Masai Mara weather and wildlife April 2025

As always, April was beautiful, quiet and extremely rewarding despite being the peak month of the long rains. Many people overthink the weather and worry about missed photo opportunities, yet this time of year is remarkable in the Masai Mara and highly sought after by our resident photographers.

Photo credit Felix Rome

April is not for those seeking a typical dry season safari, but the month most definitely has its perks. The rains settled the dust, transforming the sky from burnt orange to purple and steel-blue, providing dramatic backdrops for the prettiest of rainbows; this time of year is excellent for photography.

Photo credit Felix Rome

Weather and grasslands

April was slightly cooler than March, although still warm with highs of around 26°C. We received 183.5mm of rainfall, compared to 227mm that was recorded for last year. Dark clouds loomed ahead in the late afternoons, contrasting severely with the bright yellowness of the open plains.

Dramatic skies in April – photo credit Felix Rome

Delicate tissue paper flowers (Cycnium tubolosum) have again popped up across the open plains after recent rains. This seasonal perennial grows low to the ground and is most noticeable on the short grass plains as its bright white petals pop against the vibrant greenery.

The red oat grass (Themeda triandra) is incredibly long in some areas, especially around the marsh and in the stretch of riverine forest on either side of the Mara River. Early in the morning, the tiny silk strands of sheet-web wolf spiders (Hippasa sp.), and funnel-web spiders (Agelena sp.) are illuminated by the rising sun.

Photo credit Felix Rome

The roadside ditches are brimming with water, and the Marsh is nicely saturated. Monitor lizards are suddenly apparent, their activity distribution shifts in the wet season and mating occurs in the wet season. We spotted a baby monitor basking on the warm concrete support of the little bridge from the airstrip.

On the plains

When the rains started towards the end of March, the landscape was rejuvenated and more appealing to the grazers.  Vast areas subject to controlled burning efforts in early March are now fantastically green and nutrient-rich. Topis, zebras, and gazelles are in substantial numbers across the plains of the Musiara sector and towards the border with Mara North Conservancy, where food is abundant in these replenished grazing zones.

Photo credit Felix Rome

In November last year, the resident herd of more than 500 Cape buffalos moved out of the Marsh; pressure from the Marsh Pride had been mounting and a periphery buffalo was being separated and taken from the herd every couple of days. It was a gradual move, but with each passing day, the herd moved further away before settling on the drier plains east of the airstrip. This area, adjacent to Private Camp, is an elevated terrain offering a better line of sight of predators.

Photo credit Felix Rome

This herd of buffalo was very much part of the Governor’s game viewing experience – a constant presence in the heart of the iconic Musiara Marsh, and we very much hoped for their return. By the end of April, we were pleased to see that they had congregated back in the marsh, no doubt influenced by the shift in weather patterns.

Guide Eric and the huge herd of buffalos – photo credit Felix Rome

We have noticed an encouraging number of young giraffes in the area. Each giraffe has about five or six yellow-billed oxpeckers clinging onto their backs, under their chin and behind their ears. In a form of symbiosis, the birds remove ticks and fleas from the host, ridding the host of the annoying parasites, and at the same time enjoying a meal.

Yellow-billed oxpeckers and giraffes have a mutually beneficial relationship – photo credit Felix Rome

Blossom, a well-known and much-loved character, was sighted ripping up tufts of grass on the northern end of the Marsh in early April. This bull elephant is no stranger to our unfenced Mara camps, preferring to arrive through the main entrance, where he is duly granted access by a quick lift of the security barrier and a little nod from the guard on duty.

Blossom – photo credit Felix Rome

Big cats of the Masai Mara

The Marsh Pride is slowly but surely becoming more integrated with the Topi Boys—a coalition of seven young rookie males who began pressing into the territory about the middle of last year. An official takeover of the pride females has been longer than expected, but the boys have certainly claimed the territory.

We have noticed a little easement from Kito, who is fiercely committed to the remaining family male, Oleku, and will do whatever it takes to keep him around. Kito was spotted on her own on the 22nd April, looking carefree and in great shape, as she leapt across the waterways of the Marsh.

Nusurika, the youngest member of the Marsh Pride was born to Lola in July 2022 and sired by the legendary Halftail/Logol coalition. In the past six months, she has transformed into beautiful young lioness with a name that translates to warrior in Maa.

Nusurika – photo credit Felix Rome

Kitos’ daughters, Enkerai and Naserian, are superb hunters and contribute greatly to the overall success of the pride. On the 15th April, the Marsh pride took down a big buffalo outside Governors’ Il Moran, just as the sun was setting. We managed to spend about an hour with them, before the sun went down and we left for camp.

The Marsh Pride with their kill – photo credit Felix Rome

By sunrise the following morning, all seven Topi Boys had taken over the carcass, no doubt lured across by the frantic vocals of scavenging hyenas during the night. The males occupied the kill site for almost four days, demonstrating a feast-and-famine lifestyle typical of lions.

