Kenya, 27 November 2025 – The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has strongly dismissed social media reports alleging that the newly opened Ritz-Carlton Safari Camp is obstructing wildebeest migration routes or river crossings inside the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
In a statement issued on Thursday, KWS described the claims as misleading and based largely on outdated images and narratives from 2018 and 2020 that have been taken out of context.
The Service suggested that some of the material may be driven by competing commercial interests in the Mara tourism sector.
KWS emphasised that the Ritz-Carlton Safari Camp is located in a designated “low-use tourism investment zone” approved under the official Maasai Mara National Reserve Management Plan 2023–2032.
The zonation was based on detailed scientific studies, ecological assessments, and joint planning between the national and county governments.
Long-term GPS tracking data from more than 60 collared wildebeest between 1999 and 2022 shows that the entire Maasai Mara National Reserve functions as a general dispersal area for the migration.
The data reveals no single fixed corridor or preferred route.
Instead, wildebeest use the full 68-kilometre width of the Kenya-Tanzania border within the reserve.
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The statement further noted that the Mara River, Sand River, and Talek River – where lodges and camps have long been established – are all used historically by wildebeest and zebra for crossings without serious challenges.
Along the Sand River alone, KWS said there are five permanent safari camps and more than two seasonal camps, yet only the Ritz-Carlton camp has attracted the current criticism.
KWS concluded that scientific evidence clearly demonstrates that neither the Ritz-Carlton Safari Camp nor the other camps along the Sand River obstruct or interfere with wildebeest movements.
The Service stressed that every tourism development inside Kenya’s protected areas, including the Ritz-Carlton project, undergoes rigorous environmental impact assessments to ensure full compliance with conservation requirements.
KWS urged the public to rely only on verified official information and called on Kenyans to share accurate details about the country’s world-famous wildlife heritage.
"The wildebeest migration is a globally celebrated natural spectacle, recently recognised by the World Book of Records (UK) and World Tourism Market (London) as the world’s greatest annual terrestrial wildlife migration and Africa leading tourism destination respectively," KWS said.
The agency reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the annual wildebeest migration – recently recognised as the greatest terrestrial wildlife movement on earth – while supporting responsible tourism and local communities.

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