The Olare Motorogi Conservancy (comprised of the former Olare Orok Conservancy and Motorogi Conservancy) is 33000 acres of outstanding natural beauty and ecological importance.
The conservancy directly borders the Maasai Mara National Reserve and it contains the lower valleys of the Olare Orok and Ntiakitiak rivers, riverine forest, the Ntiakitiak Gorge and a 12km escarpment below which are large areas of acacia woodland.
The conservancy ensures a true wilderness experience with one of the lowest tourist densities in the Mara region. The only safari vehicles on the land are the few 4x4s related to the handful of small camps within this vast area and there is a rich and diverse wildlife population with good numbers of predators and herbivores.
The area is teeming with wildlife during the Great Wildebeest Migration (generally June to October) and there are several prides of lions and many elephants. Endangered species such as rhino and wild dog are also evident.
There is another Wildebeest Migration from Kenya’s Loita Plains to the Mara which moves into Ol Kinyei Conservancy usually by January. The calving takes place there during February and March then they move through Olare Motorogi and into the Mara Reserve.
Olare Motorogi has pioneered the concept of community conservancies in the Maasai Mara and due to its success in helping protect the future of the area other similar projects are being implemented in the region. The conservancy has been built upon a partnership with the Maasai community where the Maasai landowners set aside the area to return to its natural state, creating a strategic buffer zone between land for human use and additional protected areas for wildlife. In return the Maasai receive reliable monthly payments for the lease of the land and gain employment in relation to tourism. Thus, the conservancy enables local communities to live in harmony with the wildlife whilst also benefitting from a source of income from conservation.
See below for more details on the resident lions of Olare Motorogi Conservancy. These are individuals in the 2 main resident prides identified by Living With Lions researcher Sara Blackburn in the Mara Predator Project.
