Kenya Animals and the "Big Five"
The popular African Animals
Kenya is a world attraction for the rich abundance of wildlife animals found in its national parks and reserves. Popular Kenya animals include the Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo and Rhino. They are collectively referred to as the "Big Five". But it is the lion that remains Kenya's most visited tourist attraction on an wildlife African Safari.
African Animals
Lion
Being the largest of the African big cats, the Lion holds a supreme place in man's esteem. Its massive size, majestic walk, power and hunting prowess make it very fascinating to watch.
Kenya Lion of Maasai Mara
No wonder it draws so many people to visit Kenya. Lions are ferocious hunters, but are not normally dangerous to man unless wounded or cornered.
Unlike the other big cats, lions are social, living in prides of 20-30 members. Each pride may have 1-3 males.
Elephant
The African Elephant is the largest land mammal. Due to its gigantic stature, the elephant has no predators apart from man who hunts it for its tusks. Elephant hunting and Ivory trade is prohibited in Kenya. Elephants have a sharp sense of smell and are highly intelligent.
Elephant in Kenya
They are reputed to be the only animals that show recognition of one another even after death.
Kenya wildlife is scattered in various wildlife parks in Kenya. If you ever visit Kenya for a grand view of this mammal, Amboseli National park has the most elephants and is the best place to see them.
The elephants in Tsavo National Park have a distinct reddish-brown color that they obtain from the red volcanic soil in Tsavo. Elephants in other parks are grayish in color.
Buffalo
The buffalo is a huge, bad-tempered African animal that is almost black in color.
Kenya Buffalo
Their huge up-curving horns with bases that meet across the forehead give buffalos a really dangerous look. Buffalos live in herds of several hundreds led by one dominant bull. Old defeated buffalo bulls are the most dangerous.
They live either alone or with other bulls and often lie in wait and ambush people. To enjoy a view of the buffalo, you would need to go on an African safari tour to the Masai Mara. It has the most of these African buffalos.
Rhinoceros
There are two species of rhinos found among Kenya wildlife; white and black Rhino. Both are endangered species.
A White Rhino
The White Rhino derives its name from the Dutch word Weid meaning broad. White rhino has a broad wide mouth adapted for grazing. They often hang out in large groups. The biggest white rhino population in Kenya is found in Lake Nakuru National Park.
The Black Rhino has a pointed upper lip adapted for browsing. It feeds on dry bush and thorny-scrub especially acacia. Black rhinos have a sharp sense of smell and hearing but very poor eyesight. They lead a solitary life and are the most dangerous of the two species.
Leopard
Dubbed The Silent Hunter, the leopard is a very elusive animal with a gorgeous skin.
Leopard resting on a tree
It is nocturnal, hunting at night and spending the day resting in trees. The leopard lives a solitary life except during mating season.
Leopards hunt on the ground but take their kills up trees away out of the reach of scavengers like the hyena.
Other African Safari Animals outside the "big five"
Zebras
Kenyan Zebras are beautiful horse-like animals with a striped skin. There is the Common Zebra and Grevy's Zebra. The Common Zebra has broad black and white stripes that continue down into the belly, while the Grevy's Zebras stripes are very narrow and stop on the lower flanks leaving the belly clean and unmarked. The Grevy's Zebra is the larger of the two and is found in the drier regions of Northern Kenya, the Samburu National park. Common Zebras are popular in most parks.
Giraffes
Known to be the world's tallest animal, there are 3 different subspecies found in Kenya.
- The Reticulated Giraffe which has a bold network of white lines that give it a very regular pattern. It is only found in Samburu National Park.
- The Maasai Giraffe: The patches on the Maasai giraffe are leaf-like in shape and lack the clean lines of the reticulated giraffe. Maasai giraffe is found in Amboseli, Tsavo and the Maasai Mara.
- The Rothschild's Giraffe has patches similar to those on the Maasai Giraffe. However, the Rothschild's Giraffe has no spots below the knee, giving it an appearance of wearing socks. Rothschild's Giraffes are found in Lake Nakuru National Park.
Cheetah
The fastest animal on land, the cheetah looks like the leopard but with longer legs and a smaller head. Cheetahs hunt during the day. They run-down their prey by their sheer speed, then trip and knock them off-balance before seizing them by the throat or muzzle. It is very thrilling to see cheetah hunting. Unlike other cats, cheetahs cannot retract their claws into flesh sheaths.
Other Animals in Kenya
Other popular Kenya wildlife include the Hippos, Antelopes, African wild dogs and hyenas. All are a wonder to see on a Kenya Wildlife African Safari.
Up, Close and Personal - a researcher's adventure journey to Kenya in 2005 to discover more about the maneless lions of Tsavo National Park in Kenya. You can read his exhilarating story and view the wonderful photographs he took at http://lbah.com/tsavo.htm