Tourist Attractions in Nairobi National Park
Tourist Attractions in Nairobi National Park boast a spectacular array of large and varied diverse wildlife populations and fascinating landscapes framed by the skyscrapers of bustling Nairobi in the background and they include;
Wildlife Species
A wide range of Wildlife Habitats is the Key highlight of Tourist Attractions in Nairobi National Park, despite the park’s proximity to the city center and its relatively small size, this does not diminish the presence of Wildlife within the park boundaries which include more than 100 species of mammals featuring four of the big 5, large predators and large herbivores, and they include the African buffalo, baboon, eastern black rhinoceros, gazelle, grant’s zebra, cheetah, hyena, coke’s hartebeest, hippopotamus, common eland, warthogs, impala, Masai giraffe, ostrich, vultures, and waterbuck among others. Small dams built along the Mbagathi River give the park more water resources than these outside areas and hence they attract water dependent herbivores during the dry season, these large herbivores including wildebeest, buffaloes, elands, and zebra use the Kitengela conservation area and migration corridor to the south of the park to reach the Athi-Kapiti plains. They disperse over the plains in the wet season and return to the National park in the dry season.
The large predators such as Lions, leopard, and hyenas are also commonly Tourist Attractions in Nairobi National Park, rangers at the entrance usually have updates on lion movements. You’ll need a bit of patience and a lot of luck to spot the park’s resident cheetahs and leopards.
Kifaru Ark Rhino Sanctuary
Nairobi National Park has acquired the nickname ‘Kifaru Ark’ (Kifaru in Kiswahili) meaning rhinos sanctuary, a testament to its success of protecting the rhinoceros. The park is home to the world’s densest concentration of black rhinos which are another exciting highlight of Tourist Attractions in Nairobi National Park, it is one of Kenya’s most successful rhinoceros sanctuaries acting as a major breeding rhino sanctuary that is already generating a stock for reintroduction in the species former range and other upcoming sanctuaries and due to this success, it is one of the few National parks where a visitor can be certain of seeing a black rhino in its natural habitat.
Birdlife
Nairobi National Park has a high diversity of bird species also featuring among major Tourist Attractions in Nairobi National Park with over 500 types of avifauna both permanent and migratory found in the park including 20 seasonal migrants from Europe. The dams have also created a man-made habitat for birds and aquatic species.
Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage
The David Sheldrick Trust runs an animal orphanage in Nairobi National Park that hand-rears orphaned elephant and rhinoceros calves, and later releases them back into secure sanctuaries and these Orphaned and sick animals are brought to the sanctuary from all over Kenya. The orphanage is located close to the park’s the main entrance, it was opened in 1963 after being set up by Daphne Sheldrick after the death of her husband David Sheldrick, who was the anti-poaching warden of Tsavo National Park.