| Maasai Mara National Reserve | |
|---|---|
| Maasai Mara | |
 Typical "spotted" Maasai Mara scenery | |
  Location of Maasai Mara National Reserve | |
| Location | Kenya, Rift Valley Province |
| Nearest town | Narok |
| Coordinates | 1°29′24″S 35°8′38″E / 1.49000°S 35.14389°E |
| Area | 1,510 km2 (580 sq mi)[1] |
| Established | 1961 |
| Governing body | Narok County, Mara Conservancy LTD |
Maasai Mara, also sometimes spelled Masai Mara and locally known simply as The Mara, is a large national game reserve in Narok, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. 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.
Maasai Mara is one of the wildlife conservation and wilderness areas in Africa, with its populations of lion, leopard, cheetah and African bush elephant. It also hosts the Great Migration, which secured it as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, and as one of the ten Wonders of the World.
The Greater Mara ecosystem encompasses areas known as the Maasai Mara National Reserve, the Mara Triangle, several Maasai group ranches, and several conservancies.[3][4]
- ^ Protected Planet (2018). "Masai Mara". United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Archived from the original on 2 January 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ^ "Masai Mara National Park". Global Alliance of National Parks. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ "Maasai Mara Game Reserve". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ "Masai Mara". BirdLife International. Retrieved 28 April 2024.