Editing Maasai Mara (section)

==Research==
The Maasai Mara is a major research centre for the spotted hyena. With two field offices in the Mara, the [[Michigan State University]] based Kay E. Holekamp Lab studies the behaviour and physiology of this predator, as well as doing comparison studies between large predators in the Mara Triangle and their counterparts in the eastern part of the Mara.<ref name="maratriangle_research"/>

A flow assessment and [[trans-boundary river]] basin management plan between Kenya and Tanzania was completed for the river to sustain the [[ecosystem]] and the basic needs of 1 million people who depend on its water.<ref>{{cite journal |author=McClain, M.E. |author2=Subalusky, A.L. |author3=Anderson, E.P. |author4=Dessu, S.B. |author5=Melesse, A.M. |author6=Ndomba, P.M. |author7=Mtamba, J.O. |author8=Tamatamah, R.A. |author9=Mligo, C. |year=2014 |title=Comparing flow regime, channel hydraulics, and biological communities to infer flow–ecology relationships in the Mara River of Kenya and Tanzania |journal=Hydrological Sciences Journal |volume=59 |issue=3−4 |pages=801−819 |doi=10.1080/02626667.2013.853121 |s2cid=129652372 }}</ref>

The Mara Predator Conservation Programme also operates in the Maasai Mara, cataloging and monitoring lion populations throughout the region.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.livingwithlions.org/mara |title=Mara Predator Project |access-date=1 February 2012 |archive-date=2 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302154258/http://www.livingwithlions.org/mara/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Concentrating on the northern conservancies where communities coexist with wildlife, the project aims to identify population trends and responses to changes in land management, human settlements, livestock movements and tourism.

Since October 2012, the Mara-Meru Cheetah Project<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://marameru.org/|title=Mara Meru Cheetah Project|website=marameru.org|language=en-US|access-date=22 December 2017|archive-date=23 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223102152/http://marameru.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> has worked in the Mara monitoring cheetah population, estimating population status and dynamics, and evaluating the predator impact and human activity on cheetah behavior and survival. The head of the Project, Elena Chelysheva, was working in 2001–2002 as Assistant Researcher at the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Maasai-Mara Cheetah Conservation Project. At that time, she developed original method of cheetah identification based on visual analysis of the unique spot patterns on front limbs (from toes to shoulder) and hind limbs (from toes to the hip), and spots and rings on the tail.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.catsg.org/cheetah/01_information/1_3_periodical-reports/cat-news/cat-news.htm |title=Cat News #41, 2004 |access-date=23 March 2014 |archive-date=28 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111228141212/http://www.catsg.org/cheetah/01_information/1_3_periodical-reports/cat-news/cat-news.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Collected over the years, photographic data allows the project team to trace kinship between generations and build Mara cheetah pedigree. The data collected helps to reveal parental relationship between individuals, survival rate of cubs, cheetah lifespan and personal reproductive history.

The resilience of the game park model and the impact of the covid pandemic have also been evaluated so as to include consideration of issues of equality, and environmentalism.<ref>Shreya Chakrabarti ''The sensitivity of the Maasai Mara Conservancy Model to external shocks'' (2021) https://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1567539&dswid=-2405 Retrieved 30 September 2021</ref>