Samburu
Rugged and remote, these wildlife reserves lie within the fascinating semi-desert
area of Kenya's Northern Frontier District. The Samburu National Reserve - a lava
plain with steep-sided gullies and rounded hills - is physically dramatic with the
great Ololokwe table mountain in the background.
The central feature of the reserve is the winding and looping Ewaso Nyiro river.
On either side of the river, a green ribbon presents a gallery of forest acacia,
doum palm and Tamarind, which act as host to a multitude of bird life. Some of Kenya's
rarer species like the long-necked gerenuk, Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, beisa
Oryx and blue-shanked Somali ostrich can be seen here.
The Buffalo Springs Reserve butts onto Samburu in the south and is more or less an
extension the same kind of environment. However, as the name implies, the major source
of relief in this reserve is an outflow of clear spring water which attracts migrant
game and predators from miles around. This reserve is bounded in the north by the
Ewaso Nyiro which doesn't reach the sea but buries itself into the Lorien Swamp to
the east.
© SXS
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