Spotting lions in the Masai Mara

We've just had two days in one of the most famous game parks in Kenya - the Masai Mara. It's actually an extension of the Serengeti park in Tanzania and the two are separated by the river Mara which I think is also the border line between the two countries. We saw all the usual game animals, but best of all was on our early morning drive when we saw a pride of 10 lions munching into a fresh catch of Zebra. The pride had 2 males, 4 females and 4 cubs and it was amazing to watch them (and hear them crunching into bones).

We also visited a very touristy Masai village where we got escourted around and shown their houses and learnt about their culture. The only good side of being very touristy is they loved posing for photos and I've included one of Steve wearing a lion's mane on his head! Later in the evening at the campsite we also had a Masai dance around a campfire and that was great to see (and do). For those who aren't "up" with Masai culture they are the ones who jump really high and practice female circumcision...nice.

Here are a few random animal facts we learnt...

1. If a lion attacks a herd of wilderbeast, then all the wilderbeast scatter rather than helping out their mate.
2. Black rhino hang out in bushes whilst white rhino roam the plains.
3. Male zebra try to rip each other's nuts off to prevent them from breeding with the females and to exert their dominance
4. Male ostrich are black and females are grey and they use these colours as camo to help them protect their eggs. During the day the female sits on the eggs and blends in with the landscape, and at night males sit on the egg and so blend in with the night sky.