The long rains of April and May came to an end in the first week of June, or so it was thought. The puddles dried out and the tracks turned from mudy tramlines to hard baked earth and the tall grass on the plains all dried out. There were a few showers of rain through the month which settled the dust and then the last three days of June brought some fantastic storms, with huge grey Cumulonimbus clouds, thunder and lightning.
The game viewing during this month has been excellent despite the challenge of the long grass which the animals can quite easily disappear into. Towards the end of the month the Loita Wildebeest and Zebra migration arrived from the North-East. This is a small migration, paling in comparison to the Serengeti migration moving through the open grasslands of Masai land. This has brought with it well needed nutrition for our hungry predators.

The big news to announce this month is the arrival of the wildebeest and Zebra Serengeti Migration into the Mara. The wildebeest migration has crossed the Sand River and is moving northwards. They are still fairly distant, but it will not be long before we are drive out and lose ourselves amongst the massive herds of Wildebeest and Zebra. The Mara grasses are a huge attraction to the Wildebeest Migration as a few of their favorite grasses are here, namely red oats grass (Themedia triandra) and Couch grass (Cynodon dactylon.)

 

Elephants were in abundance at the start of the month with herds of between 100 and
approximately 250 converging into the Musiara marsh and spreading up towards the ridges. The new growth of grass and sedge in and around the marsh is a mouth watering draw for these huge pachyderms. As the grass and the surrounding area dried out a little the herds have become less and spread around the Mara, seeking different vegetation to graze and browse on.

Two massive herds of buffalo are moving slowly through the plains around us. One of
approximately 300 and the other of about 450 members. Buffalo are bulk grazers, they eat the larger leafy part of the grass and settle down to ruminate like cattle although they are certainly not as mild mannered as cattle.
The numbers of plains game was fairly sparse at the beginning of the month. They were more concentrated just out of the reserve where the grass is shorter, having been cropped by Masai cattle. The shorter grass is preferred by most plains game as they have adapted to more selectively graze. The smaller the animal, the more selective they are on the level of grazing and type of graze, hence less competition on any area. There have been resident and territorial herds of Topi all year round in the reserve, always alert and maintaining their ‘Leks.’ Other plains game that are ever present are the herds of waterbuck and Impala that live alongside the marsh and riverine forest of the Mara river and the Dikdiks who spend their time in the shadows of the forest.

Unknowingly, the warthogs who are seen mostly trundling off through the grass with their tails high in the air like little radio antennas have been targeted by the lions.

 

The river has dropped to its lowest since rains stopped. Hippos have congregated in larger numbers in order to get the best pools of water in which to laze in during daylight hours. This creates some tension amongst the territorial males when they return to the water after a long night of grazing and mowing the camps lawn. Hippos are foregut fermenters; their digestive system is not quite as efficient as a ruminant antelope for example. For such a large animal (males weighing up to 3000 plus kilograms) they need to eat around 40kg during the night.

Hyena have been denning in a couple of different locations with a few pups, black in colour. They have been scavenging a lot more of late as it has been difficult for them to hunt because of the scarcity of the game and the long grass. Soon there will be plenty for everyone with the arrival of the wildebeest migration.
The ‘big cats’ have been seen more readily in the early mornings, whilst they are on the move. When the grass is long they like to follow existing animal tracks and roads, as they prefer to stay out of the dew and the nuisance of grass in their eyes. They will then flop down when it warms up at midday disappearing in to the grass or seeking shade under a tree or a shrub.
The Marsh/ Bila Shaka pride of lions have had lean times of late spending the first couple of
weeks of the month coursing the plains, looking for prey. The arrival of the Loita migration has brought new prey to their area and they have settled in one area. One of the lionesses has two new arrivals, tiny one and a half month old cubs, which she is hiding in the long grass. The two pride males are spending more of their time with the pride as one of the males is mating with one of the three sisters. The Paradise Pride have had better pickings in the last month as there have been more plains game on the lower plains near the river, where the grass is slightly shorter. Notch is still with his 5 sons. The younger males have been mating with three of the pride females. One of the females has three cubs which are thought to be two and a half years old.

