ആഫ്രിക്കൻ കാടുകളിലൂടെ | Maasai Mara in 4K UHD | Episode - 1
Today, we are in the African country of Kenya. This is the famous safari in Masai Mara, which can be called the paradise for wildlife lovers. we have seen a lot of wild animals that we haven’t encountered before. We are visiting the Masai Mara tribal village to understand their lifestyles. This is a video exploring African wildlife. We will get to see wildlife from our stay we are staying at a camp called Mara Duma, located on the the Talek river shore, near the Maasai Mara Reserve.
We have spent a few days there, exploring African wildlife. This is the first video in a series about the African safari Hello Friends, welcome back to Dot Green. Today we are in Africa. We are in Kenya, in the Maasai Mara, a paradise for all wildlife lovers. It can truly be described as a haven, you know? Today, we are reliving childhood memories.
Through Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, this place is very well-known. Going there has always been a dream for me — this dream has now become a reality. Thanks to "2Awesome Masai" and Pikolins Vibe, I am now soaring high.
So, we are going with "2Awesome Masai" "2Awesome Masai" is the travel company providing this package a travel company owned by wildlife enthusiasts from Kerala more details about 2Awesome Masai therein the video description The driver is here to receive us with our names printed. The same safari vehicle - Land Cruiser here to pick us. loading all the luggage.
We have a five to six-hour journey ahead. Welcome to Masai Mara! After a six-hour drive from Jomo Kenyata Airport, we have arrived in Maasai Mara. We will also visit a village there, and after that, we will start our game drive the next morning. I’ll show you all the details of our village visit along the way. So, we started our safari at six in the morning, just as the sun was rising.
We heard that there is a lion sighting, and everyone got their cameras ready. When we arrived at the location, there was a lion crossing across our vehicle. It wasn’t just one or two; there was a whole group.
A group of lions is called a pride. Typically, a pride consists of two or more. From 2-3 to upto 40 members some times in a pride. Everyone was gathered together in the morning for some event, so I thought maybe they had already hunted something.
But it wasn't a hunt; everyone was sitting together, trying to catch a porcupine from its den. Few lions are roaming around here and there. According to our guide, this is a large pride. This pride is very famous here, known as the Rongai.
Look at the morning light—it's beautiful, and the cold air makes it look like mist is rising from its mouth. At that moment, one pulled a porcupine from the den. So, this is the start of our Maasai Mara game drive, combined with a lion hunt, you know? It’s also in golden light, watching the live lion hunt.
Did you see the balloons floating above our heads? When the lion got its prey, the balloon flew up with a sound. We heard it; when we listened, the lions were looking up. Anyway, this is something you wouldn’t normally say here—it's something new. Ignoring everything else, they are continuing with their event. Did you see how close we got to this lion hunt? Look how near it is! All the vehicles are parked right next to us. Our vehicle is the closest.
Did you see how many balloons were around when we spotted the lion? There's also an option for a balloon safari, but it's incredibly expensive. പൊതുവെ വളരെ ഷോർട്ട് ഡ്യൂറേഷൻ പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് ഈ മോർണിംഗ് ലൈറ്റിൽ ഒക്കെ Generally, it has a very short duration, especially in this morning light. If you want this, you have to book it separately. In our Rongai pride, there are a few female lions and also some sub-adults. On the left, we can see a female lion, and on the right, there's a sub-adult male lion. Generally, lions are known to hunt together catching something like porcupine is not common; if they manage to catch it, there’s a risk of infection, which could lead to death later on.
This kind of event has happened before, and here, there are wild beasts because it’s the time of migration. I don’t know why they are still try to catch a prey like this where risk involved especially during migration In the first hours of our first safari in Maasai Mara, we had our first sighting of a big lion, which is a part of the Big Five. After leaving the hunting lions, we are now moving to the next location. Now, we are about to see African elephants for the first time up close. Look at that line coming in; see how it’s coming in from the front.
If it’s a little distance away, it’s correct. Look how close the elephant is getting to us. Here comes one right next to us. Hey, can we take a picture? It’s grey; it’s not like the black ones. There are three main types of elephants in the world: African bush elephants, African forest elephants, and our Asian elephants.
Right now, we are seeing the African bush elephants. The African forest elephants are smaller and are often referred to as pygmy elephants; they are critically endangered and are rarely seen here. In Maasai Mara, the common sight is the African bush elephants, and the main difference between them and our Asian elephants is their size. These African elephants are generally larger, and their social structure and behavior are similar, but their shape, size, and weight are greater. The easiest way to identify them is by the size of their ears. The ears of African elephants are much larger than those of Asian elephants. Also, the shape of their heads differs; African elephants have round-shaped heads, while Asian elephants have a two-bulge shape. So, that’s a significant difference.
