OUR ROLE IN
CONSERVATION
Our role is to be good stewards of the land and maintain a healthy balance between the environmental economic and social undertakings in the community
The Mara Ecosystem-Wildlife & Habitat
The Maasai Mara is known as Africa’s Greatest Wildlife Reserve, situated in southwest Kenya. Famous for the abundance of lions, the Great Wildebeest Migration, and the Maasai people, well known for their distinctive customs and dress, it is without a doubt one of Africa’s most famous safari destinations. MNC is an area of high biodiversity including 550 bird and 95 mammal species. Of all the species that grace the conservancy, MNC highly values the following species which are critical to the integrity of the area and the model
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- Western white-bearded wildebeest in their resident herds and the great migration
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- The big cats, the lions, leopards & cheetahs
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- The African Elephant
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- The Black Rhino
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- Vulture species including the Ruppels-Griffin, Nubian, Hooded, White-backed vulture
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- MNC also has in plenty; Buffalos, Zebras, Hippopotamus, crocodiles, The Maasai Giraffe, Elands, Spotted Hyenas, Topis, and Warthogs, among many other species.
Climate & Habitat
Rainfall in the Mara ecosystem is unevenly distributed with an annual average rainfall ranging from 500mm to 1,800, with the long rains starting from Marche to June. Soils are generally characterized by shallow sandy, well-drained soils at the hills, changing to deep silt poorly drained soils(black cotton soil) in the plains. The habitat is dominated by the tropical savannah, featuring indigenous vegetation such as Croton, Acacia, Balanites, & Elephant Pepper Trees. The Mara River runs along the northern border of the conservancy flanked by riverine woodlands consisting of Euclea, Elephant Pepper, Giant Diospyros& Wild Olive.
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- Common Grasses: Red Oat Grass(Olperesi o-rasha) & Bamboo Grass(ologor oing’ok)
ECOSYSTEM
MANAGEMENT
Collaborative efforts in ecosystem management
Environmental Practices & Ecosystem Management
Rehabilitating long-degraded areas, restoring natural habitat areas. The conservancy works to reclaim migratory corridors by actively encouraging the reduction of fences and blockage of wildlife corridors and protecting dispersal areas. Reducing land subdivisions and sales by 40% through incentivizing land owners to lease their land to the conservancy and registering lease agreements to conserve the land. MNC through collaboration with partner organizations through lobbying and sensitization through community barazas to reduce incompatible land uses and coordinate and control the development of structures around the conservancy
Wildlife Management
– protecting wildlife from poaching and snaring, managing grazing areas for livestock, and responding to human-wildlife conflicts. MNC through community barazas conducts anti-poaching community awareness and improves security coordination through collaboration with KWS, MEP, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Mara Lion & Cheetah projects, and other organizations to protect wildlife.
Mitigating Human-Wildlife Conflict
– Livestock predation & crop raiding are one of the biggest causes of human-wildlife conflict in the Mara ecosystem. The highest of these cases are caused by lions, hyenas, and leopards. MNC has established a predator compensation program to help compensate for the loss of livestock and reduce retaliation by the Maasai communities. The Mara Elephant Programmes also based in MNC help reduce crop raiding by elephants. MNC also sensitized the community on building predator-proof bomas to reduce the risk of livestock predation and ensure peaceful co-existence between the community and the wildlife.
Low-Density Tourism
MNC has a conservation area of 28,486 Ha (~70,391 acres) which accommodates 10 permanent camps & 2 mobile camps(horseback safaris). MNC aims to achieve one of the lowest tourist & vehicle densities. Currently, MNC’s bed density stands at 336 Acres/bed, but we aspire to achieve a bed density ratio of 350 beds/ acre as more land is leased to the conservancy. Low-density tourism, as well as a limited number of game vehicles, provides an exclusive safari experience while minimizing the impact on the environment.