Location: 7 km (4 mi) South of Nairobi Map
Area: 117 km2 (45 sq mi)
Open: 6am- 7pm daily
Nairobi National Park is a nature reserve situate 7 km (4 mi) South of Nairobi capital of Kenya. This protected biosphere is the first national park and protects an area of 117 km2 (45 sq mi).
Safari Walk Animal Orphanage
Open: 8am- 6pm daily Open: 8am- 6pm daily
Feeding: 1pm- 2pm daily
British colonists arrived in the area where the park is located at the
end of the 19th century. At this time, the Athi plains east and
south of where Nairobi today is located had diverse wildlife. The
Masai nomadic people lived and herded cattle in the wild. The Kikuyu
people cultivated tree-lined highlands above today's Nairobi.
Conservationist Mervyn Cowie was born in Nairobi. Returning to
Kenya after a nine-year absence in 1932, he was alarmed to see a
decrease in the number of game on the Athi plains. The expansion of
farms and livestock crowded out hunting grounds. He later recalled
this place as a paradise that quickly disappeared. During this time,
the area that later became Nairobi National Park was part of the
southern Hunting Reserve. Hunting was officially banned, but almost
any activity, including grazing cattle, landfills, and even bombing
the British Air Force was allowed. Mervyn Cowie began a campaign to
establish a national park system in Kenya. Thanks to his efforts,
the Government of Kenya has formed a committee to consider this
issue.
Officially opened in 1946, Nairobi National Park
became Kenya's first national park. The Masai herders were expelled
from their lands when the park was created. Mervyn Cowie became
director of Nairobi National Park and held this position until 1966.
In 1989, Kenyan President Daniel Moye burned twelve tons of ivory in
the park. This event boosted Kenya’s image in wildlife conservation.
The park covers an area of 117.21 square kilometers (28,963
acres) and is relatively small compared to most of the national
parks in Africa. The park’s height ranges from 1,533 meters (5,030
feet) and 1,760 meters (5,774 feet). The park has a dry climate. The
park is located 7 kilometers (4 miles) from the center of Nairobi.
An electric fence was made around the northern part of the park, the
eastern and western borders. The fence that separates the park from
the city is one of the airport exits. The southern border of the
park is the Mbagati River. This border is not fenced and is open,
allowing large species of animals to migrate. Also in the park there
are deep stony valleys and gorges.
Flora
The park is
dominated by an open plain with rare acacia bushes. On the western
elevation of the park dry alpine forests grow, where African Olive,
Croton, Brahilena and Calodendrum meet. The lower slopes of this
area are used as pastures where Themeda, cypress, Digitaria, Cynodon
and acacia yellow-bark are found. In the southern part of the park,
river forests grow along the rivers. Acacias and Euphorbia
candelabrum mainly grow in the valleys. Also in the park there are
Apodytes dimidiata, Canthium schimperiana, Elaeodendron buchananii,
ficus, Aspilia mossambicensis, sumy and Newtonia. The plants of
Euphorbia brevitorta, Drimia calcarata, and Murdannia clarkeana,
which grow on rocky slopes, are unique to this area of Nairobi.
Fauna
Nairobi National Park is home to: African buffalo,
monkeys, black rhinoceros, Burchell zebra, cheetah, common bubal,
Grant gazelle, Thomson gazelle, wildebeest, hippo, leopard, lion,
canna, impala, Masai giraffe, ostrich, vulture and water goat.
Herbivores use Kitengela's protected hunting grounds and the
migration corridor south of the park to reach the Athi-Kapiti
plains. They scatter across the plains during the rainy season and
return to the park in the dry season. The concentration of wildlife
in the park is highest in the dry season when areas outside the park
have dried up. Small dams built along the Mbagathi River provide
water to the park, which attracts water-dependent herbivores during
the dry season. The park is home to a wide variety of bird species,
up to 400 permanent and migratory species. Dams create an artificial
habitat for birds and animals that depend on water.
Security
Mervyn Cowey watched the development
of several national parks in Kenya and developed tourism in them,
which helped to make the tourism industry in Kenya one of the main
ones. However, this exacerbated the problems between the local
population and wildlife. Local residents received very little
benefit from commercial wildlife hunting. Farmers living near the
parks did not have access to the parks. Livestock were threatened by
lions, and some landowners were against the national park. In 1948,
the population of Nairobi was 188,976, and by 1997 the population of
the city had grown to 1.5 million. The park began to feel pressure
due to the growing population of the city and its need for
agricultural land. People live right on the border of the park,
which creates conflicts between humans and wildlife. The large
population of Nairobi also pollutes the environment. Sewage and
industrial wastes from factories located along the northern border
of the park pollute the surface of the park and underground
groundwater systems.
Agreements with the Masai people in 1904
and 1911 forced them to leave all their northern pastures on the
lands of Laikipia near Mount Kenya. Some of the people who lost land
moved to the Kitengela plains. Today, the Kitengela plains are
divided into ranch groups and part of the land was sold to farmers
of the Kikuyu people. People living here suffer from the presence of
predators. Part of the park’s revenue is used in collaborative
projects for people living on the Kitengela plains to benefit from
the presence of the national park. The Masai landowners formed the
Kitengela Landowners Association, which works with the Kenyan
Wildlife Conservation Service to both protect wildlife and find
benefits for local residents.
The National Park and the
Athi-Kapiti plains are interconnected by movements of large
populations of wild herbivores. The plains south of the park are
important nutrient areas during the rainy season. Before Nairobi
appeared, herds of animals followed the rains and crossed the plains
from Mount Kilimanjaro to Mount Kenya. However, as the city grew,
the park became the northernmost limit of animal movement. Migrating
animals can reach their southern pastures by traveling through some
of the Athi plains called Kitengela. This land is very important for
their travel routes, but population growth and land demand threatens
to cut off this traditional travel route from the park. Migratory
species of animals of the park are also threatened by the
possibility of their resettlement, fencing, proximity to Nairobi and
other industrial cities. All these actions fragment ecosystems and
occupy their habitat.
Tourism and education
Nairobi
National Park is the main attraction for guests of the capital of
the country. Attractions include a variety of bird species, cheetah,
hyena, leopard and lion. Other attractions include migrations of
wildebeest and zebra in July and August, as well as a monument to
the site of the burnt Ivory, a safari walk and an animal shelter.
The Park Wildlife Education Center offers lectures and videos on
the wildlife of the park and excursions to the animal shelter. These
tours are primarily intended for schooling and local communities.
The Kenya Wildlife Service offers a safari walk that highlights the
diversity of plants and animals found in Kenya and its impact on the
country's population.