The Maasai Mara and a farewell to the Bartter Family

The Maasai Mara did not disappoint. It was nothing short of exciting and exhilarating making it beyond doubt the best place in the world for animal viewing. Brit and Marilyn were amazed at how few other vehicles they saw. ‘Andy, this is like having it all to ourselves – our own private Reserve’. And it was, as for 2 days they explored the surrounding area and witnessed some incredible wildlife moments without another person in sight. The cats really came out to play for them; from a pride of 11 lion hunting and taking down a wildebeest to a mother cheetah and cub’s failed attempt on a Thomson gazelle, a leopard struggling to climb down a tree to a serval cat slinking through the grass less than 6 feet from the car. On their last game drive they had lion, leopard and cheetah all within 1 mile of each other. 

The lush grass is a haven for herbivores at the moment and they were literally animals everywhere. The Topi’s were ‘lekking’, as the males stood tall on their termite mounds they herded the females into the breeding arenas. Herds of Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles wagged their tails communicating with each other in case of a lurking predator. Warthogs and their piglets scurried around with their antenna like tails pointing straight up into the air. Impala, hartebeest, buffalo, zebra and wildebeest all made appearances as well as several herds of mud caked elephants. The sunsets were absolutely unbelievable, each evening Andy and the Bartter family sat with a ‘sundowner’ in hand and watched the sky transform into a variety of beautiful reds, pinks and oranges. The perfect end to the perfect day! 

Back to Nairobi it was for lunch and their private visit to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. The Orphanage is a truly special place, imagine baby elephants bounding towards you and almost crashing into you as their eyes are firmly set on the bottle of milk you are holding! Seeing them play and interact with each other and their keepers is touching, so is the mud they try and smear all over you! The Trust was set up in the late 1970’s and by 2008 it has successfully saved and hand-reared over 82 infant calves, two from the day of birth.. Currently, over 40 of the Trust’s hand-reared elephants are fully established and living free amongst their wild peers in Tsavo National Park, some returning with wild born young to show their human family. The Trust has trained a team of amazing Keepers who replace the orphans’ lost elephant family until such time as the transition to the wild herds has been accomplished, something that can take up to l0 years, since elephant calves duplicate their human counterparts in terms of development through age progression. Those that were orphaned too young to recall their elephant family remain dependent longer, but all the Trust’s orphans eventually take their rightful place amongst their wild counterparts, including those orphaned on the day they were born.

Its a heart moving place and with that we say a sad farewell to the Bartter family but look forward to seeing them again one day in the wilds of the African bush!