The Masai Mara is famous for its lion population and for being home to endangered species such as black rhino, hippo in the Mara and Talek rivers , and the Cheetah , having significantly reduced the number of copies of the latter . Another carnivore that can be found in large numbers is the spotted hyena. However, the true resident of this park is the wildebeest , as in the Serengeti , as their number is estimated in millions. Every year in July , these animals , like zebras migrate from the Serengeti plains in search of fresh pasture , and return in October. Ungulate species live in this park as Thomson 's gazelle and Grant 's gazelle or impala, giraffe and herds are also found . The Masai Mara is also home to over 450 species of birds. It is administered by the Kenyan government , and has anti-poaching units outside areas frequented by tourists located . The main inhabitants of this region are members of the Maasai community, a people who have maintained ancestral customs and traditions in full African savannah. The villages inhabited by the Maasai resemble African kraal , consist of huts arranged in circles and constructed on the basis of a structure composed of branches and trunks of trees, giving consistency to the frame embadurnándolo manure to cover it completely, let it dry up harden. The shape of the cottages is similar to the igloos of the Eskimos , also having a very small access door , no opening windows in any case. All cabins together form a circle called " boma " that serves as a storage yard overnight cattle herds . The head of the family has always owned a cabin , lifting left and right of his huts women. All the people in turn is protected by a fence or wall, also built of branches and trees , in order to keep out vermin and wild beasts overnight.