From Governors Camp, Masai Mara:

October continued a trend of cool mornings (averaging 17 degrees celsius) and warm days (or around 28 degrees celsius) seen throughout the year. The migrating herds of wildebeest and zebra who have been with us over the last 4 months have grazed the plains grasses right down, and with the departure of the herds as if on cue the short rains arrived towards the second half of the month and brought on an instant flush of new green growth to the short savannah grasses. The rains also sparked the blossoming of the Mara wildflowers, like the delicate white tissue paper flower (Cycnium Tubolosum) on the short grass plains, the sweet-scented wild Gardenia flowers and the firey red Crossanandra Nilotica and Klieinia Abyssinca which bring spashes of colour to the grasslands.



The end of the month was marked by some large river crossings of wildebeest and zebra leaving the Mara on their long trek down south. The daily crossings in the last ten days of October brought a high number of fatalities as the herds chose some of the most difficult stretches or river bank to exit the river. It has been a wonderful migration season. We wish them well on their way and we look forward to next year when the herds arrive back into the Masai Mara.



The arrival of rain heralded the birthing season for the resident herds of topi. Lots of calves were born in October and many females are heavily pregnant so we expect more births to come as the rains bring fresh pasture to the plains. A nice sized breeding herd of Defassa Waterbuck continues to be resident along the fringes of the Marsh along with a satellite herd of males which is never far away. Families of giraffe browse the riverine woodlands of the Mara River and large breeding herds of impala together with their tiny faws feed on the fringes of the woodlands. As the grasses on the plains have become shorter, the resident families of elephant having been moving into the Riverine woodland in search of food. The rain has also prolonged the fruiting of the magnificent Warburgia Ugandensis tree (Africa Greenheart or pepper barked tree as it is commonly known) and this keeps the elephants in the forest as they love the plum-sized peppery flavoured fruit.



To the east of the Marsh the grass is longer and coarser. The wildebeest herds are not able to eat this and as a result these grasses have remained long. The large breeding herd of buffalo has now moved into this area as they are better equipped to digest this variety of grass. This coarser grass has also been attracting Bohors Reedbuck especially where the coarser grass meets the Marsh. We have been priviledged to see females and their young and solitary males. When disturbed, reedbuck will lie low and not move to escape detection, however the shorter grasses have meant that they stand out a little more now and may be vulnerable to predators like cheetah. The shorter grass and dry scrub on the edges of the woodland also mean that the normally shy bushbuck has been seen more often in October.


The short grass plains over the ridges are home to Thomson Gazelle who live in loose associated herds. With the arrival of the rains the males have been busy marking out their territories which they do by scent-marking the grass with a secretion from their pre-orbital glands. The rain washes away this marking, making re-establishing their territory a daily chore for the resident males. They have also been seen asserting their dominance by running into each other and thrashing heads. There was a close encounter for a young Thomson Gazelle fawn on the 11th of October when a Martial Eagle (a large savannah eagle) swooped down and grasped a tiny two day old fawn. The fawn bleeted loudly and the mother charged the eagle, who promtly dropped the fawn. She then chased the eagle who took refuge in the branches of a nearby Boscia tree. We are happy to report that the little fawn got up after the ordeal, wagged its tail and limped off after its courageous mother, before lying down to rest. The next day both were seen in good spirits!



There have also been lots of spotted hyena out on the plains. There are a few dens on the ridges, with cubs varying in age from a few weeks to months. Spotted hyena do not bring food caches back to the den site' and as a result the females with cubs will suckle for longer than other placental carnivores. The females are dominant from birth, with only one or two surviving to adulthood. Of all the hyenids the spotted hyena is the most succesful predator having tremendous stamina in running down their prey. This makes them strong competition to the large cats.



The Bila shaka / Marsh Pride of lion, consisting of 3 males, seven breeding females and nine cubs has spent most of the month around the Marsh and they have been feeding well on wildebeest, zebra and early on in the month an unlucky hippo.



The Ridge / Paradise lion pride have spent most of the month apart. We believe that some of its members have crossed the Mara River over to the Mara Triangle area. The remaining three males and six females spent most of the month near to the wildebeest river crossing sites, laying succesful ambushes to the unexpecting herds.


The leopards of our area have also had a good month. Kijana (the young male) continues to be seen on the fringes of the Marsh between Governors' Camp and Little Governors' Camp. Always a tenacious hunter, he was seen on the 31st of October with a banded mongoose in his jaws!. Another female has been seen on the edges of Kijana's territory (a possible future mate?) and another three towards the crossing points taking advantage of the moving herds. And Bella's cubs have been seen frequenting the banks of the Talek river.