HALF DAY NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK AND ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE

r

Nairobi National Park has acquired the nickname ‘Kifaru Ark’, a testament to its success as a rhinoceros (kifaru in Kiswahili) sanctuary. The park is home to the world’s densest concentration of black rhinoceros (over 50). But even proximity to Kenya’s largest city couldn’t prevent poachers from killing one of the park’s rhinos in August 2013. It was the first such attack in six years.

Lions and hyenas are also commonly sighted within the park; park rangers at the entrance usually have updates on lion movements. You’ll need a bit of patience and a lot of luck to spot the park’s resident cheetahs and leopards. Other regularly spotted species include gazelle, warthog, zebra, giraffe, ostrich and buffalo.

The park’s wetland areas also sustain approximately 400 bird species.

The Nairobi National Park, Daphne Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage looks after and supports orphaned baby elephants and rhinos who have lost their mothers to poaching, death, injuries, on getting lost in the wild or other tragedies.

Besides feeding, washing and walking the babies, Daphne and her dedicated staff of keepers provide emotional support to the orphans as they raise them to be released back into the wild when they are ready. It is worth a visit to the park to see the young elephants interacting with their keepers – playing, taking mud baths and being fed with milk