Cheetah: Shakira and her three cubs are still doing very well, she has been working hard to keep all her cubs well fed and out of harm’s way. During the month she made a Grants gazelle kill but the moment was short-lived as unfortunately for her, before she or the cubs could tuck in hyenas sleeping in the nearby grass caught sight of them and she had to forego her meal and take her cubs to safety. Honey’s three boys have been regular visitors to the Marsh and Bila Shaka area. They are looking in great shape and very confident, as they have less cares than any female cheetah. There is another female cheetah in the area which jumped on the pilots bonnet the other day on his way to work postponing his flight a while. She is very pregnant at the moment and will probably give birth anytime soon. She made a Thompson gazelle kill and had her fill just days ago, so she seems to be doing very well too.

A roaming male cheetah has been through the area, spending most of his time on the short grass plains out in Masai country.

Leopard: Kijana, the young male leopard has been seen regularly between the forest and the Marsh. He is good condition, although has a small flesh wound on his left fore-leg. He was spotted hunting a Dik dik in the forest fringe with-out any luck, maybe his inexperience or just a smart Dik dik.

There has been a leopardess close to Kijana’s territory. She was seen twice in the month the first just relaxing near some croton bushes and then slinking away, the second with a reedbuck kill up in a tree which was very fortuitous.
We have had another sighting of a separate pair of leopards, a male and female near the river line. Generally this indicates that they are more than likely a mating pair, but due to their elusiveness no one will ever know.
Serval cats have been seen quite regularly on game drives, stalking through the long grass. One tenacious hunter has been ambushing birds on the edge of Musiara Marsh and acrobatically leaping into the air to catch them.
Walking Safaris in Masai Land
Huge herds of wildebeest and zebra from the Loita migration have come into the area all the way up to the northern part of the reserve.
New shoots and leaves are appearing on the trees along the river lines and acacia forests. The elephants are dispersing a little more from the marsh area to supplement their diet of grass for the nutritious vegetation of the trees. We have had two sightings, of 2 male elephants slowly wandering the plains, following the female groups checking if they are in season. Unable to get too close we circumnavigated both herds with one male following us at a steady rate seeing us off.
A large pack of hyena are on the top plains denning in an old aardvark digging. The youngsters are just getting their spots, so will probably move on soon. They have been making a few wildebeest kills of late and are fat and happy.
We are picking up tracks of lion activity in the area, but no sightings yet this season. The Masai have come and gone with their cattle, the plains game have returned in force so we are expecting our local pride to settle in again soon.
We had a great sighting of a male cheetah hunting gazelle. He was spotted early on in the walk with gazelles sprinting off in different directions and Topi snorting their alarm call, he gave up the hunt. We managed to follow at a distance for about half an hour. We saw him again about a week or so later in the distance, ably hunting again. Four jackal pups are dinning in a very large termite mound.

The Acacia gerradii (maasai chewing gum) has become a lot stronger in flavour since the rain has ended. To the disgust of some of the walkers, but favoured by the maasai. After the walks we have enjoyed the constant churring of woodland and grey-headed kingfishers around the breakfast sight on the Olare Orok river.
 

Back in the Game Reserve open-billed storks have been in the Musiara marsh and the
Madagascar Squaco Heron is changing to white, ready to migrate back to Madagascar. A Marshal eagle was seen feeding on a white-backed Vulture, which was an unusual sighting. Crowned Cranes, Secretary Birds and Ground hornbills have all been commonly sighted on the open plains. The Ground hornbills are very vocal with the recent flush of rains, some say they can predict the rain and their call is the first sign.

The birdlife around the camps has been very good as usual with alot of birdsong to enjoy. A
Narina Trogon has been perching up at Il Moran calling for its mate with a low ‘Oh oh’ song. Black and White Hornbills have been making raucous calls in the forest canopy and the ever present Tropical Boubou has been making its presence felt with its loud piping call. Double toothed barbets have been eating the ripening fruit of the coacoa bean bush.

Around the camps and riverlines thousands of butterflies (Brown-veined Whites, Green- banded, Mocker, Noble swallowtails and Citrus swallowtails) have been flitting from bush to bush attracted by the riverside flowers (Vernonia and Merua).