National parks abroad

By Lucy Boult

Location of the Maasai Mara

Facts About the Maasai Mara

• The Maasai Mara National Reserve is a large game reserve in south-western Kenya.

• It is named after the Maasai people and their language.• It is famous for its exceptional population of lions, leopards, cheetahs, game, and

the annual migration of zebra, Thomson's gazelle, and wildebeest to and from the Serengeti every year from July to October, known as the Great Migration.

• The size of the national park has changed constantly over the years since it was founded in 1948.

• The terrain of the reserve is primarily open grassland with seasonal river lets.• All members of the "Big Five" (lion, leopard, African elephant, African buffalo, and

Black Rhinoceros) are found in the Maasai Mara.• Hippopotami and Nile crocodiles are found in large groups in the Mara and Talek

rivers. Leopards, hyenas, cheetahs, jackals, and bat-eared foxes can also be found in the reserve.

• More than 470 species of birds have been identified in the park.• Unlike most other National Parks in Kenya the Maasai Mara National Reserve is

not administered by the Kenya Wildlife Service, but by local authorities.• Game parks are a major source of hard currency for Kenya. Entry fees are

currently US$70for adult non-East African Residents and $30 for children.

Comparing with the U.K

The words national parks can mean different things in different countries. For example wildlife, in the Maasai Mara you can find lions, zebras, giraffes and much more safari creatures. But in the U.K the only wildlife you will find is birds, sheep, rodents and other small British wildlife.

Another example is landscape and climate, the Maasai Mara’s landscape is open grasslands and its climate is usually quite hot and sunny, while in the U.K the landscape is typically mountainous and the climate varied between freezing cold in the mountains and warm and sunny beaches.

I think the word national park just means a place that should be protected, preserved and loved.