Tsavo
East National Park, Kenya
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of Lions in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya |
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Tsavo East National Park Kenya
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Tsavo
East National Park
Tsavo
East National Park
is located 333 km from Nairobi and is one of the largest
national parks in Kenya. It covers an area of about
11,747 square kilometers. The park contains some fantastic
terrain, including rivers, lakes, tarns, glaciers
and peaks with a wide variety of vegetation, including
grasslands, acacia vegetation, open plains and savanna.
It is therefore recognized as one of the world's leading
bio-diversity strongholds. The vegetation around Tsavo
East National Park is savannah grassland with thorny
bushes and some swampy marshland near Voi River. The
landscape is unique because of the Yatta Plateau formed
from the lava that oozed from Ol Doinyo Sabuk Mountain.
The
park is also one of Kenya's oldest national parks
- it was opened in April 1948. Covering an area of
about 40% of all land covered by Kenyan national parks,
this park is a popular safari destination, especially
due to easy accessibility from the coast. Spectacular
views are yet another reason why droves of photographers
frequent the park.
Droughts
are much more common in Tsavo East than Tsavo West,
and Aruba Dam built in 1952 has dried up completely
at times although it covers an area of 85.4 hectares.
This wilderness, seemingly so hostile, is nevertheless
inhabited by a wide range of plains' game including
zebra, several species of antelope among them lesser
kudu and hartebeest, warthog and ostrich as well as
elephant herds which plunder their way through bush
and scrub to the permanent waters of the Athi River.
Animals,
Birds of Tsavo East
The
main river that passes through this park is the River
Galana. A variety of animals can be seen: lions, leopard,
cheetah, zebras, giraffes, serval, antelopes, kongoni,
lesser kudu, oryx, klipspringer, impala, stripped
hyena, ostriches, gazelles, buffalos, elephants and
many more. A variety of migratory and native birds
are seen. The birds are viewed between late October
and early January, and come from as far as Eastern
and Western Europe. Commonly seen birds are African
skimmers, goshawks, red and yellow bishops, palm nut
vultures and the white-headed buffalo weavers.
Seasons
The
weather in Tsavo is pleasant for most of the year.
Rainy
Season
There
are two rainy seasons. The long rains are generally
from March through to May and the weather is hot and
humid. The short rains arrive in the warm months of
October to December.
Dry Season
January
to March is hot and dry and July to October is warm
and dry.
Tsavo
Facts
Climate:
Warm to hot and dry
Birds : Over 500 recorded species
Access
from Nairobi : Road : 270kms
Attractions: Largest elephant herds
in Kenya
Animals : Elephant, lions, antelope,
hippos, giraffe
Area:
11,700 sq km Altitude: 200
to 1000 m [656 - 3280 ft]
Location
: In Eastern and Coast Province, South East
of Nairobi
Facilities
: Few lodges and luxury tented camps and
standard camp sites
Vegetation
: Open savannah and light patches of bush,
cactus like euphorbia trees
Highlights
of Tsavo East
National Park
Some
of the popular destinations within the park include
the Mudanda Rock and the Yatta
Plateau, which is the world's largest lava
flow. Luggard's Falls on the Galana River include
shapely water-worn rocks. Visitors can view a variety
of animals at the park, including elephant, rhino,
lion, leopard, crocodile, waterbuck, kudu, gerenuk,
zebra and Aruba Hunter's hartebeest.
Visitors
can try to observe the large herds of elephants after
their dust baths - they glow red as they blow the
red dust through the trunks. There are also about
500 species of birds, including the ostrich, and migratory
birds like kestrels and buzzards
Camel
safaris are unique feature of the Park.
