Overview
The world-renowned Maasai Mara Game Reserve is a northern extension of the Serengeti National Park, which is located in Tanzania. Maasai Mara covers an area of 1,510km². The Maasai Mara ecosystem is composed of two rivers, i.e. Talek River and the Mara River. They are the main water supplies for the ecosystem.
The Mara River is a hurdle to wildebeest migration, as the wildebeests have to cross the river from Serengeti. Most of them, however, perish in the jaws of crocodiles and big cats. In the western part of Maasai Mara lies the Siria escarpment, Loita plains, and Maasai pastoral land.
The Maasai Mara game reserve is owned and run by the county council of Narok, which is the richest county council in Kenya due to the revenue collected as park entrance fees. Part of the Maasai Mara, which is called the Mara Triangle, is contracted out and privately run. Park fees are paid by the number of days one spends in the Mara Conservancy.
The Maasai Mara lies at an altitude of 1500 to 2100 metres. It rains twice a year in the game reserve. The long rains fall in the months of March and May. The short rains fall in the months of October, November, and part of December
