Magic of the Masai Mara

It was pitch dark when we approached the safari vehicle for our early morning tryst with wild animals. Bonny, our driver cum guide excitedly queried, “Do you hear the baboons’ call”. Indeed, we woke up to the cacophony of the baboons which got our adrenaline pumping - for, the previous day Bonny had indicated that if baboons spot any leopards they would at once alert the clan.

Wasting no time, we jumped into the vehicle and Bonny drove into the inky black towards the sound and suddenly the vehicle came to a halt. He pointed to the dark space ahead and said, “Two leopards are sitting there under the tree, can you see?” We stared hard and after a few minutes, hazily at first, a glorious sight came into view. A leopard cub had the kill at his feet and about 10 feet away the mom was sitting silently facing her son. Bonny explained that it was a successful training session conducted by leopard mom, and the cub came out in flying colours. The bushbuck under his feet turned out unlucky.

Over the next two hours while we were watching, the cub ate part of the meal, then hid the remains on top of a low hanging tree and then the mother-son duo disappeared into the bush. It didn’t escape our notice that the mom always kept a respectful distance from her cub and the kill, and she did not partake of the meal.

The timeless unspoilt wilderness of Masai Mara and its adventures are better experienced than explained. The unique combination of rolling hills, arid landscape, boundless plains lightly sprinkled with acacia and kopje trees that define the magical Masai Mara was in our bucket list since pre-Covid times. Finally, this summer, we were drawn into the wilderness of Mara, the ancestral land of Masai people. Its wide-open plains provide sanctuary to countless wild animals, categorised by tourists as big 5, small 5, ugly 5 and many more. Every year the wildebeests and zebra herds, in epic numbers, migrate from Serengeti in Tanzania to Masai Mara in Kenya from July to November for nourishment the latter provides with the tall grass and for healthy breeding.

During our week-long stay in bush camps, we spotted zebras in our backyards. During the safaris we encountered a parade of elephants, herds of wild buffalos, towering giraffes, cheetahs, hyenas, wildebeests, guinea fowls, topis, warthogs, impalas, gazelles, bushbucks, dik-diks, hippos and numerous birds that paint a riot of colours.

With so many preys, the king of the predators was not far away. Prides of lions, dominated by a large number of lionesses, a few lions and several cubs scattered all over the plains, were a sight to behold. With every magical sunrise in the savanna, several stories unfold to the patient observer, and we were incredibly lucky to witness a few of them.