 the maasai mara national reserve (also known as masai mara and by the locals as the mara) is a large game reserve in narok county, kenya, contiguous with the serengeti national park in mara 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 of lions, leopards and cheetahs, and the annual migration of zebra, thomson's gazelle, and wildebeest to and from the serengeti every year from july to october, known as the great migration. the maasai mara national reserve is only a fraction of the greater mara ecosystem, which includes the following group ranches: koiyaki, lemek, ol chorro oirowua, olkinyei, siana, maji moto, naikara, ol derkesi, kerinkani, oloirien, and kimintet. ==history==   when it was originally established in 1961 as a wildlife sanctuary the mara covered only  of the current area, including the mara triangle. the area was extended to the east in 1961 to cover  and converted to a game reserve. the narok county council (ncc) took over management of the reserve at this time. part of the reserve was given national reserve status in 1974, and the remaining area of  was returned to local communities. an additional  were removed from the reserve in 1976, and the park was reduced to  in 1984. in 1995, the transmara county council (tmcc) was formed in the western part of the reserve, and control was divided between the new council and the existing narok county council. in may 2001, the not-for-profit mara conservancy took over management of the mara triangle. ==geography== the maa
IUCN_Category_II Narok_County Protected_areas_established_in_1974 Protected_areas_of_Kenya