The Mara continues to deliver— The Maasai Mara also referred to as simply the Mara, is located in south-west Kenya. In my opinion it is one of the greatest wildlife reserves in Africa. It is also one of my favorite photo location for many reasons.
Wildlife sightings are abundant and the photo opportunities are endless. Every sighting is based on chance, luck, weather and some good intel. You just never know what you will see on any given day. But having the right guide/driver is paramount.
Before heading out on any safari I like to keep a wish list of hopeful sightings and am thrilled when I can check one off the list!
At the top of my list this year was to see Luluka (female leopard) and her 2 young cubs. I also wanted to see Nashipae (female cheetah) with her 4 cubs that have grown for a full year. They were just very young cubs (still with their full mantles) when I photographed them last year. Another thing on my wish list was to see a lioness or leopard carrying her cub. Oh, and a male lion shaking its head in the rain.
Luluka with her male cub.
Luluka with her male cub.
Luluka’s adorable male cub.
Well, we were not in the Mara very long before we located Luluka and her (now) one cub. Apparently, the other cub did not survive as we had hoped. The cub was absolutely beautiful, strong and playful. His mother Luluka, I’ve known since she was a very young cub herself. Her mother Lorian was the first leopard I had ever seen in person, and I fell head over heels in love with her. So, when she had Luluka I was even more in love. Now Luluka has had a few liters of her own over the years and I have watched her grow into a powerful leopard. Seeing her with her new club (not named yet) was pure joy! They usually wait a year before naming the cubs in case they don’t survive. Interestingly, the Maasai do not name their children before they are a year old either…
Two of Nashipae’s cubs. She has 3 female and 1 male—that is great news!
It’s only day three as I am writing this, and we have had so many wonderful sightings. We saw and photographed (thanks to our guides for giving us a front row seat) a beautiful lioness named Bella. And yes, she was carrying one of her four cubs to a new den. This baby cub still had parts of its umbilical cord attached. It was the tiniest cub I’d ever seen! I will post those images at a later date.
On one of the days, we photographed a jackal den with four little pups. The two adults were cautious but not overly cautious; they allowed the pups out of the den to play before the adult female regurgitated a huge meal. Right afterwards she nursed the little ones directly in front of us. The behavior and the rambunctious male pup made for a very entertaining morning.
Jackal mom with 4 pups, regurgitating her huge meal.
We ran into the four cheetah cubs along with mom hunting wildebeest and gazelle. The cubs located and chased a serval cat. The serval cat put up quite a fight, so to not risk an injury the cubs just backed down and the serval cat walked away. The entire scene was extremely tense for everyone involved, including us. In the Mara, the predators don’t eat other predators, but they will kill them to secure their food supply.
This is the serval cat that the young cheetahs chased. I have a few with the cheetahs in the frame but there was always one or two looking away. This was my best shot of the serval cat, the background was busy and I was too close but I did like the face!
In addition to all the amazing sightings we witness a massive crossing with over $10,000 wildebeest. It was the largest crossing I’d ever seen, and it was thrilling to watch and photograph. We also had a front row seat to the event!
After the massive crossing, there were several wildebeest with injured legs. It wasn’t long before the hyenas came looking for them. This was brutal to watch so I only captured images as the hyena chased it. Once it was down, I had to stop photographing as the hyenas will eat their victims while they are still alive.
I can’t compliment my guides/drivers enough. They are totally on the ball. Most of the time through their network of Maasai drivers they manage to get us on the sightings before other vehicles start coming in. They are 100% Maasai Mara, and they know the reserve like the back of their hand. After all, this is their backyard- literally! They are also extremely knowledgeable about the wildlife, they can anticipate their every move, not to mention their “eagle-eyes! Our drivers have been working with top notch photographers for decades. They understand the light and shooting angles; this makes a huge difference when rolling up to a sighting.
NEW Upcoming safari’s :
Kenya, Maasai Mara/Amboseli ~ September- October 21 - 31, 2025 with Donna Bourdon
Tanzania -Serengeti and Ndutu, April 5-15, 2026- with Denise Ippolito and Paul McKenzie
Kenya, Maasai Mara/Amboseli ~ September 3-13, 2026 with Denise Ippolito and Paul McKenzie
Hippo at sunset
Black rhino
