The beautiful Maasai Mara

It is named in honour of the Maasai people,^[2] the ancestral inhabitants of the area, who migrated to the area from the Nile Basin. Their description of the area when looked at from afar: "Mara" means "spotted" in the local Maasai language, because of the short bushy trees which dot the landscape.

The Maasai Mara was originally established in 1961 as a wildlife sanctuary and it covered only 520km² of the current area, including the Mara Triangle. The area was extended to the east in 1961 to cover 1821km² and converted to a Game Reserve. Part of the reserve was given National Reserve status in 1974, and the remaining area of 159km² was returned to local communities. An additional 162km² were removed from the reserve in 1976, and the park was reduced to 1510km² in 1984.

Note: Thinking about the frequency for this from next week. It might go back to once a week at least for a while, until I think about what else I can do with it. It won’t stop, but you might see it a bit less often!