Amboseli - The Elephant Sanctuary Like No Other
Author: admin / Category: Travel and LeisureThe African elephant is the biggest land animal on earth. With adult males weighing as much as seven tonnes, and with a height of well over two metres at the shoulder, the jumbo is no doubt an awesome sight. When watching the animals at close range, it is even more exciting. This is what Amboseli national park promises the visitor.
Situated on the Kenyan side at the foot of the world’s highest free standing mountain, Mt. Kilimanjaro, the park prides itself as the custodian of the most documented elephant herds on earth. Elephant researchers have been working here since the early 1970’s and they know virtually every elephant by name. Every new born is recorded, just like every death. The animals have tags that track their movements sometimes migrating to Tsavo national park over one hundred miles away.
For the visitor, the opportunity to view an elephant at close range can not come any better. Amboseli is an open plain park with two main swamps, that are a major attraction to the elephants. They love to feed on the reeds in the waters, sometimes sub merging themselves save for the trunks that are used as both the hand and the nose. When they are not in the waters, the elephants are feeding on grass. This provides the best opportunity for a close range photograph.
Elephants when relaxed are a joy to watch
The big bull inspects all the females in a herd in a no nonsense kind of approach. It is more like greetings, without wasting too much time on any one individual. Satisfied that none of the females requires his attention, he may choose to graze briefly with the herd, before proceeding on to other herds. It is rare to witness a territorial fight, but when it happens, it is a sight to behold. The fight may last a whole day or more, sometimes leading to serious injury or death. It can be very dangerous though to go close to fighting bulls. Frustrated losers have been known to vent their anger on human onlookers.
Amboseli does have other animals as well. In fact all the big four of the five are available only a few metres from the hotel room. The roar of the African lion, which brings everything in the vicinity to a standstill is common at night and early morning. Lions are easily spotted here especially if the game drive is early morning or late evening. There are a number of cheetahs here as well that can be spotted hunting during the day. But the hyena steals the show. They have an exclusive corner for themselves, the hyena’s camp, where their young are reared in dens. Several adult females are on guard here 24/7. After a successful hunt, the rest of the park comes to the camp with swollen stomachs and enough meat to feed both the young and the guards.
In the recent past, balloon watching of the wildlife has been introduced in the park. It is now possible to fly over the park and watch the animals from the air in the luxury of a hot air balloon. Unlike many other parks, Amboseli has an area that is allowed to watch the animals on foot. It is at the safety of the observation hill though, that has an excellent view of the hippo invested Amboseli lake. With a pair of binoculars, one is able to watch the animals with from a distance and with a feeling that one is actually in the wild. Elephants and buffaloes also love to graze at the lakes.
Amboseli offers excellent viewer ship of game with minimal distances covered in game drives. It is one destination that a Kenyan traveler should not miss out.
James G. Kamweru is a tour operator and has been organizing and reporting on Vacation, Travel and Tours for years. For More Information Visit his site at Kenya Travel I Will Also Highly Appreciate Your Comments Kenya Travel On My Blog Here Kenya Travel
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