Masai Mara day 3-5

 Throughout our safari our Maisa driver Ben taught us a lot of facts about animals and the landscape.  All wild cats need to eat every 3 days to survive.  A group of lions are called a pride  and the lions hunt in a group to take down their prey.

We were able to see a pride of lions kill a buffalo and its calf.  Lions are very organized while hunting for prey. The lions were watching a buffalo and its calf very closely. The lions started to creep through the long grass and finally encircled the buffalo and calf that was separated from the herd. The mom was trying to protect its calf but it was no match for the lions. The lions would go back and forth hitting the buffalo. One lion was able to grab the calf and kill it first.  They jumped on the back of the buffalo to jump and  were successful in killing it, the process only took 2 min.  

I noticed that there was a hierarchy in what order the lions ate. The males would eat, followed by the females and then the lioness would bring the cubs for their meal. Hyenas are scavengers so the next day they will come and finish the buffalo off.

On the fourth day we went to a Masai village where they lived as traditional Masai people. They showed us their houses that were made from mud and cow dung. I learned that the houses last for 10+ years and that there are branches inside the mud to give it more support.  All of the homes have a large bed, a small bed, a spare room and a kitchen with a fireplace. The bed is made from a few layers of cow skin.  Outside the Masai performed a welcoming ceremony where they were dancing, singing and jumping.  They also showed us how to make fire with a stick, a knife and a piece of wood. 

Outside the houses there were lots of cows with markings on them, they symbolized what tribe they are owned by.  After we looked around in the market we bought 2 bracelets and 1 necklace.

 Later that day we saw an elephant with one very large horn cooling off in a river. On the last day we saw a cheetah watching an antelope but we didn't see a kill so we continued to the park exit. After saying goodbye to our driver we drove back to Nairobi. I was amazed by all of the animals we saw in the Mara.