Nairobi National Park

After a two year drought, Nairobi National Park finally received some decent rain in December & early January & the effects have been dramatic. Every last blade of grass had been grazed to dust by the 6000 or so resident herbivores & a similar number of illegal cattle, all of which (in the case of the latter) have now died or moved away to grazing lands in Maasailand. Seasonal wetlands provide excellent habitat for aquatic sp. of birds such as this Saddlebill stork…..

All predators, including the Big Cats have done well during the drought, with virtually all wildlife in the Athi-Kapiti ecosystem north of the Namanga highway  being contained in the park owing to the presence of water & grazing…..

Bohor reedbuck such as this male are doing well (many of them are translocatees from Western Kenya) & easily visible in the the new short grass……

Buffaloes surprisingly survived the drought well: there are close to a thousand of these large bovines in the park today……

Kongoni (Coke’s hartebeest) are now confined to the park because of human activities in the dispersal area.They are increasing in numbers & provide food for the ever-hungry & ever increasing NNP lion population (which is estimated at between 35 & 40 individuals…..)

Migrant White or European storks, feasting on the exploding insect population (a consequence of the Rains…)

A dainty bushbuck pictured in a seasonally flooded vlei in the Langata Forest….

Dikdik in the Silole Sanctuary abutting the park: I have never seen this sp. in the park itself. Could somebody suggest WHY this might be the strange case?

Mother & calf Southern White rhino continue to do well: we have 11 in the NNP.