SAMBURU NATIONAL RESERVE

The Samburu National Reserve is a game reserve on the banks of the Ewaso Ng'iro river in Kenya. On the other side of the river is the Buffalo Springs National Reserve. The park is 165 km² in size and is situated 350 kilometers from Nairobi. It ranges in altitude from 800 to 1230m above sea level.
In the middle of the reserve, the Ewaso Ng'iro flows through doum palm groves and thick riverine forests. It provides water, without which the game in this arid region could not survive.
The Samburu National Reserve was one of the two areas in which conservationists George and Joy Adamson raised Elsa the Lioness, made famous in the best-selling book and award-winning movie Born Free. The Elephant Watch Camp, of which Saba Douglas-Hamilton is director, lies within the park. The Samburu National Reserve is also the home of Kamunyak, a lioness famous for adopting oryx calves.
There is a wide variety of animal and bird life seen at Samburu National Reserve. Several large game species common to Kenya's northern plains can be found in abundance here, including the following dry-country fauna: gerenuk, Grevy's zebra, oryx and reticulated giraffe. All three big cats, the lion, cheetah and African leopard can also be found here, as well as the elephant, Cape buffalo and hippopotamus.
Other mammals frequently seen in the park include olive baboon, warthogs, Grant's gazelle, Kirk's dik-dik, impala, and waterbuck. The rhinoceros population is no longer present in the park due to heavy poaching.
There are over 350 species of bird. These include grey-headed kingfisher, sunbirds, bee-eaters, Marabou stork, tawny eagle, Verreaux's eagle, bateleur, vulturine guineafowl, yellow-necked spurfowl, lilac-breasted roller, secretary bird, superb starling, northern red-billed hornbill, yellow-billed hornbill, and various vultures including the palm-nut vulture. The Ewaso Ng'iro river contains large numbers of crocodile basking.
Since 2005, the protected area is considered part of a Lion Conservation Unit.

We visited here in September 2018, September 2019, February 2022 and September 2023.

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SEPTEMBER 2018

Warthog Red-billed Hornbill Gerenuk Reticulated Giraffe Günther's dik-dik African Bush Elephant Gervy'S Zebra African Leopard Grant's Gazelle Ewaso Ng'iro River African Savanna Hare

    Samburu Village

Samburu Women Samburu Man Samburu Woman Samburu Men Samburu Child Samburu Houses     Samburu People

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AUGUST 2019

Dwarf Mongoose Impala Little Bee-eater Crocodile Reticulated Giraffe Waterbuck Gerenuk Egyptain Goose Lioness Lioness African Wild Dogs 0 Günther's dik-dik Vervet Monkey Warthog Donkeys Grevey's Zebra cheetah Leopard Superb Starling

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FEBRUARY 2022

Somali Ostrich One Horned Impala Warthog African Bush Elephant Lioness Leopard Leopard Vulturine Guineafowl Tawny Eagle

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SEPTEMBER 2023

Reticulated Giraffe Cheetah Village Weaver Common Raven Western Violet-backed Sunbird

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