8 July 2025

Maasai Mara Wildlife Viewing Etiquette

Hi all,

As everyone gears up for the Wildebeest Migration season in Maasai Mara, please can I ask that we all ask our safari guides to behave in an ethical manner, treating the wildlife and the habitat with respect.
PLEASE read through these guidelines and hold your guide to account if they’re doing something unethical, dangerous, illegal, or disrespectful. Kenya’s national parks and reserves exists primarily for the conservation of wildlife and nature, and not for our entertainment.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you

Please also have a look at this excellent blog post:

https://www.tourismupdate.com/article/is-the-photograph-becoming-more-important-than-the-animal

Please also check out the attached PDF on Safari Etiquette

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Post author

Zarek Cockar
Post Views: 353

7 Comments

  • 8 July 2025
    JanEbr

    Just self-drive. You will spend most of the time either scared shitless of the wildlife or worried of causing a faux-pas and thus giving the reserves more ammunition against self-drivers. The article makes it seem like “foreign” guides are the only problem but I have many times seen local guides harassing wildlife needlessly. It’s always the self-drivers who give the most space to the animals.

    1
    • 9 July 2025
      Zarek Cockar

      @JanEbr things have changed. You’re no longer allowed to self-drive in the main Maasai Mara National Reserve. The administration claimed that there were too many self-drivers breaking rules, going offroad, getting stuck and sucking up county resources to be rescued. They ignored all the hired drivers doing the same thing and focused on the self-drivers. It’s a way to force people to hire locals, but it’s just made the problem worse. Anyway, the only area in Maasai Mara you’re still allowed to self-drive in now is the triangle.
      Self-drive is still allowed in all other National Parks and Reserves (though many private or community conservancies have never allowed it).

      • 9 July 2025
        JanEbr

        Wow, didn’t know that! The Triangle has always been the most attractive part anyway 🙂

        The “sucking up resources” is particularly funny given how much the entry costs. If they feel like self-drivers cost them more money, why don’t they just charge us more? I will gladly pay extra for the privilege of being alone.

        • 9 July 2025
          Zarek Cockar

          It’s all about low-hanging fruit and probably had nothing to do with ‘sucking up resources’ in reality. It was all designed to give the young men (and a few women) sitting outside the gates jobs, from what I can tell.

          • 10 July 2025
            JanEbr

            Anyway, as always, great to have updated info from you!

  • 20 July 2025
    Sebastian Kennerknecht

    Thanks for posting, I think this is a very important reminder. I would love for someone to create a website where you can actually read up on international guides, their ethics, what an experience with them is actually like. Just a thought.

    • 21 July 2025
      Zarek Cockar

      Hi Sebastian,

      Thanks for your message. There are plenty of people who have tried to create guide databases, but they usually end up turning into marketing and sales databases – a way for guides to increase their presence online and garner interest. You’re right that having some sort of a TripAdvisor type database where customers could rate their guides on various, numerous criteria would be great. My only concern is that many clients actually have no clue about what’s acceptable behaviour in the wilderness, and would give positive reviews for guides who they just happen to get along with, no matter what the guide’s ethics/etiquette may be.
      I’m not discounting the idea. I just don’t have any good ideas on how to make it work and be objective, transparent, fair, and truthful.

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