This conservation area is one of the most popular places in Kenya. It is famous for the elephants living in it, the number of which is 650 individuals. Huge herds of impalas and zebras are also found here. Cheetahs and endangered black rhinos are also found.
The magnificent background of the reserve is the peak of Kilimanjaro, majestically towering above the clouds, located forty kilometers from the national park.
The article presents a short story about Kenya National Park - Amboseli.
Kenya Overview
Kenya is a country located in East Africa. It contains almost everything that exists throughout the continent: mountain peaks, lakes, rivers, full-flowing, with waterfalls, vast savannahs with an abundance of animals, forests and unique tribes.
In order to get acquainted with this amazing country, you should go to Amboseli National Park. Where is he located? Located in the province of Rift Valley (the so-called Rift Valley), located in the southeast of the state. The reserve area is 392 square meters. km Close to it is the border with Tanzania. Many tourist routes include visiting Amboseli, located 240 kilometers southeast of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in its program.
History of the park
The first European to find himself in the Masai tribe was Joseph Thomson (the famous English physicist). It happened in 1883. He was struck by many wild animals and the contrast between the oasis of swamps and areas of the dried lake. A similar picture has survived to this day.
Amboseli National Park in Africa was created in 1906 as the “Southern Reservation” for the unique Masai tribe, but already in 1948 this area passed to the management of local authorities and became a hunting reserve. In order to protect the unique system, in 1974 this region was officially approved as a national park, and in 1991, the UNESCO institution assigned it the status of a biosphere reserve. The President of Kenya announced in 2005 that the management of the natural park should be transferred to the Masai tribe and the Olkejuado County Council.
Location
As noted above, the location of Amboseli National Park is southeast of Kenya, where the Loytokitok region is located. The park is located in the very center of the ecosystem that crosses the border of two African countries: Kenya and Tanzania.
The park is located 240 kilometers southeast of Nairobi. Amboseli, along with Lake Nakuru and another reserve - Masai Mara - is the most visited natural corner of Kenya by tourists.
Reserve Description
Amboseli National Park, created in 1974 as an international biosphere reserve, extends over an area of 392 square meters. km, but despite its not very large size, a variety of different mammals coexist perfectly in it. There are more than fifty species of large animals and a huge variety of birds.
Amazingly beautiful landscapes and a rather mystical atmosphere of a majestic mountain impress absolutely everyone. And it is not surprising that the action in the famous novels of Robert Ruarck and Ernst Hemingway takes place precisely on the territory of Amboseli.
Nature features
Amboseli National Park is unique. Volcanic ash from the most recent eruption of the Kilimanjaro volcano, which occurred thousands of years ago, spread throughout the reserve. The soil of the plains, which is a product of volcanic emissions, is characterized by extraordinary fertility, due to which a particularly nutritious grass grows here, capable of feeding a large number of herbivores. Thanks to the activities of Kilimanjaro, the fauna is abundant in the reserve. Bright green meadows are also created due to the constant supply of water from melting mountain snows and underground streams. Due to the presence of a large number of diverse sources, bogs and swamps, the park is a real paradise for animals.
There is a unique, dry lake. During the heat above it you can see amazing mirages. Amazing landscapes of the surroundings open up to the eye from the observation hill.
One of the main natural features of the park is that it is from the territory of Amboseli National Park that offers a stunning view of the highest peak in Africa - Kilimanjaro, although it is located in the state of Tanzania. Thanks to this fact, the reserve is one of the most popular in Kenya.
Representatives of the fauna
The Amboseli National Park is rich in animals, of which there are over 80 species. Birds are represented by 400 species.
In Amboseli Park there is an opportunity to drive as close as possible to elephants grazing in the meadows. In addition to these giants, rhinos, buffaloes, giraffes, wildebeests and impala, zebras, Thompson and Grant gazelles, hyenas, lions, cheetahs and many other animals live here.
Finally
In addition to the richness of the exotic wildlife of the national park, Amboseli attracts tourists and the Masai people. This is a legendary tribe consisting of semi-nomadic indigenous people of Africa living in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania.
The population of this tribe, according to rough estimates, is about one million people (none of its representatives has a passport or any other document). These slender and tall people involved in cattle breeding are famous all over the world for not eating the meat of their cows, but only using their milk, seasoned with blood obtained from the jugular vein of the animal.