Before we spent too much time, we spotted the second member of the Big Five, which is the African elephants. First, we saw the lion, and now, if we talk about the Big Five, they include African lions, African elephants, rhinoceros, Cape buffalo, and African leopards. These are what are known as the Big Five. We are getting ready to get down to the ground near Maasai Mara. We spotted the lion nearby; there’s no risk in going inside as the driver stopped at a safer place As our driver is very experienced they know what they are doing.
The safari vehicle is the same which came to pick us from airport, but we took the two seats on from the left side, so it’s comfortable for camera men This is a spacious place for taking photos and videos. As our safari moved on, we saw a rare sight—when we say rare, it refers to us, something we haven't seen before. This is a type of animal called a topi (T O P I). It's part of the antelope family, meaning it belongs to the same category as wild beasts.
Look at how interesting it is; both male and female have horns like this. So, there are two small horns. They are really prey for carnivorous animals like cheetahs, leopards, and lions.
Did you see the animal coming through the grass? That’s the cheetah—the fastest land animal. When I came to Maasai Mara, this was one of the animals I really wanted to see. The cheetah here is very famous and is known as the "Nashipai" cheetah, with its four cubs. So, there are a total of five cheetahs here, just look at them; yes, yes, yes, they are stunning—our Nashipai and its cubs.
As I mentioned before, cheetahs are the fastest land animals, capable of running up to 120 kilometers per hour at maximum speed. However, they can't maintain that speed for long; generally, they can only run at that speed for about 60 seconds—roughly one minute. Cheetahs typically hunt during the daytime. They will catch their prey and start eating it immediately. Otherwise, hyenas and wild dogs tend to steal their kills. Cheetahs face many threats, especially to their young.
Lions also prey on Chettahs, so surviving becomes very challenging, particularly for cheetah cubs. Looking at our Nashipai, it's a very successful mother because she has managed to raise all four cubs to this age, which is quite a feat for a cheetah. Did you see the five cheetahs? Among the sights on the first day, my favorite was this view of our Nashipai with her four cubs. They were all perched in a slightly elevated spot, looking around to understand where their prey might be. After realizing that, they continued their search for prey. As we moved forward, the next sighting we encountered was zebras.
There were thousands of them; it’s the time of migration in Maasai Mara. So, we can see many wild beasts and zebras here. Since childhood, we've seen pictures of them on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel.
In front of us, zebras stand in a beautiful green setting, and seeing them is a special sight. In terms of numbers, there are more wild beasts than zebras. When we say that, they literally lie here like a sea of animals. Have you seen them? I mentioned before that while zebras have a good resemblance to horses, they also belong to the antelope family. The wild beasts belong to the antelope family, which is quite interesting. we can see wild beasts, zebras, and even some gazelles around.
Look, we’ve parked here; it’s time for breakfast. The breakfast items include bread, eggs, sausages, and several other things. As we take our time enjoying breakfast, we can introduce our camera partner, Gnome from Thrissur. They’ve sponsored our Nikon camera, and Gnome is the official dealer and service collection center for Nikon. Murali Chettan is also a passionate wildlife photographer, so he provides specific equipment focused on wildlife through Gnome.
I can provide the contact number for reaching out to Gnome in the description of this video. After finishing breakfast, we’ll have a coffee and continue to our next game drive. As we fly past, we received news about a leopard sighting. The leopard is a rare sight here
All the vehicles have come to a halt. This leopard is the prime attraction here because it’s such a rare sighting. That’s why you can see all the vehicles gathered around. The name of this leopard is Luluka, and it’s walking with its two cubs.
In the background, you can see zebras and antelopes and a lot of other animals. It was quite a stunning sight. Did you see the number of vehicles that came to capture the leopard? If you didn’t see all the vehicles around, look at what’s happening now. Yes, our driver, David, is a hero. So many vehicles are around, yet not a single one in our leopard frame. Hats off to David.
As you can see, all of this is part of the migration happening here. These are not native occurrences; they have traveled from the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. Not only wild beasts, but there are also many zebras and Thomson’s gazelles around.
Many animals arrive here as part of this migration. Now, let’s take a look at what migration is. The Great Migration in Maasai Mara is an event that falls under Seven Nature wonders. It involves animals moving together from Tanzania's Serengeti National Park to Maasai Mara in Kenya.
This migration process we refer to as the Great Migration. During the dry season, when the grass starts to dry up, animals seek out fresh green grass and water, leading them to move in groups toward Maasai Mara. The main participants in this migration are the wild beasts, with around 1.5 million wild beasts being part of this journey. In total, about 2 million animals, or 20 lakh animals, take part in this migration process, crossing over to this area.
