Samburu Game Reserve

Samburu is the most popular reserve in northern Kenya. Wildlife viewing is good, and most big safari animals are easily spotted. The arid environment is home to a variety of north Kenya specials – both birds and mammals. Wild, rugged and enticingly empty (of tourists that is, not wildlife) Samburu National Reserve is a place of baked red earth, extraordinary vegetation and unsurpassed beauty. Cleaved in half by the Ewaso Nyiro river, there’s more water around than you might think, given the stark landscape, and the ribbons of green that hug the winding waterway attract elephant, buffalo and zebra. Look a little bit harder and you’ll find lion reposing in the shade of the golden tamarinds and leopard darting amongst the acacias. This is a desert wilderness that is absolutely worth discovering, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Encounter a diversity of species in the arid and beautiful Samburu National Reserve, including herds of elephant and buffalo, prides of lions and both cheetah and leopard. However, what separates the Samburu from other parks is its unique wildlife, including the gerenuk, Grevy's zebra, Beisa oryx, reticulated giraffe and blue legged Somali ostrich. A noteworthy mention is the reintroduction of the last member of the Big 5: black rhinoceros, currently scarce but making good progress.

There have been more than 390 bird species recorded in Samburu and Buffalo Springs national reserves. The reserves protect a variety of habitats, home to different bird species including arid acacia savannah, scrub and gallery forest alongside the Uaso Nyiro River. The dry, open country offers very rewarding birding opportunities and boasts a number of northeast African dry-country species shared with Ethiopia and Somalia, such as vulturine guineafowl, Somali bee-eater and golden-breasted starling.