The Samburu National reserve is known mostly for Special 5 Animals of Samburu. As much as other destination within Kenya is known for the big five, this reserve is known for “the little five”. These animals on this list among other reason are the catalyst as well that will attract you to the Samburu National reserve.
Special 5 Animals of Samburu are as follows
The Gerenuk
This is a very rare and unique species of Antelope. They walk on two feet like humans and this makes then Fascinating. There are about 95,000 Gerenuk antelopes that are left in the world. These antelopes have very long necks like the Giraffes. They get their name from a Somali language: “Gerenuk” a Somali word meaning “giraffe necked”.
Reticulated Giraffe
They are herbivores and can be easily identified. Just like polygons with straight, smooth sides and lighter brown in color. They are abit shorter than the common Masai giraffe. They can easily be spotted in the Samburu National reserve since the population is abit big with the last census recording over 100 and they are about 8,500 of them left in the world.
Grevy’s Zebra
This is another of the special five of the Samburu National reserve. They are striking with their white and black stripes which make them special. They are gentle animals. Unlike other zebra species, Grevy’s zebra have a more mule-like appearance with their stripes narrow and close together. There are about 2,000 of these Zebras left in the world and this makes them unique since they are not so common.
Somali Ostrich
This bird is so shy and it is hard to see. It is the biggest bird in the world. It’s different from the common ostrich and it’s a very distinct species as declared in the year 2014. The Somali ostriches are large flightless birds identified by their gray-blue necked and thighs, in the mating season the blue on male ostriches become bright blue.
Beisa Oryx
The male and the females look alike may be hard to differentiate. The females however have slender and shorter horns. The ears are abit long and they have a lot of hair. They are abit muscular. They eat grass like most antelopes.
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