Situated in East Africa, Kenya is a vacation spot recognized for its wealthy wildlife and pure magnificence. The nation provides an unbelievable number of landscapes, from iconic savannahs to dense forests, lakes and rivers.
With its wide selection of habitats, Kenya is house to a few of the most various animal populations on the planet. From the well-known Huge 5 to many different iconic and endangered mammals, reptiles and birds, there is no such thing as a scarcity of wildlife sightings available in Kenya.
Having lately visited Kenya on a safari with Alluring Africa and Governor’s Camps, we had the chance to see an unbelievable variety of animals in Kenya firsthand. Our educated guides taught us a ton about every animal, its behaviour and its distinctive traits.
Fascinated by what we’ve discovered and happy with the photographs we’ve captured, we wished to place collectively this complete information to a few of the most exceptional animals in Kenya. Observe alongside as we share our favorite photographs from our safari in Kenya and insights into what makes every one in every of these animals so particular.
On a safari in Kenya
Kenya’s Various Terrain and Ecosystems
Kenya’s vibrant landscapes vary from snow-capped mountains to tall grassy plains. With gorgeous coastlines and dense forests, this nation showcases unbelievable range in its terrain and habitats and its one of many the explanation why an abundance of wildlife thrives on this vacation spot.
The northern a part of Kenya options various landscapes, together with wetlands, mangroves, and freshwater lakes that create a perfect atmosphere for aquatic animals and birds.
Additional south, the rolling hills present glorious grazing grounds for herbivores equivalent to buffaloes, zebras and giraffes. And in the identical mild, nice searching grounds for his or her predators, the extra harmful animals in Kenya, like huge cats and hyenas.
The lush tropical forests of coastal areas are house to baboons, duiker, elephants and different primates. Kenya’s range in terrain additionally permits for varied species to reside side-by-side by creating appropriate habitats for particular species.
The grasslands of Maasai Mara Nationwide Park
Animals in Kenya: The Huge 5
Kenya’s nationwide parks are teeming with wildlife. There may be, after all, the well-known Huge 5, a time period coined by African big-game hunters again within the 1900s, to refer to 5 giant, harmful animals that had been on each hunter’s checklist. The Huge 5 consists of lion, elephant, leopard, rhino, and Cape buffalo. These weren’t essentially the most harmful animals in Kenya and different components of Africa, nevertheless it did signify a sure stage of problem in killing them.
Wildlife searching, often known as trophy searching, was banned in Kenya in 1977. Since then, Kenya has been dedicated to defending its wildlife inhabitants and preserving its pure sources. Searching practices have been changed by eco-tourism, with a big share of tourism {dollars} now going to help conservation efforts and defending animals in Kenya.
The remnants of the long-lasting standing of the Huge 5 remained, and at present, these animals are nonetheless widely known for his or her iconic standing in Africa. We are able to inform you firsthand, that viewing these iconic animals is an unforgettable expertise that lets you admire their magnificence and oftentimes humbling energy.
A go to to Kenya wouldn’t be full with out developing shut and private with the Huge 5! Let’s discuss a bit extra about every one of many Huge 5 animals in Kenya.
Capturing elephants on a safari in Kenya
1. African Elephants
With over 30,000 African elephants present in Kenya, it’s truthful to say that these mild giants are considerable on this a part of Africa. Based on Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), during the last 3 many years, the inhabitants of elephants in Kenya has greater than doubled, going from simply 6,000 elephants in Kenya in 1989, to 34,800 by the top of 2019.
Whereas elephants are discovered in lots of Nationwide Parks in Kenya, the highest focus of elephants is in Amboseli Nationwide Park, the place they’re regularly seen roaming in giant herds. Different areas with important elephant populations embrace Tsavo Nationwide Park, Laikipia, and, after all, the Maasai Mara Nationwide Reserve.
We all the time take pleasure in watching elephants on safari. They usually journey in huge matriarch-dominated herds consisting of elephants of various ages. They’re big however actually mild, usually approaching the automobiles very shut whereas grazing peacefully on the huge grasslands.
For those who come on a Kenya safari throughout the calving season, you could be fortunate to identify lovable younger elephants studying their means or huddling near their moms.
Mother and child elephant in Masai Mara
Muddy elephants at Lake Naivasha
Magical sundown on a Kenya safari at Mugie Conservancy
2. African Buffalo
The African Buffalo, often known as the Cape Buffalo, can be plentiful in Kenya. Their inhabitants is estimated at round 160,000.
Whereas they’re endemic to the grasslands of Mount Kenya and Aberdare Nationwide Parks, in addition to the floodplains of the Maasai Mara, they are often present in a lot of nationwide parks and reserves all through Kenya, together with Maasai Mara, Tsavo East and West, Amboseli, Lake Nakuru Nationwide Park, Lake Naivasha and Nairobi Nationwide Park. They’re additionally present in a number of non-public conservancies and community-run wildlife areas.
The Cape Buffaloes in Kenya have resilient hides used for armour-like safety from threats. They’re additionally among the many most social African bovids.
