TheMaasai Mara National Reserve(also known asMasai Maraand by the locals asThe Mara) is a largegame reserve in Narok County,Kenya; contiguous with theSerengeti National ParkinMara Region,Tanzania. It is named in honor of the Maasai people(the ancestral inhabitants of the area) and their description of the area when looked at from afar: "Mara," which is Maa (Maasai language) for "spotted," an apt description for the circles of trees, scrub, savanna, and cloud shadows that mark the area.
It is globally famous for its exceptional population ofMasai lions,African leopardsandTanzanian cheetahs, and the annual migration ofzebra,Thomson's gazelle, andwildebeestto and from theSerengetievery year from July to October, known as theGreat Migration.