Maasai Mara Game Reserve

Olerai Conservancy

5,000 acre private conservancy of unscathed virgin bush



Olerai Conservancy was set up through the goodwill of tribal landowners to expand wildlife ranges and migration routes. The whole gambit of African wildlife is here and it now has the largest concentration of giraffe and eland in the local eco-system. Giraffe are known locally as “cool tall guys” and Masai Giraffe differ from other sub-species by their distinctive jig-saw puzzle splotched pattern. Lion and cheetah move in and out of the territory but are often sighted since the Olerai plains are perfect hunting grounds. The reserve provides an elephant corridor and with lush marshland grasses the elephant are using it as a feeding ground as well as a dispersal area.

Domestic & Wild Animal
Collaborations



Proclaiming areas for the protection of wildlife must also consider local communities and their traditional ways of life. With cattle and goats forming the major livelihood and sustenance of the local Maasai around this Conservancy, the Conservancy Manager Mr Mandela introduced Time Zoning for grazing during certain low season months of the year Based on a 7 year study showing that wildlife is most active in the early hours of the day up to about 9am and the evening after 4pm, he allowed grazing of livestock on the open plains from 9am to 3.30pm. The local wildlife has habituated well to this circadian rhythm time zoning, although it’s not unusual to see a mixed group of wild and domesticated animals grazing in close proximity.

Lerai Safari Camp

Lerai Safari Camp is the only permanent safari accommodation in the 5,000 acre Olerai Conservancy of the greater Masai Mara ecosystem of southern Kenya. Barely 15 miles north of Tanzania’s Serengeti National park and just west of Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve, it’s an area teaming with African wildlife with migratory pathways for wildebeest, zebra, elephant and antelopes. Lerai Safari Camp was built slowly throughout 2018 to allow the wildlife breathing space to co-exist with us. Enveloped within a cluster of acacia trees (Lerai means yellow and Olerai describes the acacia tree), there is a nearby riverine forest stream drawing elephants towards camp.