MARA LION DIARY

From lion cubs in Naboisho to a lioness having just caught a wildebeest, this blog will give you all an insight into the life of a lion in the Maasai Mara. Please look through the archive below to find a blog post to read. In September 2017 our chairman James Welch visited the Maasai Mara Ecosystem in Kenya as part of a volunteering trip. The idea of this visit was to get a better understanding of the problems lions face in the wild and to see the threats first hand. As well as seeing the fragile habitat this also gave a brilliant opportunity to see lions in the wild and to get to see wild lion behaviour first hand. This Lion Diary in the form of a blog will show details and pictures of the lions sighted in the Masai Mara National Reserve and the Naboisho Conservancy as well as other interesting issues that affect lions in the wild.

Cubs On The Move

Cubs On The Move

It was 10:15 am and we were heading back to camp after taking part in game counts on the other end of the Conservancy. We were about half a kilometre away from the camp when we spotted beige figures moving through the bush on our left hand side, not far from the road. There were 2 adult lionesses and five young cubs, 3 slightly younger than the other two. It was clear to see that there was Lokoman and Esiriwua, the two lionesses from the Sampu Enkare pride. They were moving q

A Familiar Face

A Familiar Face

For the first time since we arrived the afternoon rains had not arrived and the afternoon today was clear and the air was hot. We set out at 4:30pm in search of leopard and we followed the thick bush and trees that surrounded the river, prime leopard territory. In amongst the bush resting underneath the shade of a small thorny acacia tree we saw two lionesses. Both were laying on their sides about 5 feet away from each other clearly struggling in the mid-day heat. One of the

Our Second Rekero Male

Our Second Rekero Male

After our weekend in camp visiting the Masai Mara National Reserve and visiting local Masai homesteads and landscapes we settled back into the second week of work in the conservancy. We left camp at 7am and on our way to out first game count we saw 3 trucks - something exciting was on its way. In the distance I could see two figures, one was clearly a male. As we got closer the other was a lioness, even at a distance this male was impressive, even more so than Ron 2. His larg

Lions By The Mara River

Lions By The Mara River

We headed down to the Mara River having seen the Rongai Pride earlier in the day. Hoping to see the famous wildebeest crossing as they make their way from Tanzania's Serengeti National Park searching for the lush grass found in the Masai Mara. We drove along the Mara river, a paradise hidden from the plains by its tall banks with the river flowing at the bottom. Storks flew through the rivers passage passing Nile Crocodiles basking in the sun with pods of hippos resting in th

The Rongai Pride

The Rongai Pride

We had only been in the Mara for 45 minutes and we saw several tourist trucks together in the distance - A clear indication of something exciting ahead. As we drove up we saw lions, many lions! All of them were on a wildebeest kill that looked like it was killed earlier this year. All I together I counted 12 cubs ranging from 3 to 6 months. Four lionesses sat with the cubs, all adults. One of the lionesses had a limp, as we arrived the three others had finished eating and she

We Find Our First Rekero Male

We Find Our First Rekero Male

We headed for the Maasai Mara National Reserve, we had woken up at 5:30 to leave the camp at 6am. I was incredibly excited, it was the place I had seen on Television through countless documentaries and of course Big Cat Diary. This was said to be one of the best places in the world to see big cats in the wild, I couldn't wait. However on our drive to the Reserve we had to go through some of the Conservancy at a prime time for the wildlife. We had only been on the road for 5 m

The Fig Tree Boys

The Fig Tree Boys

While on a game drive we headed into the bush along the edge of the conservancy along its boundary to Ol Kinyei Conservancy. We spotted a truck already viewing something of interest so we headed towards them. Right in front of the vehicle was a young male lion. His coat blended in perfectly with the bush behind them. His mane flowed down his chest to the top of his front legs with a mohawk running down his neck down to the top of his shoulders. The two sections of mane had no

Lioness On A Wildebeest Kill

Lioness On A Wildebeest Kill

On our morning drive we passed the location where we saw the lioness on the wildebeest carcass last night. The lioness was still on the carcass and it was clear that no one else interrupted her throughout the night as the vast majority of the carcass was left and the stomach was still badly bloated as the gasses expanded overnight. Our guide Joseph explained that he believed this lioness to be pregnant as her teats had started to become a lot more noticeable. This could also

Night Drive Lion Sightings

Night Drive Lion Sightings

We headed on our first night drive. It was 8:30pm and everything was pitch black, we couldn't see a thing. Fortunately due to our infra-red flashlight we were able to have a unique view on the wildlife around without disturbing it too much. We saw the Conservancy in a completely different way and saw many animals that we saw no sign of during the light. Spring hares were jumping through the grasses and we saw yellow tailed mongoose interacting together, a species that you wou

A New Pride?

A New Pride?

We continued on our big monitoring and got to the Olare Sampu river and we spotted two young lionesses resting a few hundred yards by the rivers edge. I was told that these two girls were part of a trio of young lionesses that hailed from the Sampu Enkare Pride and they have left the core part of their family territory and have been spending most of their time along the rivers edge which is the boundary to the neighbouring Ol Kinyei Conservancy. I was also told that occasiona

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