{"id":56375,"date":"2022-06-07T11:40:53","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T17:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/?p=56375"},"modified":"2022-06-07T11:40:54","modified_gmt":"2022-06-07T17:40:54","slug":"enjoying-wildlife-encounters-in-the-maasai-mara-national-reserve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/2022\/06\/07\/enjoying-wildlife-encounters-in-the-maasai-mara-national-reserve\/","title":{"rendered":"Enjoying Wildlife Encounters in the Maasai Mara National Reserve"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We had some amazing animal encounters during our time in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. It started on the first night when we arrived in the reserve when we saw our first cheetahs. We had already seen the big five in Africa, the elephants, water buffaloes, lions, leopards, and rhinos, but seeing the cheetahs was amazing and was the last of the big cats that we were hoping to see. Obviously our animal encounters didn’t end there as we drove throughout the reserve observing many different animals. We also went to the Mara River, but since we were a couple of days ahead of the great migration, we did not see the wildebeests charging across the river. We did, however, see the crocodiles that were patiently waiting for the migration to arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Male Lion Up Close<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Aptly Named Yellow-Billed Oxpeckers on the Back of a Water Buffalo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Chasing Cheetahs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Hundreds of Hippos on the Mara River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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View from Our Camp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Vultures on Top of a Tree<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once again, we saw many different lions as we drove through the park. At one point we came across a pride of lions who were eating their prey. This was third time where we saw animals that were eating as we had previously seen a leopard in a tree with a gazelle as well as a hyena and vultures fighting over the remains of an antelope. In addition to the pride of lions we also came across a large male lion that was sitting on a small hill, which we nicknamed the “King of the Hill”. He was definitely quite majestic as he sat gazing at the grasslands around him. Our close encounter<\/a> with the cheetah that leapt on the hood of our Land Cruiser was certainly a highlight of our entire safari.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Impala Staring Back at Us<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Female Lion Walking on the Road<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Lilac-Breasted Roller<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Eland Standing on Charred Earth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Family of Giraffes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Our Tent<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was also our first time seeing topis, a type of antelope, as well as an eland, which is the world’s largest antelope. Another interesting thing that we saw as we drove through the park was large areas of ground that had been purposely burnt in order to refresh the growth of the area and to kill the bugs. The dark ground was quite a contrast to the rest of the grasslands that we saw throughout the reserve. In addition to the crocodiles at the Mara River, we also saw many hippos lounging there as well, but we understand that they would end up moving when the great migration arrived. The hippos and crocodiles basically ignored one another as they are both very dangerous animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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King of the Hill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Topi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Patiently Waiting Crocodiles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We Saw Many Jackals<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Pride of Lions Eating and Cleaning<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Graceful Cheetah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the typical safari experiences that we had during our time in the Maasai Mara National Reserve we also had an amazing balloon ride<\/a> and on the morning that we left to head to Lake Naivasha we visited a traditional Maasai village<\/a>. By the time we reached the Maasai Mara, we had already been on safari for seven days, so we were quite settled into our safari routine of early mornings and full days driving around to see the animals. Since our camp was located in the reserve, animal encounters could occur within the grounds of the lodge, so you had to use caution when walking after dark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Looking Close – Giraffe and Zebras from Our Tent<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Topis are Distinct Looking Antelopes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Lion Cub<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Animals Were as Curious About Us as We Were with Them<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Lionesses Relaxing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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