NATURAL WORLD WONDERS

MASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE

The reserve, gazetted in 1961, is located west of the Rift Valley and is a natural extension of the Serengeti plains, in Tanzania. The Mara river, the reserve's backbone, traverses north to south heading for its westbound way unto lake Victoria, through the Tanzanian park. This course is the natural barrier crossed every year by the large migratory herds of wildebeests and zebras which march across the two parks. As explained below, more than one million wildebeests and 200,000 zebras move in a quest for the best pastures, finding along the way the crocodile-crowded river. READ MORE...

And in this wildlife webwork, where do the Maasai fit? The nomad pastoral tribe, formerly feared because of their warrior attitude, inhabits these lands from old. When in 1911 chief Lenana signed an agreement with the colonial government, he accepted selling the Maasai's territories and moving southward, for the sake of Nairobi's urban development. But the Masai Mara region had already been deserted over the 19th century, when epidemics and tribal warfare decimated the Maasai people and drove them to a decline which they are still expecting to recover from. Thus, an ancient Maasai prophecy which forecasted the arrival of the foreigners also foresaw a future that would bring back the old splendour days.
When the reserve was inaugurated, in 1961, it was done so as to protect animals in a deserted and wild country, in which wildlife was coming to an end due to massive killings committed by white hunters. The protection of this area, among other factors, favored re-population of the territory by the Maasai, who by virtue of the reserve status were put in charge of the reserve's management through the District Councils. Though land conflicts are still about, the chosen formula for preserving this natural space attempts to render some reward to the Maasai by means of trade with tourists, both through campsite management, handicraft selling and visits to villages. READ MORE..