Matira Magazin

Name: Matira Magazin
Address: Maasai Mara National Reserve, Mombasa, KE
Telephone: + 41 79 3222578

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Online magazine from Matira Bush Camp providing information and updates about the big cats that call Maasai Mara their home

Matira Magazin - Join us online on safari, enjoy unforgettable moments in the Bushcamp and learn more about the biodiversity of Kenya. We will inform you with great products and fantastic imagery and run with our free Subscriptions several times a week through the Masai Mara!

18/09/2026

One of the 6 pack’s best-kept ‘secrets’ - Siri, their Paradise daughter born almost exactly six years ago and who has always been pretty seldom seen. The guides aptly named her Siri, meaning ‘secret’ in the local lingo, after noticing how elusive she was.

Over the years, several people have confused Siri with her older cousin Nyigu, despite Nyigu having a distinctive ear clip since childhood. These days, Siri and Nyigu spend less time together, with Nyigu raising her litter alongside her fathers - who are also the cubs’ fathers as well as their grandfathers, keeping it well and truly in the family 😂. Nyigu isn’t part of the group mostly seen with the Topi boys, though their paths have crossed.

Siri, meanwhile, is yet to produce a known litter - unless she turns out to be the mother of Olorrip, whose mother remains unknown.

These photos are from 4 years ago and popped up in my memories reel yesterday, so Siri is only 2 years old here. The last time I saw her was earlier this year, mating with Moja Moja - and even then she made herself difficult to see, tucked away in the bushes amongst the rocks 😅.

Even as a cub, when she was with her mother (either Nado, Nasha or Sidai) and her aunts, my sightings and records folder contain far fewer photos of Siri than of her age-mates. She really has lived up to her name!

Thought I’d share as I’ve never posted her before, and I like giving some space to the lesser-known lions. They matter just as much as the social-media-famous ones.

The vast majority of guests come to see lions as a collective, rather than particular named individuals. Of course, some arrive with a list of specific individuals they hope to find, but they’re the exception rather than the norm.

So, for once, a little spotlight on a lion who has spent most of her life avoiding it. I see those classic Kiok and Koshoke traits in her, particularly around the eyes and in her gaze. It’s always a treat to see her out and about….even if sightings are few and far between!

Join us on safari to track Siri and more…hard to find Siri though! 😅

ℹ️ [email protected]
🕸️ matirabushcamp.com
📝📸 Lucy Johnson

Orkirikoi’s party tricks 🤩ℹ️ info@matirasafari.com🕸️ matirabushcamp.com📝📸 Lucy Johnson

03/09/2026

Orkirikoi’s party tricks 🤩

ℹ️ [email protected]
🕸️ matirabushcamp.com
📝📸 Lucy Johnson

18/08/2026

Hello again, Olkipirati and Oltopuai 🤗

Spotted Bazuu and Oloisepe’s older brothers in the Serengeti! They were far away attempting to hunt in Tanzania, but it was very much them.

You’d never think that they are around two years older than Bazuu and Oloisepe’s generation….but they are! They are part of the first generation sired by the Inselbergs in the Purungat pride (see previous post for hunky Bazuu 😍).

Olkipirati is Naanyu’s son and was born around September 2022. Oltopuai is several months younger, and I think he is very likely Naimutie’s son, although I missed his denning sightings, so this is my best guess based on several factors. Somewhere along their nomadic journey, a brother disappeared from their sightings.

Hope they don’t become strangers, high odds they’ll settle across the border given their recent location.

ℹ️ [email protected]
🕸️ matirabushcamp.com
📝📸 Lucy Johnson

16/08/2026

Beautiful Bazuu 😍

He’s not even two years old yet and, thanks to his super-impressive genes from the Purungat females and his fathers/uncles, plus the abundance of prey in his hood, this guy is looking seriously beefed up these days 🤩

I have to say, out of the thousands of lions I’ve followed in the Mara over the past decade, the Inselbergs have, without contest, produced the most consistently beautiful offspring I’ve ever seen. And they’ve certainly been successful at it too - their legacy is approaching an incredible 50 sons and daughters who have made it to dispersal age. Quite the dynasty!

I should do an Inselberg offspring pin-up poster 😆 there’d certainly be no shortage of candidates!

Join us on safari to track Bazuu and his family!

ℹ️ [email protected]
🕸️ matirabushcamp.com
📝📸 Lucy Johnson

15/08/2026

Gréât to catch up with Oldorop after sooooo long! He’s managed to evade me the past years and since the boys became pride males.

Him and his 3 bros, sons of the Mandevus out of the Oloolaimutia pride (aka the Sopa pride but not the Sopa pride documented by MPCP), are doing soooooo well down along the Sand River….living their best lives with plenty of food to keep their hugggge Salas Breakaway family fat and happy chappies.

