Which Five Animals are Native to Kenya?

Which Five Animals are Native to Kenya? : The most iconic wildlife species of Africa are native to Kenya, including the lions, hippos, elephants, buffalo, zebras and the giraffes. The country lies in East Africa, meeting the Indian Ocean on one side, so marine animals constitute a portion of the wildlife found in the country. Kenya borders Tanzania on the southwest, Uganda on the west, and to the north lies at least part of South Sudan and Ethiopia, and the east Somalia. One of the many reasons to visit Kenya is to see its amazing and unique wildlife up close while on safari.

Native animals in Kenya are animals that are indigenous in Kenya, that were naturally brought there. The native animals in Kenya includes the Big five which are some of the most dangerous types of animals in Kenya that includes the lion, the leopards, the elephant, the rhinoceros and the buffalo. These are among the most popular during the safari in Kenya, but still they are formidable.

The Lions.

Lions are native in Kenya, the lions are most sociable member of the larger cat family. They live in Prides of 15 to 20 members, with up to the three males, several adult females (one dormant) and a number of the sub-adults and cubs. Typically males they hold territory of between 20 to 400 square kilometers. Within which are several prides of females.

In Kenya Maasai Mara national reserve and the surrounding conservancies is where the most lions that are over 850 to 900 lions, again the Mara-ecosystem is one of the world’s premier locations to spot the mighty beast in the wild.

The leopards.

The leopards are among the native animals in Kenya, as these use the stealth and camouflage to ambush prey at close quarters, typically taking small to medium-sized antelopes, though everything from birds to young giraffes may make the menu. Most active at night, leopards are agile climbers and unique among big cats in using trees as ‘laders’for prey.

Most of the large number of the leopards are found in Maasai Mara national reserve and they are found in various campsites in the reserve, Samburu National Reserve and many other national parks and reserves in Kenya.

The Elephants.

African elephants are the largest native land mammals. In Kenya, the elephant’s species is the African elephant, which includes the forest and savannah elephant, known as tembo or ndovu by the Keyan locals. In Kenya,  Amboseli National park is often called ‘ the home of the elephants’ in Kenya, even though the Tsavo national park ecosystem has the highest number of the elephants as well as other area  in Kenya.

The Rhinoceros.

In the 1960’s, Kenya was a home to an estimated 20,000 black rhinos, but just two decades later, poaching had reduced the population to less than 3000. As a result of conservation efforts, the black rhino population is steadily recovering and there are more over 600 black rhinos in Kenya.

The Rhinoceros in Kenya are mostly found in the Laikipia region which is a stronghold for the black rhinos and a home to more than half of the Kenya’s total number. The Borana, Lewa, Ol Pejeta and the Solio conservancies all have stable, breeding populations. Further east, Meru National Park has a thriving black rhino sanctuary, as well as Nairobi National Park is a big attraction with a large number of the rhinos in Kenya.

The Buffalos.

The African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer), Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. The buffalo is listed as Least Concern as the species remains widespread, with a global population estimated at nearly 900,000 animals, of which more than three-quarters are in protected areas. The Buffalo Springs National Reserve in Kenya is the hidden wildlife gem of the Kenya country, this place is known for its unique and toxic flora and fauna like terraces, rolling grasslands, doum plants, forests, scrub brush, Ewaso Nyiro and of course the buffalo springs, is the main center of attraction here in Kenya for the buffalo lovers.