An elegant oryx
Elephants at the waterhole
click to enlarge

A curious dik dik

The Samburu ecosystem is o­ne of the most exciting in East Africa and is made of several national reserves, private ranches and communally-owned group ranches that are more and more interconnected.

Famous for its large population of elephants, Samburu stands out for the abundance of northern species that cannot be found in other areas of Kenya. The gerenuk, the reticulated giraffe, the Somali ostrich, the Grevy zebra, the Beira oryx, the lesser Kudu and greater kudu are some of Northern species that can be spotted o­n safari here. Kalama Conservation area, the wildlife sanctuary bordering with Samburu National Reserve where we are located, as an abundance of other rare species, like the leopard, the striped hyena, the civet.

Trained by Lewa and NRT, the Kalama rangers have been protecting this area for several years and have been reporting a rapid increase in wildlife. The waterholes built by Saruni and by the Kalama community, with water coming from Buffalo Springs, are bringing to the area a precious element that is often missing form this arid part of Kenya. The constant availability of water will make the Saruni area an unavoidable stopping point for all the wildlife of this large and still pristine area, where there are no roads, no people, no buildings and no signs of human civilization.

Saruni Samburu Trees & Shrubs and Their Traditional Uses