Lesser-Known Kenya

The Masai Mara Game Reserve and The Amboseli National Park take most of the headlines as far as safaris in Kenya are concerned, but the country’s other parks demand another look for their impressive diversity of wildlife combined with less foot traffic.  Today we look at Samburu National Reserve.

Samburu lies 325 km north of Nairobi, approximately a 5 hour drive.  The Ewaso Ng’iro River provides the main source of water in this arid environment, supporting the thick forests and groves in the reserve. 

The comparatively less well-known Samburu National Reserve explodes with wildlife, including many species that are rare in the other parts of the country.  Over 900 elephants share the park with large predators like the lion, leopard, and cheetah.  Wild dog are common, along with buffalo and hippo.  The Grevy’s zebra, Somali ostrich, reticulated giraffe, gerenuk and beisa oryx make up the “Samburu Special 5”.  Over 450 species of bird also call the reserve home.

Samburu boasts over 20 camps and lodges and has its own airstrip, accommodating fly-in safaris.  Fewer tourists over the years has helped preserve Samburu’s serene and untouched landscape.

Interesting Story – The story of Kamunyak is a remarkable one.  Kamunyak (meaning ‘Blessed One’) is a lioness living in the Samburu National Reserve.  She is renown for adopting at least 6 oryx calves, fighting off predators including other lions in order to protect her adopted family.  Because the calves will not behave like lion cubs and wait while she hunts for food, she had repeatedly suffered from starvation.

Kamunyak was the subject of the film “Heart of a Lioness”, which first premiered on the BBC and later on Animal Planet in the US.  She was last spotted in 2004 and despite a number of searches, has not been seen since.

Check out these amazing videos of Kamunyak –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZbpbvkuBF4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7Qigv_h42c

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