Kenyan Habitat Guide

The equator runs through Kenya! Otherwise, the country can be divided into four geographical zones: the spectacular Rift Valley and central highlands, western Kenya, the hot and muggy but scenic coastal belt, and the semi-arid northern and eastern parts.

Kenya’s flora and fauna are luxurious, and are responsible for drawing several million tourists looking for the ‘Big Five’—lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino. Other species you are likely to encounter are cheetah, gazelle, giraffes, zebra, warthog, flamingo, rock hyrax, ostrich and vulture. In particular, the awe-inspiring annual migration of wildebeest at the Masai Mara National Reserve is not to be missed. The slopes of Mount Elgon and Mount Kenya are covered with abundant vegetation including bamboo, groundsel trees and giant lobelias.

The tourist industry, while providing much needed foreign revenue, can also be the source of environmental problems in many African countries. This is the case in Kenya too, where expansion in size and number of national parks has added to the problem of land availability for the locals. Also, irresponsible tours and tourists have wreaked havoc on the national parks’ ecological systems. Poaching remains a serious problem too. The controversial sacking of Richard Leakey as the man in charge of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) a few years ago has had adverse effects on the anti-poaching efforts of the government. Kenya’s scarce forest cover, at 2%, is also a cause for concern.