We don’t discover buffalos to be that fascinating to watch on a safari, however they’re really essentially the most harmful animals you possibly can come throughout on a safari. Because of their aggressive nature, they’ve been nicknamed “Black Dying’’. If there’s one animal in Kenya to be afraid of throughout a strolling safari, it’s the buffalo!
Buffalo grazing in entrance of Loldia Home
3. Lion
Do you know that the male East African lion is the Kenyan nationwide animal? It was estimated that in 2020, the lion inhabitants in Kenya was round 2,000 people. Due to quite a few conservation efforts and initiatives, this determine has been growing over the previous few years. Some stories point out that the quantity was as little as 1,500 within the 2000s.
Lions might be present in lots of the nationwide parks and sport reserves in Kenya, together with Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Tsavo, Samburu Nationwide Park, Nairobi Nationwide Park, and Lake Nakuru Nationwide Park.
In our opinion, nothing beats seeing lions within the Maasai Mara, the place satisfaction sizes can attain 20+ people. With considerable grasslands and loads of grazing herbivores round, lions in Maasai Mara are by no means in need of meals and hunt nearly day by day. Which means you get an opportunity to admire them in motion, feasting on their kill and even enjoying with each other. Happy lions and enjoyable to look at!
Lions in a stand off with hyenas in Masai Mara
4. Leopard
Leopards are positively one of many extra elusive animals in Kenya. Their inhabitants dimension is tougher to estimate, though some recommend that the variety of wild leopards in Kenya might be near 1000.
Leopards might be present in varied nationwide parks and reserves in Kenya, including Masai Mara, Amboseli, Samburu, Tsavo, Meru Nationwide Park, Laikipia and Nairobi Nationwide Park. However even when they’re current, recognizing them isn’t straightforward.
Leopards reside in rocky landscapes, dense bush, and spend loads of their time in timber. Their distinctive rosette-like coat sample helps them camouflage whereas they’re searching. Now we have solely seen a leopard as soon as throughout our time in Kenya and it was within the Masai Mara. The encounter was unbelievable, because the leopard, Romi, had appeared with a small cub who was nonetheless uncomfortable in entrance of automobiles and was studying his methods proper in entrance of our eyes.
Mother and cub
The tiny leopard cub
5. Rhinoceros
Based on the Kenyan Wildlife Service, Kenya’s rhino inhabitants has elevated from 1,258 rhinos on the finish of 2017 to 1,739 rhinos by mid-2021, a improbable statistic indicating the success of conservation efforts throughout the nation. There are two species of rhino that make their house in Kenya; the critically endangered black rhino and its way more populous cousin, the white rhino. Black rhinos are quite a bit rarer in Kenya and tougher to identify than white rhinos.
These wild animals roam the plains of the nation and might be seen in Maasai Mara Nationwide Reserve, Lake Nakuru Nationwide Park, Tsavo East Nationwide Park, and Tsavo West Nationwide Park. The endangered black rhino will also be noticed in Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and Ol Pejeta Conservancy.
Recognizing a rhino on safari in Kenya is all the time a particular expertise. We discovered that Kenya is likely one of the few locations in Africa the place you possibly can admire the rhino’s horns in all of their glory. Due to Kenya’s strict anti-poaching efforts (the penalty for rhino poaching in Kenya is life in jail), the conservation authorities shouldn’t have to chop their horns, as they do in different African nations. Which means the horns normally develop lengthy and might be simply seen throughout an interplay. It’s an actual deal with!
Rhinos at Lake Nakuru
Different Iconic Animals in Kenya
There may be an abundance of different wildlife to be seen in Kenya, apart from the Huge 5. Giraffes wander the savannah, their tall frames towering above the remainder of the surroundings, and zebras roam in giant herds, often being joined by cheetah households on patrol. The smaller iconic animals like hyenas will also be discovered looking for prey or lounging close to rivers alongside big hippos. Let’s cowl a couple of of our different favorite iconic animals in Kenya.
6. African Wild Canine
One of many lesser-known African Huge 5, the African wild canine is an endangered species that’s a deal with to identify on a safari in East Africa. Sadly, it’s estimated that there are just a few hundred wild canines left in Kenya, and the probabilities of seeing them within the wild are usually not excessive.
Now we have not encountered wild canines on our Kenya safari, however we heard that populations of these playful animals might be present in Laikipia Plateau and Samburu Nationwide Reserve. Some stories indicated that the numbers of African wild canines in Northern Kenya, significantly within the Samburu-Laikipia area, have elevated eightfold during the last decade.
These carnivorous mammals are recognized for his or her extraordinary social and cooperative household construction. They journey and hunt collectively in packs, starting from two to thirty people. African wild canines have distinctive mottled white, black, yellow, and brown coats and sometimes sport white tails with black tip. And no two wild canines are precisely alike – their patterns are distinctive, identical to our fingerprints!
Following a pack of African wild canines whereas on safari in Better Kruger Space
7. Cheetah
Cheetah is named probably the most iconic animals in Kenya. They’re one in every of our favorite huge cats and are all the time so enjoyable to watch within the wild. It’s arduous to get the precise variety of cheetahs in Kenya, however some stories appear to estimate not more than 1200 wild cheetahs residing in Kenya. The worldwide inhabitants of cheetahs is on decline, so conservation work specializing in these majestic cats is ever so essential.
