Aberdare National Park
Aberdare National Park is home to elephants, black rhinos, leopards, spotted hyenas, olive baboons, black and white colobus monkeys, buffalos, warthogs, and bushbucks among others. Rare sightings include those of the Giant Forest hog, bongo, golden cat, serval cat, African wild cat, African civet cat, and the blue duiker.
Samburu Game Reserve
Samburu Game Reserve stands as one of the most beautiful Kenya Parks in the Northern Circuit. It holds the most indigenous wildlife as well as the home of African Elephants and beautiful species of Zebras and Masai Giraffes.
It’s home to the Big Five (elephant, lion, rhino, leopard, buffalo) as well as gerenuk, reticulated giraffe, Somali ostrich, gravy zebra, besia oryx, endangered wild dog as well as pun cake tortoise – endangered. There are over 450 species of birds identified and aquatic species in the Waso Nyiro River including, vultures, kingfishers, marabous, bateleurs, guinea fowl, Somali ostriches, and others.
Lake Nakuru
Across the equator, southwards of Bogoria, lies the Rift Valley’s most famous lake Nakuru. Known all over the world for its flamingoes, it’s alkaline and is recognized as being one of the natural wonders of the world. Lake Nakuru is now a rhino sanctuary, harboring a population of over 40 black and over 60 white rhinos, but the flamingos, of course, have always been the main attraction. At times, there may be almost 2 million flamingos in the residence, forming a stunningly beautiful deep pink band around the edge of the lakeshore.
Maasai Mara National Reserve
Maasai Mara National Reserve holds on as one of the few places left on earth where wildlife still lives comparatively undisturbed, in the numbers that once roamed the plains and forests of Africa. As the northern tip of the vast Serengeti ecosystem, the Mara hosts the spectacular seasonal migration of many thousands of wildebeest, zebras, and attendant predators.
The reserve is well known for its black-manned lion, as well as its abundant resident wildlife, and it is one of the few places where it’s possible to see the Big Five during a morning’s game drive. Many of the cheetahs are so tame they seek shelter from the hot sun under one’s vehicle and several even climb onto the roof to get a better view of prospective prey.
For the bird enthusiast, almost 500 species have been recorded: among these 16 species of eagle, plus many hawks and falcons, 6 species of vultures, 8 species of storks 4 of bustard (including the Kori bustard, the world’s heaviest flying bird), and 9 species of sunbirds.