The Topi Boys claimed the carcass – photo credit Felix Rome

We had a great sighting of the Rekero breakaway boy, Muwaji, who arrived in the Marsh from Mara North on the 21st of April. Muwaji is the son of Morani – was a legendary male lion and the last surviving member of the ‘Four Musketeers’ which was a famous coalition in the Masai Mara. Muwaji is no stranger to the area and has been seen on previous visits around Tangulia Camp before passing through the stretch of forest surrounding our Mara camps.

Muwaji – photo credit Felix Rome

Birds of the Masai Mara

April is prime birdwatching season. The shift in weather and excess water creates an explosion of activity throughout the wetlands, forests and plains of the Masai Mara. Tiny malachite kingfishers have been seen more frequently at the onset of the rains as they exploit newly formed puddles and flooded holes surrounding the marsh. You need to look closely for them, as their tiny, weightless bodies hardly cause any movement of the reeds on which they perch.

A malachite kingfisher waits patiently on a sedge in the marsh- photo credit Felix Rome

The waterways of the Musiara Marsh are filled with amphibians, fish and reptiles – attracting an assortment of wading birds such as hamerkops, thick-knees, herons and storks. Saddle-billed storks are highly distinctive and not easily confused with any other species.

A male saddle-billed stork- photo credit Felix Rome

They are solitary birds of large swamps and river valleys. Their large black and white bodies stand out even from a distance, whilst their tri-coloured, contrasting bill is reminiscent of the aposematic colouration found on many insects. Males have dark eyes, whereas females have bright yellow eyes and pairs wander slowly through flooded wetlands where they capture fish and amphibians. They usually toss their prey up into the air before swallowing the unfortunate victim whole.

Males of the various assortment of widowbird species such as the red-collared, Jackson’s and fan-tailed, are all in full breeding plumage, making them easily identifiable and far more noticeable than usual. Their striking colours and ornate feathers makes for some exceptional images.

A Jackson’s widowbird in full breeding plumage- photo credit Felix Rome

Widowbirds are relatives of the weaverbirds and prefer open grassland habitats. The Jackson’s widowbird is endemic to East Africa and flocks of them are common in highland grasslands from 1500-3000m. Breeding males will display in leks, which are communal areas where males perform courtship rituals, and females then choose their mates from among the gathered males. Their unique dance involves jumping up and down repeatedly on a flattened circle of grass.

A red-collared widowbird in full breeding plumage- photo credit Felix Rome

The recently burnt grasslands have been a great place to find small groups of Southern ground-hornbills. Ground-hornbills are an endemic family to the region and are atypical to other hornbills as they are adapted to a pedestrian way of life (hence their name).

They live in close-knit co-operative family groups and unlike other hornbills, they do not seal the female and young into nest holes. They cover large distances on foot, only taking to flight if startled or to roost and breed. They eat a wide range of prey from insects and amphibians to lizards and small mammals and other birds. Their call is a very deep reverberant boom, which can often be heard at dawn when the air and cool and still.

A Southern ground-hornbill in flight- photo credit Felix Rome

Birds of prey have been seen in good numbers too. Some of the migrant species were still present in the region, though in fewer numbers. Resident martial eagles are always a special sighting for our guests, regardless of whether or not they are into birds!

This large and very powerful eagle is quite distinctive, with its dark upperparts, throat and upper breast, all clearly separated from pure white underparts which are peppered with black spots. They only attain their adult plumage from around five to six years old. They are sometimes confused with black-chested snake eagles, however this species is considerably smaller than martials, which have evolved to hunt an assortment of mammals.

A martial eagle – photo credit Felix Rome

Smaller kestrels have been seen, perched atop the Boscia and Balanities trees that dot the landscape. Grey kestrels are an all slate-grey coloured bird with a distinctive yellow eye-ring and yellow legs. As with many birds of prey, the females are slightly larger than males. This species are known for their breeding habit of using hamerkop nests to brood their eggs and raise their chicks.

A Grey kestrel comes in to land on the canopy of a Boscia tree in the Mara Triangle – photo credit Felix Rome

Vultures were also seen in quite good numbers. Very sadly, vultures species across Africa are facing serious declines in their populations, due mainly to threats such as poisoning and habitat loss. In the Mara, a few species are resident and breed in the tops of trees. One of the classic plains vultures found here is the African white-backed vulture, which is commonly seen associating with other species at carcasses. They travel long distances, often soaring into the Serengeti in search of food depending on the time of year. They are listed a Critically Endangered by the IUCN.

An African white-backed vulture perches beneath the full moon- photo credit Felix Rome

Thank you to Felix Rome for the supporting imagery. If you’d like to learn more about a safari in April, please visit the link below.

A SAFARI IN APRIL