Tsavo
West National Park, Kenya
Mzima
Springs in Tsavo West National Park, Kenya
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 Masai
Giraffe in Tsavo West National Park, Kenya
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 Elephants
in Tsavo West National Park, Kenya
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Tsavo
West National Park
Tsavo West is an international wildlife
and environmental treasure chest. It contains a variety
of habitat, geological soil types, animals, birds
and plants. Tsavo West (7000 km2) is divided by the
Nairobi - Mombasa road and railway. The park is close
to Amboseli National Park, and on a clear day in Tsavo
West, you can see the Kilimanjaro. Tsavo West in Kenya
is hilly, rocky, greener and more vegetated than Tsavo
East but each has its own diversity.
Tsavo
West offers tremendous views and diverse habitats
ranging from mountains, river forests, plains, lakes
and wooded grassland. It is especially attractive
at the end of the rains when the countryside turns
green. Mzima Springs is pool of natural spring water
that attracts a lot of game and there is even an underwater
hippo-viewing hide.
The
park became famous through the notorious "Man
Eaters of Tsavo" incident at the turn of the
century, when man-eating lions were preying on the
workers building the great Uganda Railway. In fact,
the carriage from which they pulled a traveler is
now on display in the Nairobi Railway Museum. This
incident was also depicted in the popular movie "Ghost
and the Darkness."
Animals,
Birds of Tsavo West
More
than 50 different kinds of mammals graze, browse,
hunt and scavenge in the grasslands and bush country
of the Tsavo West. Zebras are always seen slaking
their thirst near Tsavo West's luxurious game lodges.
Among the more unusual of the animals are the gerenuk,
a long necked antelope that browses on the higher,
sweeter leaves of the acacia thorns. Carnivores are
also abundant in the park. Tsavo West is known for
its 'Roaring Rocks', which if climbed gives views
usually only seen by the eagles and buzzards that
whirl around these cliffs.There is a quite a variety
of wildlife and birdlife in the park. Over 600 species
of birds have been recorded. Moreover, game viewing
is fairly easy. Animals include the leopard, cheetah,
buffalo, rhino, elephant, giraffe, zebra, lion, crocodile,
mongoose, hyrax, dik dik and porcupine
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 150 recorded species
Access
from Nairobi : Road : 275kms
Facilities
: Lodges and camp sites are available
Attractions:
Mzima springs, Big Five, Rhino sanctuary
Animals
: The Big Five, gazelles, over 150 bird species
Area:
9065 sq km Altitude: 200 to 1000 m [656 -
3280 ft]
Location
: In Eastern and Coast Province, South East
of Nairobi
Vegetation
: Open savannah and light patches of bush,
cactuslike euphorbia trees
Highlights
of Tsavo West National Park
The
most famous of Tsavo West's site is Mzima
Springs, where rainfall collected in the
porous volcanic rocks springs forth at the rate of
225 million liters a day into pools and streams of
crocodile and hippo infested waters. Tsavo West offers
excellent luxury camp and lodges for your African
Safari. Severin Camp, Kilanguni Lodge and Finch Hattons
Camp are the famous and opted ones.
The Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary
is another safe haven for rhinos. Finally, the park
offers excellent views of Mount Kilimanjaro.
