Mammals list in Samburu National Reserve

Mammals list in Samburu National Reserve : The Special 5 are among the mammals in Samburu National Reserve. Among other mammals to spot on a Kenya wildlife safari include the following;

The Aardwolf

The aardwolf is a native of East and Southern Africa and is an insectivorous carnivore. The Afrikaans meaning of its name is “earth wolf”. It is similar to a little striped hyena, with yellowish-black stripes that run vertically and a bushy tail with black tips. It shares the same robust shoulders, longer front legs than rear legs, and a long, coarse ridge of erectile hairs running the length of its back as the hyena. Aardwolf has five toes on its front feet rather than four, and it is not as good of a runner. The broad, grassy plains of eastern and southern Africa are home to aardwolves. They live alone and snooze in their burrows throughout the day, waking up to hunt at night. Depending on the availability of food, their territory ranges from one to four square kilometres, and they mark it with secretions from their anal glands as well as urine and excrement.

African Hare

Across Africa, grasslands and forested savannahs are frequent habitats for African hares. Although they occasionally form groups of two or three when feeding, they mostly lead solitary lives. They employ their senses of smell, sight, and hearing to ward off predators. African hares are 20 inches long, weigh 1.5 to 3 kg (3.3 to 6.6 lb), and consume berries, bark, twigs, leaves, buds, and roots as food. At general, African hares can be found at Samburu National Reserve. The African hare has a 12-year lifespan.

Antelopes are a type of wild mammal commonly associated with East Africa; they can be seen in high numbers in Samburu and Kenya. There are three subspecies: Oribi Antelope, Kirk’s Dik-Dik, and Klipspringer. Antelope vary greatly in size and exhibit remarkable variation and creativity with their headgear. They are located in desert areas with bush or scrub cover. They are the grassland’s and the bush’s unsung treasures.

Antelopes

Banded Mongoose

A common mongoose in central and eastern Africa is the banded mongoose. Its primary food sources are beetles and millipedes, and it inhabits savannahs, open woods, and grasslands. Mongooses live in colonies with intricate social structures and take refuge in a variety of dens, including termite mounds. Their colour is either brown or grey, and they may be easily recognised by the dark stripes that run from the shoulder to the tail on their backs. The animal weighs between 1.3 and 2.3 kg and measures about 40 cm in length. In the reserves of Samburu, Tsavo, Amboseli, and Masai Mara, they are frequently spotted in groups.

The African bat- eared fox

The African bat-eared fox is a species of fox that lives on short-grass prairies and desert grasslands. It is typically observed foraging at night or early in the morning during the warmer months, and during the day when the weather gets colder. The underparts and throat are pale, while the body is typically yellow-brown in colour. Frequently observed in regions that have witnessed heavy grazing by both domestic and wild ungulates; yet, if they feel threatened, they will occasionally penetrate into thickets of tall grass. Since they are very gregarious, if you come across one, keep a look out for more. Small invertebrates like ants, termites, spiders, scorpions, and crickets make up the majority of the bat-eared fox’s diet. They will also consume tiny birds, reptiles, animals, and even truffles from the desert.

Bush Baby

The bush baby, often referred to as the Senegal galago, the lesser galago, or the lesser bush baby, is a small, nocturnal, arboreal monkey with wide, round eyes that have extraordinary fine hearing and night vision. They can jump more than five or six feet in a vertical direction because to their powerful back legs. They climb quickly and with agility, and their long tails help them stay balanced. These soft-furred, amiable animals consume seeds, nuts, fruits, flowers, and insects as food. All of the main reserves have it, although Samburu National Reserve has the most.

Bushbuck

The sub-Saharan antelope bushbuck, also called imbababala, is found in montane forests, rain forests, mosaics of forest and savanna, and bush savannahs. The coat of a bushbuck is light brown with splotches of white on the flanks and up to seven white stripes. Only the males have horns, which may grow to a length of more than half a metre with just one twist. Their muzzles are likewise white. Their primary mode of feeding is browsing, but they also consume any other accessible plant material. Although they are active almost all year round, bushbucks are typically nocturnal in areas where people live.

Coke’s Hartebeest antelope

The medium-sized, fawn-coloured Coke’s Hartebeest antelope. Its tall, thin face and distinctly angular, strongly ridged short horns (on both sexes) make it simple to identify. Their primary habitats are savannah and other tall, medium-sized grasslands. Nairobi and Tsavo East National Park, Tsavo West and Amboseli National Park, Samburu and Masai Mara National Reserve are easy places to view them. It is among the most resilient and swift antelopes. The hartebeest consumes grass nearly exclusively, but it is not picky about what it eats and can tolerate low-quality food pretty well.

Mammals list in Samburu National Reserve — Hartebeest antelope

Common Eland

This savannah and plains antelope, which is located in East and Southern Africa, is also referred to as the southern eland or eland antelope. Despite being little smaller on average than the gigantic eland, it is the second largest antelope in the world. Spiral-horned antelopes are common in eland. They stay away from dense forests but prefer the scrub of the savannah to large open areas. It is active on moonlit evenings and feeds on the foliage of trees and grass in the early morning and late afternoon. Nairobi, Samburu, Masai Mara National Reserves, Tsavo East and West National Parks, and Tsavo West National Park are good places to watch them.

Monkeys

These East and Central African monkeys are also referred to as copper-tailed monkeys. These are gregarious primates that live in groups of seven to thirty members. One dominant male, one dominant female, and their young make up each group. Except for males who attain adulthood, groups typically remain together throughout the day and throughout life. Early in the morning and late at night, red-tailed monkey activity is highest. In addition to expressing themselves verbally, physically, and visually, they also exhibit social dominance, submission, or greetings. Being omnivores, they consume both fruits and, when fruit is in short supply, leaves, flowers, or insects.

Crested porcupine

The Crested Porcupine is a huge, nocturnal rodent with a black body and long, black and white spines. Its conspicuous crest, which stretches from the forehead to the shoulders, is made up of long, spiky hairs. Its black rump and short, rattle-like quills in the tail help to set it apart from other species. Most of the time, crested porcupines may be found in non-desert environments including savannah, forests, steppes, and uplands. Fruits, roots, tubers, bulbs, and bark make up the majority of what they consume.

Impalas

The medium-sized impala (Aepyceros melampus) antelope inhabits eastern and southern Africa. It has reddish-brown colouring with white hair on the chin, upper throat, underparts, buttocks, and inside the ears and over each eye. A vertical black stripe may be seen on the back of each leg, and a thin black line can be seen running from the middle of the lower back to the tail. Impalas are typically found around bodies of water near the boundaries of grasslands and forests.

They consume fresh grass shoots during the wet season and herbs and bushes during the other times of the year. They both graze and browse. The Samburu and Masai Mara National Reserves, the Kisumu Impala Sanctuary, Hell’s Gate, Nairobi National Park, and the Lake Nakuru National Parks are among the best Destinations in Kenya to see impalas.

Other Animals commonly seen in Samburu National Reserve are; spring hare, vervet monkeys, spotted hyenas, warthogs, bats, Dik-diks, jackals , pangolin, Oribi, olive baboons, the big five animals ( Lion, Buffalo, leopard, elephant, & Rhino) , Giraffe, zebras and many more.