What Is The Best Safari Park In Kenya?

By Author: Amar Shah
Total Articles: 215
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Kenya is home to some of the best safari parks in East and Central Africa. They are located across the country; the most famous of them being the Nairobi National Park, the Nakuru National park, Amboseli, Mt. Kenya among others. The best of them all however, is the Maasai Mara Game Reserve.

Maasai Mara came into the limelight because of the spectacle that came to be known as the 8th wonder of the world; the wildebeest migration. This has since accorded the Mara International acclamation like no other Safari park ever did in the history of tourism in Kenya, and even in its neighboring countries.

The beauty of the Mara is that one gets to experience up close the wild and the animals that roam through the park; this is facilitated by the terrain of this game reserve. It is so easy to maneuver through due to the open plains that give a perfect view of the animals in their natural environment without any hindrances.

The Mara is home to a wide variety of wild animals, the biggest population being herbivores; zebras, gazelles, wildebeests, buffalos and rhinos amongst others. Another special feature of the Mara ...
... is that it shelters the big five; the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo as they are fondly referred to. The presence of river Tana that traverses the Mara is another great advantage. Besides this river forming a great part of the eco- system and contributing a great deal to the continued thriving of the game reserve, it is in this river where a big population of crocodiles and hippos call home. It is the most beautiful sight watching them co-exist. This same river acts as the link through which wildebeests and zebras cross to and from the Serengeti and this, besides being the most famous of any of the animal activities, also happens to be the most thrilling as one watches, tension filled as the animals trample on each other in a bid to get to the other side safe, sound and alive considering the crocodiles that lay in wait and celebration right there in the river.

The Maasai Mara has been upheld with such admiration and amazement over the years and it has set a record that will take a long time to be broken. It is from the Mara that one of the most successful documentaries, Big Cat Diary of the BBC was sourced. This documentary, that mainly focuses on the big cats of the Mara, how they co- exist with each other as well as with other animals and the game of survival for the fittest in the wild, is a real spectacle and has been running for over ten years. A good twist to it all is that the same documentary went live in the Mara this year, 2008, as Big Cat Live with millions of viewers tuning in at every live show.

With all the fame, local and international publicity that the Mara receives, the biggest beneficially is the Kenyan economy. However, with the increased concern over depletion of natural resources and global warming due to practices like deforestation, the Mara is also at risk and as a result conservation efforts like tree planting and prevention of human encroachment into forested areas especially the Mau and Mt. Kenya forests are emphasized as well as educating locals and foreigners about the same.