheetahs hunt on the high plains, keeping a low profile from all the hyenas around.
Leopard sightings remain very good. One June, we had the privilegeof watching a leopard relaxing in a hammerkop nest all day, much to the anger and frustration of the hammerkops themselves, who could not get near their nest all day!
Most of the plains game remain on the shorter grass areas where they can easily see predators approaching; these include topis with their 7-month-old calves and warthogs who are all over the plains and especially close to camp. Warthogs are seen being chased back down their holes by hungry lions – they are the main prey for lions at this time of year.
Large herds of resident buffalos grazes on the plains and we have good sightings of eland who also calve at this time of year. Large clans of hyenas, up to 40 members, are seen competing with lions for prey.
Mongooses are all over the place; species include the white-tailed, slender-tailed, banded, dwarf and Egyptian mongoose. The Egyptian mongoose is usually nocturnal, therefore it is quite a special treat to see them during the day.
Birds
Lots of the larger birds have chicks including saddle-billed storks who nest in the trees beside the Musiara marsh. By now the chicks are almost fully fledged and wobbling around on flimsy legs. Marsh owls and Verreaux’s eagle owls are seen in the early evening hunting on the fringes of the Musiara woodlands.