Obviously the Mara is the top savanna of Africa Safari. A bird's eye view of the action below stirs my expectation.
Within a few minutes of flying into the Mara, we locate an elephant and giraffes underneath, and on the banks of the Talek River, a pair of hippos somewhat exposed from the water.
It's end of June, just following long rains and the period prior to great migration and the savanah is filled with tall golden green grass of different patterns.
As we steer through, we see many Thomson's gazelles browsing by the roadside.
Farther, a parenting cheetah with a round belly stares our way as it eats what remains of an antelope. Meanwhile the cub is still enjoying the kill, its nose covered with blood.
"Cheetahs are diurnal. They hunt at daytime," explains the guide. "They are not as strong as lions and leopards, thus they eat fast otherwise their meal will be taken. They can even be chased away by packs hyenas or vultures."
Seven minutes away, we bump into another cheetah and her two cubs on an anthill. They view us slothfully but the mother's ears pick the sounds of the cowbells and she sits up vigilant, watching the plains. The flock of Masai cows is far in the distant and seeing no threat to her cubs, she slouches down again, relaxed.
The heavy rains have halted and the plains are full of vegetation making it arduous for the smaller animals to graze. Mostly it is the big animals like giraffes and elephants and the bigger antelopes that can be effortlessly be seen around.
This makes hunting complicated for the cats and they wind up with strange tactics. It is not odd to see lions and cheetahs trying to mount trees and anthills to get a high vantage position for searching for prey.
Cheetahs claws do not retract like those other cats and cannot often climb trees, but because they need to locate prey, they'll attempt anything.
Cheetahs, not like other predators, are weak so they hunt smaller-sized antelopes, by chasing them to exhaustion as aim for the jugular vein of the prey to make a brisk kill.
Minutes after sighting the second cheetah, we encounter another cheetah Mother (Shakira).
"Shakira had five cubs however two were killed," the guide quips. "Cheetah mothers typically keep moving when they have cubs to avoid lions and leopards harming their cubs."
Ahead a pride of twelve lions emerges consisting of a male, females and cubs. The male roars, the roar echoing beyond the plains, as it flips over on its rear. The females get up ready to prowl the plains.
"This is my best time in the Masai Mara," says the guide, "because there is minimal traffic and makes it easy to see wildlife."
In another few days it will be July, and the plains will start filling with wildebeests as they come from the Serengeti.
There will be a million plus wildebeests crossing the Sand River and going to the other end of the Mara before whirling to make the cyclic process. By the end of November, all the grass will be consumed by the wildebeests and some 400000 zebras and other wildlife.
In one afternoon, within the radius of 10 km, we have discovered plenty of animals. What a way to start off our Masai Mara safari.
The next day, as the sun goes up in the horizon, the plains seem quieter. This day we go forth looking for the big five.
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