Description
Location: 140km north-west of Nairobi, in Nakuru district, Rift Valley Province.
History: Nakuru is a Maasai word meaning ‘dust’ or ‘dusty place’. The park was established in 1961 and gazetted in 1968.
Size: The park is approximately 188 km² and in it lies Lake Nakuru one of the soda lakes of the Rift valley that lies 1754m above sea level.
Geography/ Habitat
The Lake covers about a third of the entire park, and in it is the blue green Cyanophyte Spirulina platensis plant, a major food source for the millions of flamingo that reside there. The lake is also bordered by alkalines swamps and marsh at the edges of the blue green waters, with surrounding lower areas of land supporting a savannah like grassland area. The elevated areas are dotted with acacia dry forests and bushland with Rocky Hillsides and scrub on the escarpentsand ridges.
Lake Nakuru Park is known as bird lover’s hub because of the numerous birds that make home in this park. Lake Nakuru kenya Park is home to over 400 bird species including the flamingos that live on the lake and in the park’s savannah grasslands. The bird species include but not limited to African Fish Eagle, Slender-billed greenbul, Long-tailed widowbird, Rufous-throated wryneck, Montane white-eye,Red-capped lark, Northern puffback, Rüppell’s robin-chat, Shining sunbird and many more
Animals: Large numbers of the Greater and Lesser Flamingoes, white and black rhino, buffallo, lion, zebra, gazelle, the rare long-eared leaf-nosed bat, colobus monkey, rock hyrax, hippo, leopard, waterbuck, impala, gazelle, striped hyena, bat-eared fox, wild cat, reedbuck , golden cat, warthog, baboons and over 450 species of terrestrial and water birds.
Of interest: Game drives and great view point picnics in the park such as at the Baboon Cliff View point overlooking the unique diverse landscape.
