Ben Wilson will present “Wildlife of the Masai Mara,” a photographic tour of his visit to the Masai Mara in Kenya in 2013 at the St. Paul Audubon Society meeting, Thursday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m., at Fairview Community Center, 1910 W. County Road B, Roseville.
The Masai Mara National Reserve is a large game reserve in Narok County, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Mara Region, Tanzania.
The Mara is famous for its exceptional population of Masai lions, African leopards and Tanzanian cheetahs and the Great Migration, the annual migration of zebra, Thomson’s gazelle and wildebeest to and from the Serengeti every year. All members of the “Big Five” (lion, leopard, African elephant, African buffalo and black rhinoceros) are found in the Masai Mara.
More than 470 species of birds have been identified in the park, many of which are migrants, with almost 60 species being raptors. Birds that call this area home for at least part of the year include: vultures, marabou storks, secretary birds, hornbills, crowned cranes, ostriches, long-crested eagles, African pygmy-falcons and the lilac-breasted roller, which is the national bird of Kenya.
Everyone is invited to this free program. A social time with refreshments begins at 6:45 p.m. Please contact Linda Goodspeed at 651-647-1452 if you have any questions.