Cheetahs in Kenya are scattered in small numbers throughout all of Kenya’s huge Nationwide Parks, together with Masai Mara, Tsavo Park, Nairobi Nationwide Park, Meru Nationwide Park, to call just some.
Cheetahs are most energetic throughout dawn and late afternoon, so they’re comparatively straightforward to identify on a safari drive. The pace of those cats is unbelievable. They’ll attain as much as 75 miles an hour whereas in pursuit of their prey, a sight we witnessed firsthand throughout our safari within the Masai Mara when a mother and her three cubs chased down an impala proper in entrance of our eyes.
Cheetahs in Masai Mara
8. Giraffe
Giraffe is the third largest land mammal and is one other iconic animal in Kenya that’s a favorite for any safari. Standing tall and proud, giraffe is all the time a magical encounter in an African savannah.
Kenya has a wholesome inhabitants of giraffes throughout a lot of its reserves and parks. And it’s value noting that Kenya’s giraffes are literally totally different from these in Southern Africa. Masai Giraffe specifically, also known as the “reticulated giraffe”, might be recognized by their distinctive reticulated sample, which supplies them their signature look.
They’re the tallest land mammals, with one particular person measuring as much as 18 ft excessive – so tall that it has been recognized to browse off timber for meals that different animals can’t attain! Regardless of potential hazard of their atmosphere, giraffes can reside as much as 25 years within the wild and have complicated social relationships, usually forming small household teams and counting on one another for cover.
A tower of giraffes in Masai Mara
Giraffes in Loisaba Conservancy – can you notice how totally different it’s from the one within the Mara?
Giraffe at Lake Nakuru
10. Hippo
Hippos are thought of to be one of many most harmful animals in Africa, answerable for extra human deaths in Africa than every other giant animal. They might look lazy and calm within the water, however in actuality, they’re aggressive and territorial, able to strike in the event that they really feel threatened.
Hippos are straightforward to see on a safari in Kenya. They’re prevalent in most parks and reserves in Kenya, all the time present in our bodies of water like dams and lakes. If you’ll be able to spot them, be sure you keep for some time to take a look at the fascinating sight of those giant creatures surfacing from the water with their jaws broad open to chill off throughout sizzling days.
Within the night and through dusk, hippos really come out of the water to eat grass and might be seen in all of their glory on evening safaris.
Hippos at Lake Naivasha
11. Lilac Breasted Curler
Whereas not an animal, the Lilac Breasted Curler is the official nationwide fowl of Kenya, and subsequently deserves a spot on this checklist. The fowl could be very broad unfold in Kenya and might be noticed on nearly any safari drive.
It’s recognized for its shiny and colourful feathers and is extra usually present in savannah areas and woodlands all through Kenya. We’re not huge birders, however we all the time cease to snap a photograph of this vibrant magnificence.
Lilac Breasted Curler
Finest Nationwide Parks for Safari in Kenya
With over 20 Nationwide Parks throughout the nation, Kenya provides a wonderful choices of safari locations so as to add to your itinerary. The parks vary in dimension and terrain, providing numerous ecosystems and distinctive wildlife experiences.
Our expertise in Kenya was restricted to just a few Nationwide Parks, so we could also be slightly biased. However we do suppose that the Masai Mara Nationwide Park takes the cake for being the perfect nationwide park for safari in Kenya. For those who solely have time to go to one park – make it the Mara!
Amboseli Nationwide Park and Tsavo Nationwide Parks are additionally meant to be glorious, though throughout our go to, we discovered that each parks are dealing with some points.
In case you are questioning what’s the finest nationwide park to incorporate in your Kenya safari, we extremely suggest that you just get in contact with an professional like Alluring Africa. With updated info on climate and environmental situations in every park, their consultants are completely arrange that can assist you plan your splendid safari journey.
On a safari in Lake Nakuru
Ideas for Accountable Wildlife Watching in Kenya
Regardless of who you find yourself utilizing to your safari in Kenya, we hope you’ll keep in mind a couple of straightforward ideas for accountable wildlife viewing.
- Firstly, respect the animals’ pure habitats by sustaining minimal noise ranges and conserving conversations quiet whereas on a safari.
- Secondly, keep away from driving off-road or climbing onto excessive floor which can intervene with the migration of animals in pure conservation areas.
- Lastly, preserve your distance from wildlife. Give them area to proceed their each day life and observe from a protected distance. Deliver a zoom lens and a pair of binoculars to catch all of the motion and admire their magnificence from afar.
There are various extra animals in Kenya that you could be spot on a safari. Exit early, take the chance to go on evening safaris and don’t neglect to be affected person! Have enjoyable and absorb all the wonderful sights. With all these various wonders of the pure world, which of those animals are you most excited to see?
Disclaimer: Our safari in Kenya was hosted courtesy of Alluring Africa and Governor’s Camps, however, as all the time, all opinions expressed on this article are our personal