Parks & reserves: Amboseli National Park
Wildlife
The Amboseli's fragile ecosystem displays an impressive wildlife variety, with more than 50 mammal species. No doubt the kings of the park are the elephants, which are present in large numbers. They are easy to see and photograph, due to the flat and naked terrain. Amboseli's elephants, which are said to be among the biggest in the country, are fond of the swamps, where they share the cool waters with the hippos that hide beneath the papyrus. The park is also home to a large resident population of wildebeest and Burchell's zebra. Other grass-eaters include Thomson's and Grant's gazelles, buffalo, warthog, black rhino, Maasai giraffe, impala, waterbuck and dik-dik. Baboons and vervet monkeys inhabit the scarce woodlands, mainly in Ol Tukai. Carnivores are represented by lions, spotted hyenas, wild cats, jackals and caracals. Lions are periodically reintroduced in the park, with a variable success. Leopards and cheetah are quite rare.
With regard to birds, more than 400 species have been registered, among which outstand pelican, flamingo, kingfisher, African fish eagle, ibis, secretary bird, crowned crane, grey and Goliath herons, cattle egret, black-winged stilt, little grebe, Egyptian goose, martial eagle, pigmy falcon, Maasai ostrich, marabou stork, white-backed vulture, lappet-faced vulture, yellow-necked spurfowl, Kori bustard and hornbills. After the rains, the park gathers large populations of water birds.
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