Maasai Mara, what a wonderland. We departed from Nairobi the recent Sunday after last-minute booking a three-day safari. Maasai Mara is divided into three parts, the Greater Mara, the Mara Triangle and the North Conservancy, which of we booked the Greater Mara. It was about a 6h drive that took us past the Great Rift Valley. Safari rides are commonly referred to as "game drives", where 'the game' is to spot as many animals as you can. The Holy Grail of game drives is to spot the Big Five (Buffalo, Elephant, Rhino, Leopard & Lion), or if you're really lucky, the Super Seven (The Big Five + Hyena & Cheetah).
The border between Kenya and Tanzania (Maasai Mara and Serengeti):
We stayed the nights in tents with roofs, guarded by the Maasai people and guard dogs from Hyenas and Baboons. In total we accounted for about 33 different animals, where of two were endangered and not supposed to be found within the park: (1) the black and white colobus monkey and (2) the striped hyena. We did not manage to get a good picture of them all, but what I could caputre with the camera is shown below. At the bottom of the page there is a collection of stock photos for the animals that we saw but did not manage to catch on photo. Here is a short video from the drive (sorry for an unexplainable lag):
The animals we spotted at the drive:
1. Zebra
2. Gnu
3. Grant's gazell
No good photo.. see bottom of page for stock photo.
4. Thomson's gazell
5. Topi antelope
6. Dikdik antelope
No good photo.. see bottom of page for stock photo.
7. Impala antelope
8. Hartebeest antelope
9. Eland antelope
No good photo.. see bottom of page for stock photo.
10. Egyptian goose
No good photo.. see bottom of page for stock photo.
11. Guinea fowl (pärlhöna)
12. Grey crowned crane (trana)
13. Vulture (gam) No good photo.. see bottom of page for stock photo.
14. Ostrich (struts)
No good photo.. see bottom of page for stock photo.
15. Buffalo
16. Warthog (vårtsvin)
17. Giraffe
18. Elephant
19. Hippo (flodhäst)
20. Cheetah
21. Jackal
For comparison (not taken by me):
22. Vervet monkey (grön markatta)
23. Black and white colobus monkey
For comparison (not taken by me):
24. Red headed agama lizard
No good photo.. see bottom of page for stock photo.
25. Monitor lizard
26. African ground hornbill
27. Lion
28. Crocodile
29. Baboon
No good photo.. see bottom of page for stock photo.
30. Bushbuck antelope
31. Striped hyena
For comparison (not taken by me):
32. Spotted hyena
33. Mongoose (mungo)
Additional stock photos of spotted but not photo-caputed animals (from left to right):
1. Vulture
2. Ostrich
3. Grant's gazelle
4. Eland antelope
5. Egyptian goose
6. Dikdik antelope
7. Baboon
8. Red headed agama lizard
