Samburu National Reserve
Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve is one of the conservation areas that is host to beauties of the wild. The reserve is found in the southeastern corner of Samburu District in the Rift valley province of Kenya in Samburu county. Its location is very distant from the busy capital making human encroachment limited and therefore having intact its beauty with natural serenity.
It covers an area of about 165 square kilometers on an altitude range from 800 to 1230 meters above sea level. The serenity of the park is appealing to see with two mountains known as Koitogo and Ololokwe with their backdrops creating a great sightseeing destination.
Samburu Reserve is located nearby the Ewaso Nyiro River which attracts plenty of wildlife from the surrounding savannah plains. The Ewaso Nyiro River is northern Kenya’s biggest river where most animals in the reserve go to quench their thirst. Diversity in the reserve is very amazing with one of the most memorable moments being when the lioness known as Kamunyak adopted a baby oryx.
Wildlife in Samburu National Reserve:
The reserve has numerous wildlife for instance the Grevy’s zebra, Somali ostrich, reticulated giraffe, gerenuk and the beisa oryx can be seen.
Samburu National Reserve
These are also referred to as the Samburu Special Five animal species. The Ewaso Nyiro River hosts Nile crocodiles in its waters.
Apart from the Samburu special Five, there is more wildlife in the park and these include more than 900 elephants, large predators such as lions, leopards, wild dogs, cheetahs, Cape buffalo and hippopotamus. Mammals frequently seen in the park include the olive baboon, warthogs, Grant’s gazelle, Kirk’s dik-dik, impala and waterbuck. Black rhinoceros have been reintroduced into the reserve after over 25 years absence due to heavy poaching. This makes the park home to the popular African “Big Five” which are Lions, leopards, buffaloes, elephants and rhinos.
These animals within the reserve can be spotted on a game drive for up close viewing.
Bird species in Samburu National Reserve
Over 450 species of birds have been recorded within the Samburu National Reserve including some rare bird species. Some of the bird species in the park include the Lesser Kestrel and the Taita Falcon which are a global conservation concern.
Other bird species in the park include the African Darter, Great Egret, White-headed vulture, martial eagle, tawny eagle, yellow-necked spurfowl, lilac-breasted roller, secretary bird, superb sterling, northern red-billed hornbill, vultures and the yellow-billed Oxpecker. These bird species and many more can be seen on a birding safari in Kenya to the park or during a tour to the park to generally see what the beautiful reserve inhabits.
Best Time to visit Samburu National Reserve
The best time or months of the year to visit the Samburu Reserve is during the dry season. The dry season starts in late May and goes up to early October. It is during this time when large concentrations of wildlife is found in the reserve due to availability of lush vegetation along the Ewaso Nyiro River which is the main source of water to the Reserve and the nearby communities.
However, note that the reserve is open to tourists all year round and can be visited any season though the rate of getting to have a good view is different for each season.