The Samburu Game Reserve is a National reserve in Kenya located on the banks of the Ewaso Ng’iro river. The Buffalo Springs National Reserve is located on the other side of the river from the city of Buffalo. The park has a total area of 165 km2 and is located 350 kilometers away from Nairobi. Depending on the season, its altitude ranges from 800 to 1230 meters above sea level. Geographically, it is located inside the county of Samburu.
The Ewaso Ng’iro River flows through the heart of the reserve, passing through doum palm orchards and dense riverine woods. It provides water, which is essential for the survival of animals in this arid location, which would be impossible without it.
The Samburu National Reserve was one of two locations where conservationists George and Joy Adamson fostered Elsa the Lioness. The latter became renowned due to the best-selling book and award-winning film Born Free, set in the reserve. The Elephant Watch Camp, Saba Douglas-Hamilton, is located within the park’s boundaries.
The Samburu Game Reserve is also the home of Kamunyak, a lioness who has become well-known for her affinity for oryx calves.
Habitat
The Samburu National Reserve is possible through the Ngare Mare and Buffalo Springs gates. Koitogor and Ololokwe are the two mountains seen as you enter the park’s boundaries. This national reserve is very peaceful and attracts a variety of animals due to the Ewaso Ng’iro river (which means “brown water” and is pronounced U-aa-so-Nyee-ro) that runs through it and the mixture of acacia, riverine forest, thorn trees, and grassland vegetation that covers the reserve’s landscape. The Ewaso Ng’iro is a river that originates in the Kenyan highlands and empties into the world-renowned Lorian Swamp. The natural serenity that may be found here results from the reserve’s isolation from industry and has been inaccessible for many years.
Wildlife
Samburu National Reserve is home to various animal and bird species. There is something for everyone here. Many large game species common to Kenya’s northern plains can be found in plenty here, including the gerenuk, Grevy’s zebra, oryx, and reticulated giraffe, all of which are found in abundance in the dry-country fauna. All three big cats, the lion, the cheetah, the African leopard, the elephant, the Cape buffalo, and the hippopotamus, can be found.
Other mammals in the park include the olive baboon, warthogs, Grant’s gazelle, Kirk’s dik-dik, impala, and waterbuck. Other mammals in the park include the olive baboon, warthogs, Grant’s gazelle, Kirk’s dik-dik, and impala. After a 25-year absence due to widespread poaching, a black rhinoceros population has been re-established in the park after being decimated.
There are over 350 different bird species. The grey-headed kingfisher, sunbirds, bee-eaters, Marabou stork, tawny eagle, Verreaux’s eagle, bateleur, vulturine guineafowl, yellow-necked spurfowl, lilac-breasted roller, secretary bird, magnificent starling, northern red-billed hornbill, yellow-billed hornbill, and several vultures,
The Ewaso Ng’iro river features many Nile crocodile basks found in abundance. It has been part of a Lion Conservation Unit since 2005, and the protected area has been designated as such since 2005.
LOCATION
The Samburu Game Reserve is found in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province, in the southeastern section of the Samburu District. It is separated from the Buffalo Springs National Reserve to the south by the Ewaso Nyiro River, which runs through its southern border. The reserve has a total land size of 165 km2 and is around 345 kilometers from Nairobi.
It is classed as arid and semi-arid; the reserve has a moisture index ranging from 42 to 57, indicating that evapotranspiration exceeds the amount of accessible moisture. The days are tremendously hot, while the nights are refreshingly cold. The yearly mean temperature ranges between 18oC and 30oC. The annual mean rainfall is 354mm, with the highest amounts falling between November and April. Beginning in late May and lasting until early October, the dry season is the most active period in the reserve, when a high concentration of wildlife can be found due to the abundance of lush vegetation along the Ewaso Nyiro River, which serves as the primary source of water for both the reserve and the surrounding communities.
Animals that are currently available
The reserve is rich in wildlife. It is particularly well-known for its abundance of northern specialist species such as the Grevy Zebra, Somali Ostrich, Reticulated Giraffe, Gerenuk, and the Beisa Oryx, all rare in the world (Also referred to as Samburu Special). The reserve is also well-known for its elephant population, over 900 individuals. Large predators such as the Lion, Leopard, and Cheetah are a significant draw for visitors (Kamunyak, the Miracle Lioness that adapted the baby Oryx is a resident in the reserve). In addition, sightings of wild dogs are a typical draw to this one-of-a-kind protected region. There are about 450 different species of birds identified in the area. Many riverine forest species contribute to the diversity of the birds found in the arid northern bushland. The Lesser Kestrel and the Taita Falcon have threatened species on the worldwide conservation list. They both make use of the reserve. The reserve has been home to five species that have been classified as vulnerable. The birds are the African Darter, Great Egret, White-headed Vulture, Martial Eagle, and Yellow-billed Oxpecker. The Pancake tortoise (malacochersus tornieri), which is listed as a critically endangered species under CITIES, can be found in the reserve.
Animals in the Samburu National Park
One thing that distinguishes the Samburu National Reserve, which is located inside the Samburu Laikipia Ecosystem, from other places is the opportunity to see species that are either not seen anywhere else or are extremely difficult to spot.
Particularly noteworthy is the Grevy zebra, with its characteristic white and very thin black stripes, the reticulated giraffe, which has distinct blue spots on its mantle, the Somali Ostrich, which has blue legs and neck, the gerenuk, which has an elongated neck and is frequently seen standing on two legs while feeding on bushes, and the fringe-eared oryx, also known as the East African oryx, However, there are numerous additional kinds of mammals and birds to be found in the reserve.
Among the most common and easily spotted animals are elephants, which can be found in large numbers in the Samburu Laikipia Ecosystem (it is estimated that there are more than 900 elephants in total), Grant gazelles, waterbucks, dik-diks, hippos, olive baboons, warthogs, lion, leopard, cheetahs, buffaloes, elands, jackals, klipspringers, mongooses. Unfortunately, rhinos are no longer seen in this area due to hunting and poaching in the area in the past.
More than 450 species have been recorded in the reserve, including sunbirds, bee-eaters, kingfishers, woodpeckers, hornbills, barbets, whydahs, bishops, weavers, shrikes, fiscals, francolins, rollers, doves, starlings, oxpeckers, herons, egrets, Vulturine, and Helmeted guinea.
Finally, while the Ngiro Ewaso river is home to many Nile crocodiles, the reserve is also home to other reptiles, including the endangered African spurred tortoise, which is on the verge of extinction due to habitat destruction. Even the African Little Five, also known as the antlion, the buffalo weaver, the elephant shrew, the leopard tortoise, and the rhinoceros beetle, can be found in the area.