There’s often a bit of confusion with their girls because any lions seen along the Sand River tend to get called the ‘Sand River pride’, probably as that’s where they are. However, these particular females I’ve known since their days as cubs with Scar2 and Brown in the Salas Breakaway pride.

They’re very much a dual-citizen pride, moving between Kenya and Tanzania, which can make keeping track of them even trickier. It’s easy to see how identities and pride histories can get muddled, though it’s important that Scar2’s and Brown’s legacy with this pride is accurately remembered.

That said, it’s possible the boys do actually have the real Sand River pride too, but sightings with reliable IDs are few and far between, and I don’t tend to venture that way very often myself.

Either way, these 4 boys certainly seem to be thriving with their Salas Breakaways ❤️

P.s. There’s no need for human intervention for his eye, he’s lived with this for years…at one point I thought he’d lost his eye like his brother Lenchada, but no, he’s living his wild life and sometimes the best thing we can do is simply let them be❣️

Join us on safari to track Olorop, his extended family and loads more!

ℹ️ [email protected]
🕸️ matirabushcamp.com
📝📸 Lucy Johnson

13/08/2026

Sweet little cub from the Purungat Pride 🦁❤️ This pride has certainly produced some lookers over the years!

This lil’un probably hasn’t made it onto social media before. The Purungat Pride isn’t one of those ‘famous’ prides that attracts a social-media frenzy. While some cats are known by the tens of thousands, others are known by only a few of us. These days, there’s even a growing trend for social media accounts/pages to be named after individual cats.

Sometimes it’s the lions without the social-media frenzy and that few people know - like this little one - that I find the most special ❤️

🕸️ matirabushcamp.com
📸📝 Lucy Johnson

11/08/2026

World Lion Day had to kick off with a check-in on Mikunjo’s mini-mes 🦁❤️…our daily ‘chore’😅

The special duo have made it this far through the dangers surrounding the recent R5 takeover, but they’re certainly not out of danger. Mikunjo continues to invest in these little ones, which is so beautiful to watch unfold.

They’re growing and still very much depend on mum…every day they remain safe and together feels like a little win. A particularly special family to check in on for World Lion Day. 🥰

ℹ️ [email protected]
🕸️ matirabushcamp.com
📸 Antony Tira
📝 Lucy Johnson

08/08/2026

Twinning - Olomayiana and Namayiana (meaning “Blessed” / “The one who is blessed”) - two of Bearface’s three offspring in the Rongai (Paradise breakaway) pride ❤️

I love the nod to their shared ancestry in giving them similar names, much like Nenkomom and Lenkomom in the Survey Pride. There’s something rather special about having those connections reflected in their names. Congratulations to the wonderful guides for the thought and care they put into choosing them.

For me, Bearface’s genes have really shone through in her offspring, although to different degrees across her litters. I think they came through most strongly in her son from her 2019 litter with “Floppy Left Ear” and “Jagged Left Ear”. He was perhaps the one who most strikingly resembled her - there were times when the likeness was unmistakable. A true Bearface doppelgänger!

ℹ️ [email protected]
🕸️ matirabushcamp.com
📝📸 Lucy Johnson

— at Maasai Mara.

07/08/2026

Mr Olopono decided to make a visit to camp yesterday. Unlike his shy mother, Nape, and his elusive sister, this handsome boy has become one of the Mara’s true showcats, delighting everyone with his presence whenever he appears.

Long may he continue to grace us with these special visits.

ℹ️ [email protected]
🕸️ matirabushcamp.com
📝 Lucy Johnson
📸 Antony Tira

06/08/2026

One of my favourite pastimes is spending time with this chubster, Orkirikoi 🤩

Just look at how he’s changed from one of the first photos I took of him back in 2018 to the one from last week (and when he was in the awkward teenage stage in 2021). His mane throughout this year has been a little sparser than it once was, but he’s still every bit the magnificent lion. And, the older he gets, the less I think he resembles Chongo, especially in the flesh.

And hearing his snores is the best 🤣🤣🤣

He really doesn’t seem bothered about spending time with his sons, he’s perfectly content in his own company. I said 6 months ago that he seemed to be ok with his own company, like Jesse was, and nothing has changed yet. If anything, he’s become even more comfortable doing his own thing.

It’s been a privilege to watch him grow and change over the years. Sometimes the greatest joy isn’t in witnessing dramatic hunts or intense interactions, but simply sitting quietly in his company, listening to him snore, and appreciating one of my favourite Mara characters.

Join us on safari to track Orkirikoi and more!

📩 [email protected]
🌐 matirasafari.com
📸 📝 Lucy Johnson

Address

Maasai Mara National Reserve
Mombasa

Telephone

+ 41 79 3222578

Website

https://www.matirabushcamp.com/

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