My Safari in Nakuru Park Comes to a Close

It has been fun showing you around the national park located in Nakuru, Kenya. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. It has been great reliving the memories of my safari there.  Today will be my last post on the trip to this wonderful park. If you've missed out on the rest of the safari, please be sure to check out the links at the bottom of this post.

In the late 1970s and 1980s poachers decimated Kenya's rhinos, of which there are only two species in the country, white and black rhinos. Before the rampant poaching Kenya had an estimated 20,000 black rhinos in 1973. Today, black rhinos number only 610, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service.  The David Sheldrick Trust was instrumental for the conservation projects related to preservation of the rhino in Kenya. You can read  much more about their wonderful efforts here.  The link will take you to the efforts to save the black rhino.

White rhinos are even more endangered in Kenya with only 240 in the country.  The Nakuru Park is home to a rhino conservation project and I consider myself very fortunate to have seen a group of white rhinos as we were driving around in the park.

The white rhino's name comes from the Dutch word "weit," meaning wide, which refers to its wide, square muzzle, adapted for grazing. The white rhino, whose real color is gray, has a pronounced hump on the neck and a long face.

These photos are of the extremely rare white rhino.

 

I feel very blessed to have seen the rhino up close as I did. As we sat in the vehicle and watched them graze, I felt an sense of awesome wonder.

It is sad that just just after my visit to Kenya a group of poachers was arrested for killing a southern white rhino for its horns.  The horns sell for more per weight than gold and are used in Asia to make medicines, and in the Middle East to make dagger handles.  The Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) is doing a great job to try and project the country's wildlife but they face huge challenges.  If you are ever in Kenya, please take time to learn about the KWS and ways you can help them or you can read here and see that there are different ways to support their work, including wildlife conservation.

As we move on in the park, I see many other types of antelope, both in the wooded areas and on the Savannah. I just love to watch them.

 

I also love to see the many birds feasting in the lake.

They provide many photo opportunities too for the tourists.

As I was going through my photographs I came across this water bird who I forgot to feature when I did my post on the flamingos and pelicans. I'm not sure what kind of a bird this is but it is obviously some kind of water bird with it's long legs.  Perhaps one of my African readers can identify it for us.

Now I must say that for me it is always a highlight to see the majestic lions of Kenya. These truly are magnificent creatures and unfortunately they are a dying breed in Kenya.

My driver was not so sure I would see a lion before I left the park but I had a sense of certainty about it.  Just as we were leaving the park, we came across this female lion. It was a little difficult to get a good photo but I did the best I could.  She was just going to find a resting perch on a fallen tree.

Here she is making her way to the end of the tree when we spotted here.

Ah, there she is now resting on her perch.

I thought it fitting that my last shot of the wild animals in this park was one of a lioness taking a rest. We make the journey back to the main part of the city, passing by the park sign and other photographers. I hope to pass this way again some time.

Click here to read Part 1 in this series. It starts with my stopover in Nairobi, Kenya.

Click here to read Part 2 in this series in Kenya. It continues with my sojourn in Nairobi, Kenya.

Click here to read Part 3 in this series on Kenya where I stop to view a stunning lookout.

Click here to read Part 4 in this series on Kenya where I stop at Lake Elementeita.

Click here to read Part 5 in this series on Kenya where I talk about some hotels in Nakuru.

Click here to read Part 6 in this series on Kenya where I show you some tourist sites around Nakuru.

Click here to read Part 7 in this series on Kenya where I show you the Castle Without a Princess.

Click here to read Part 8 in this series on Kenya where I feature a collection of scenes from around Nakuru. 
Click here to read Part 9 in this series where we enter the park and begin to tour it. 
Click here to read Part 10 about the flamingos and water buffalo. 
Click here to read Part 11 about  the Baboons of Nakuru Park.

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Baboons of Nakuru Park

Thank you and a big welcome to my newest followers: Alan (an awesome photoblogger), Ms. Burrito (a 5 year old emerging blogger), Paco (who has an artsy photoblog) and Cathy Lookabaugh. Cathy you don't have a website link so I can't visit you.

There is so much to see at the Nakuru National Park and I've had to split the photos into several posts (you can find the links to these and to my other travel posts on Kenya at the bottom of this post). In today's post, I bring you to Baboon Point one of my favourite places in the park.

One of the reasons I enjoy Baboon Point on Baboon Cliff is because of the spectacular views. Here from high up you have a fantastic view of Lake Nakuru.  Another reason is to see the troop of baboons. Baboons like to live in groups or troops of 20-100.  Each troop is protected by one or more dominant males.

A baboon is basically a type of monkey and is easily recognizable by a large head and cheek pouches.  The baboon also has a long jaw and this enables them to store food in their cheek pouches just like a chipmunk.

Isn't the view stunning? I love that I can see the winding dirt path that brought us from the lake to the cliffs.

This photo is taken just a little more to the left of the photo above.

This is one place where it is gratifying to see a lot of locals and African visitors.

There are so many baboons to keep everyone occupied in watching them, hence the name "Baboon Cliff".

I tried to zoom in on the lake.

These baboons are ignoring me.

These baboons are doing what baboons love to do.  They love to explore cars and will get into them if you are not careful.

Something inside this car has caught this baboon's eye.

