Kenya’s Maasai Mara reserve is facing a legal battle over a new Ritz-Carlton safari lodge built on the banks of the Sand River. The lodge has twenty luxury tents and sits near routes used during the Great Migration, where over a million animals cross each year. A lawsuit claims the development blocks a wildlife corridor, contradicts a 2023 management plan that paused new tourism accommodation until 2032, and asks for the lodge to be demolished. Conservationists warn of rising pressure on the reserve as camps increased from 95 in 2012 to 175 in 2023. A court ruling is reportedly expected in December.
