kenya
From top: A Maasai giraffe in front of Mount Kilimanjaro; a Nile crocodile in Maasai Mara National Reserve
Lesser-visited Samburu National Park is dry and dusty with rocky outcrops and hills sustained by the Ewaso Nyiro River. Together with the remote northern Kenyan conservancies, it harbours some desert-specialist animals not so easily seen elsewhere, including Grévy’ s zebras, reticulated giraffes, wild dogs and longnecked gerenuk antelopes. On the Ethiopian border, you’ ll find Turkana, the world’ s largest permanent desert lake, home to thousands of crocodiles.
Surprisingly, you don’ t even have to leave Kenya’ s capital to see wildlife. Elephants are absent but Nairobi National Park, with its strange backdrop of sparkling skyscrapers, has rhinos, giraffes and plenty of plains game that are prey for its lions and hyenas. images: awl images
WHAT ARE THE MOST POPULAR SPECIES WITH VISITORS?
Symbolising strength and courage, the lion is Kenya’ s national animal. They’ re easily seen in the Maasai Mara, Laikipia and the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem, and are sleepy creatures in the heat of the day, hunting mostly in the cooler early mornings or evenings. During the migration, wildebeest provide many a predator’ s meal. Gawky and graceless, with long faces, thick necks, sloping shoulders and puny hips, local legend has it that God created them using leftover bits of other animals. Yet, en masse, they have a certain allure, their hides a glossy palette of grey, mink, brown and black.
Among Kenya’ s estimated 34,000 elephants are the iconic but incredibly spring 2025 • 41