The timing of this migration is not fixed; it depends on the weather. However, it typically starts around July when the migration from Tanzania to Maasai Mara begins, and they return around October. The primary challenge they face during migration is the presence of lions and cheetahs, which are carnivorous animals lying in wait for their prey. So, during migration, it’s a critical time for them, as it’s when they can find food in plenty This season is festive for the carnivorous animals; look at the white-browed coucal, a bird that belongs to the cuckoo family. Isn’t it fascinating? Now, look at these two giraffes. Giraffes have always intrigued us since childhood.
The tallest land animals, their height is remarkable, especially their long necks The legs of the giraffe also serve as a defensive mechanism. When attacked by other animals or during fights, they primarily use their legs and necks as their two weapons. You see that animal in the background? It's a Cape buffalo, also known as the African buffalo. In Malayalam, we can call it a "kattupothu".
In our region, we don’t have such animals. When asked if we have anything similar, we say it's the Indian wild gaur. Since we don’t have animals like this here, we refer to it as "kattupothu." Despite its calm appearance, it’s actually a very aggressive animal. It can even charge at a lion.
No matter how many times you see a giraffe, it remains an impressively beautiful animal. Look at them—they’re either grazing or standing alert, keeping an eye out. As I mentioned earlier, they also have threats, like leopards and lions, which tend to attack them, especially their young ones. Hence, they remain alert all the time, constantly vigilant. Now, it’s lunchtime. We’ve stopped for a break, and below, you can see zebras.
Look at them; we’ve halted here for lunch. Our lunch has been packed in boxes, and we have some items with us. Our lunch consists of eggs, apples, chicken, and peas. I mentioned that yesterday we visited the Maasai village to explore the lifestyle and traditions of the tribes there. By the time we have ,lunch, watch our Masai village visit. You know, before going to the camp, we first visited the village.
Here, they welcomed us with songs. Whenever guests arrive, they gather together and sing to greet us, It’s essential that everyone knows English well, so often one of them acts as a guide. my name is i will be a guide in the village okay so is the chief of the village joseph the chief of the Look at their homes; these are small huts made entirely of mud.
They are low and round, and I feel like this area is very open, as you can see the ground is covered with cow dunk. tourists keep coming here, and this is currently their main source of income. if you keep jumping and you win like two two times or more you even create a chance of winning the most beautiful girl here and the village okay so it was jumping Let’s take a look inside one of their huts. It’s really low. You can see that the height isn’t much. The structure is made of mud, and the entire roof is also made of mud. മൊത്തം ചാണകം മെഴുകിയതാ കേട്ടോ ചാണകം മെഴുകിയിട്ട് അതിന്റെ മുകളിൽ The beams are made of wood, covered with clay.
mother is just far away so i get married here and then i come and build my holy so you cannot be you build this alone yes the husband is the boss is the one is the husband of the four wives from there one two three four this is the mother's house this one is mine others are my co-wives So, in the end, our Bibin will get married to a woman from the Maasai village.(laughing) Now let’s go inside and take a look. Here, you see the interior; this is where they sleep. There’s no light in here. Look, there’s a small hole made and that’s how the light comes in. The bed is quite low; it’s very close to the ground.
There’s another bed here. “This is the kitchen, right?” “Yes, yes, this is the kitchen.” Here it is; this is the kitchen. The thick wood made from olive. There’s a small fire pit made from acacia wood. They use that to make fire. Look, the smoke is coming out now. You can see how they light the small fire inside using the wood.
After visiting their village, watching the dances and songs, there’s also a small market here We can drink porridge here. "Porridge? We have the pot for that." There’s a knife for cutting meat. So, after our village visit, we arrived at Masai Mara. The name of our camp is Mara Duma Bush Camp.
We checked in and headed to our room. You can see the river right in front of our room. Animals come here freely, and we can see crocodiles and hyenas among others. This room is a shared room; there’s one bed here, and two more here.
This is our balcony. From the balcony, we can see the river in front. Beyond that is the Maasai Mara National Reserve, where animals come as they please. We have two normal beds and a small bed. Technically, there are three beds sharing, but they are the size of four beds. You can see our plugs and everything. This is the type of connection we need to use a universal adapter.
There’s a wash area, and the bathroom is separate. The toilet is here too. This is a fantastic campsite with an amazing location and well-set facilities Now, before we head out for the safari, we got our first sighting of an African elephant. Sitting in front of the camp, we can see crocodiles lying around.
This is all happening in front of our camp. We are not allowed to go down to the river; we can see it from here. There are fences and everything. You can see it from outside. Our camp has plenty of views from the Maasai Mara. There are still many safaris and lots of action left, and we will show you all that in upcoming episodes.
If you’re interested, don’t forget to subscribe to the channel. We’ll see you in the second episode about the Maasai. Until then, everyone, bye-bye!
2024-10-06 03:09