Baboons have long, powerful limbs and can travel at high speeds.  Their buttocks are hairless and are often a bright colour.  Their fur is coarse and usually short and they can come in a variety of colours from blondish to a dark brown.

The baboons seem oblivious to humans but I wonder if they would like to tell us to 'get lost'?

Here a baboon is grooming another.

Just chillaxin'

Another spectacular view.

Pondering life's big questions.  The baboon is a very intelligent animal and can be trained.

I tried unsuccessfully to capture a photo of the baby baboon with it's mother under this picnic table.

Baboons are social creatures.  The female baboons are about half the size of the males and they produce one baby baboon after carrying it for a 6 month period.

I transferred my attention from the picnic table to take a photo of this mother and her baby.

A group of baboons is called a troop.  Unfortunately they are big pests for Kenya's farmer and can inflict a lot of damage on crops.  So while we tourists may like the baboon,  the local farmers do not.

Even baboons get tired. Maybe this one is bored with the tourists that day! LOL

Baboons eat a variety of things like worms, insects, reptiles, small mammals, fruits, vegetation and eggs. I didn't get to see any baboon having a meal that day. Perhaps another day.

Please come again for more of my expedition to Kenya.  If you haven't been on the trip before today you can catch up by checking out the links below.  Thank you for visiting!

~~~~~~~~~

Click here to read Part 1 in this series. It starts with my stopover in Nairobi, Kenya.

Click here to read Part 2 in this series in Kenya. It continues with my sojourn in Nairobi, Kenya.

Click here to read Part 3 in this series on Kenya where I stop to view a stunning lookout.

Click here to read Part 4 in this series on Kenya where I stop at Lake Elementeita.

Click here to read Part 5 in this series on Kenya where I talk about some hotels in Nakuru.

Click here to read Part 6 in this series on Kenya where I show you some tourist sites around Nakuru.

Click here to read Part 7 in this series on Kenya where I show you the Castle Without a Princess.

Click here to read Part 8 in this series on Kenya where I feature a collection of scenes from around Nakuru. 
Click here to read Part 9 in this series where we enter the park and begin to tour it. 
Click here to read Part 10 about the flamingos and water buffalo. 

Click on the MW badge above to see more of our spectacular world and please do leave a comment below before you go.

My Safari at the Nakuru National Park Continues

A big welcome and thank you to my newest follower, Maus Tratos ao Idoso Denuncie, which I understand translates to Report Abuse of the Elderly. This is indeed a worthy cause.

For those of you who have been following my travel series to Kenya, I'm happy to report that I will resume the series.  At the end of this post you will find links to the other posts in this series.  I've also started a new series on frugal living and, I will continue to post about little Kigen's progress on this blog also.

When I left off the tour in the last post on this park, we were seated in the car discussing which road to take. We decided to turn right.

Amongst the trees you will find a group of zebras. Did you know that a a group of zebras is not called a herd but a harem?  I just learned that by looking it up on line today.

A close up of the water buffalo with some kind of white bird in the foreground. I'm afraid I don't know what it is. (Graham from Namibia tells me they are egrets.  Thanks Graham!).  There are also several species of birds behind the buffalo.  You can get a better view by clicking on the photo to enlarge it.  The ones at the far back are Lesser Flamingos and Great White Pelicans.  There are so many kinds of birds that feed at this lake but the largest in  numbers are probably the flamingos.

A snapshot of the lake's beauty.

A Kenyan water buffalo grazes on the wet grass while two flamingos fly overhead. I was delighted to capture the flamingos in flight.

A Thompson gazelle grazes on the grass.

I want to get a closer look at the flamingos.  They are much farther away from the shoreline than they usually are. That is because there has been so much rain and the lake has been artificially enlarged but the flamingos remain where the lake's natural shoreline is located.

The water buffalo in the foreground and the flamingos in the background make for a pretty picture.

This is about as close up a shot as I could get on this trip. I don't have a fancy camera with the ability to zoom right in.

I believe these birds are called the Helmeted Guineafowl. My driver didn't know the name of them as he isn't a tour guide. He just kept telling me that the bird tastes very good.

Here is a close up.  We came across these birds several times during our tour of the park.  I think the spotted pattern on the feathers is so pretty.

The Great White Pelican. I love the look of their beaks.  If you click on the photo it will enlarge and you can see the beak up close.

I am not fully certain but I think this blue bird might be the Lesser blue eared Glossy starling.

I thought it was so pretty and it ran across the road several times during our trip.

Come back again soon so I can show you more of this beautiful country called Kenya.

Click here to read Part 1 in this series. It starts with my stopover in Nairobi, Kenya.

Click here to read Part 2 in this series in Kenya. It continues with my sojourn in Nairobi, Kenya.

Click here to read Part 3 in this series on Kenya where I stop to view a stunning lookout.

Click here to read Part 4 in this series on Kenya where I stop at Lake Elementeita.

Click here to read Part 5 in this series on Kenya where I talk about some hotels in Nakuru.

Click here to read Part 6 in this series on Kenya where I show you some tourist sites around Nakuru.

Click here to read Part 7 in this series on Kenya where I show you the Castle Without a Princess.

Click here to read Part 8 in this series on Kenya where I feature a collection of scenes from around Nakuru. 
Click here to read Part 9 in this series where we enter the park and begin to tour it.

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 Click on the badge above to join others for Blue Monday.