Odisha CM Unveils Puri Gajapati Maharaja’s Book ‘Majestic Mara’

Bhubaneswar: Gajapati Maharaja of Puri Dibyasingha Deb has authored a book ‘Majestic Mara’ on his eight-day safari across Masai Mara, the famous national reserve in Kenya, last year.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik unveiled the book at his residence here on Saturday.

Among others, the high commissioner and an MP of Kenya were present on the occasion.

The Gajapati Maharaja said he had gone with a nine-member team from Odisha to Masai Mara in August 2018 to see the extraordinary spectacle ‘Great Wildebeest Migration’ (the annual migration of giant herds of grazers across Northern Tanzania and Kenya).

“The objective of our tour was to bring to the forefront the wildlife conservation activities in this national reserve,” he told reporters post-launch of his book. “Those visiting this world famous reserve will realize that the world is a place not only for human beings, but for wild animals as well,” he added.

During this extraordinary migration, over two million wildebeest, zebras and gazelles move through the Serengeti and Masai Mara ecosystems in search of green pasture in a regular pattern, which is one of the greatest wonders of the natural world.

The wildebeest migrate into Serengeti and Masai Mara with the sole purpose to follow the rains.

The animals follow a clockwise movement across Serengeti for the lush green grass.  Their 500-km journey, however, is fraught with lurking danger of predators like lions, cheetahs and the Nile crocodiles.