Tsavo East National
Park is one of the
oldest and largest parks in Kenya at 13,747 square kilometres.
Situated in a semi-arid area previously known as the Taru Desert it opened in
April 1948, and is located near the town of Voi in the Taita-Taveta County of the former Coast Province.
The park is divided into east and west sections by the A109 road and
a railway. Named for the Tsavo
River, which flows west
to east through the national park,
it borders the Chyulu Hills National Park, and the Mkomazi Game Reserve in Tanzania.
Geography
The park can be accessed by three main
gates, from Voi through the Manyani gate, from Mombasa through the Bachuma gate or
from Malindi through the Sala gate. There are also several airstrips
in the park that allow chartered light planes. Inside the park, the Athi and
Tsavo rivers converge to form the Galana River. Most of the park consists of semi-arid grasslands and savanna. It is considered one of the world's
biodiversity strongholds, and its popularity is mostly due to the vast amounts
of diverse wildlife that can be seen, including the famous 'big five'
consisting of Masai lion, black
rhino, cape
buffalo, elephant
and leopard. The park is also home to a great variety of bird life such
as the black kite, crowned
crane, lovebird and the sacred
ibis.
The slightly larger Tsavo East is generally flat, with dry plains
across which the Galana
River flows. Other
features include the Yatta Plateau and Lugard Falls.
Tsavo West National Park is more mountainous and wetter
than its counterpart, with swamps, Lake
Jipe and the Mzima Springs.
It is known for birdlife and for its large mammals. It is also home to a black
rhino sanctuary.
Archaeology and history
Although a few Early Stone Age and Middle Stone Age archaeological
sites are recorded from ground surface finds in Tsavo, there is much evidence
for thriving Late Stone Age economy from 6,000 to 1,300 years ago. Research has
shown that Late Stone Age archaeological sites are found close to the Galana
River in high
numbers. The inhabitants of these sites hunted wild animals, fished and kept
domesticated animals. Because of the sparse availability of water away from the
Galana River, human settlement in Tsavo focused on the riparian areas and in
rock shelters as one moves west.
Swahili merchants
traded with the inhabitants of Tsavo for ivory, catskins, and probably slaves
as early as 700 AD (and probably earlier). There is no evidence for direct
Swahili "colonization" of Tsavo. Instead, trade was probably
accomplished by moving goods to and from the Swahili Coast via extended
kin-networks. Trade goods such as cowry shells and beads have been recovered
from archaeological sites dating to the early Swahili period.
19th century British and German
explorers document people we now refer to as Orma and Watha during their travels
through the "nyika" ("bush" or "hinterland") and
generally viewed them as hostile toward their interests. Beginning in the late
19th/early 20th century, the British began a concerted effort to colonise the
interior of Kenya and built a railway through Tsavo in 1898. Two "man-eating lions" terrorised the construction crews led by Lt. Col Patterson who eventually shot the pair not before they had killed
one hundred and thirty five Indians and local workers. The railway was
eventually completed through to Kisumu on Lake Victoria.
Tsavo remained the homeland for Orma
pastoralists and Watha hunter-gatherers until 1948, when it was gazetted
a national park. At that time, the Orma with their livestock were driven off
and the aboriginal population of the Watha people was forcefully relocated to
Voi and Mtito Andei as well as other locations within the nearby Taita
Hills. Following Kenyan
independence in 1963, hunting was banned in the park and management of Tsavo
was turned over to the authority that eventually became the Kenya Wildlife Service. Tsavo currently attracts
photo-tourists from all over the world interested in experiencing the vastness
of the wilderness and incredible terrain.
Major attractions
Mudanda Rock
The Mudanda Rock is a 1.6 km inselberg of stratified rock that acts as a
water catchment that supplies a natural dam below. It offers an excellent
vantage point for the hundreds of elephants and other wildlife that come to
drink during the dry season.
Yatta Plateau
The Yatta Plateau, the world's
longest lava flow, runs along the western boundary of the park above the Athi River. Its 290 km length was formed by lava from Ol Doinyo Sabuk Mountain.
Lugard Falls
Lugard Falls, named after Frederick Lugard,
is a series of white water rapids on the Galana River.
Aruba Dam
Aruba Dam was built in 1952 across
the Voi River. The reservoir created
by the dam attracts many animals and water birds.
Mammals
Tsavo East National Park is one of the
world's largest game reserves, providing undeveloped wilderness homes to vast
numbers of animals. Famous are the Tsavo
lions, a population of
lions, where adult males often lack manes entirely. In total there are about
675 lions in the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem.
A comprehensive list of the animal types
found in Tsavo East Park includes the aardwolf, yellow baboon, bat, Cape buffalo, bushbaby, bushbuck, caracal, African wildcat, Tanzanian cheetah, African civet, dik-dik, African hunting dog, African dormouse, blue
duiker, bush
duiker, red
duiker, eland, elephant, bat-eared fox, greater galago, gazelle, large-spotted genet, small-spotted genet, gerenuk, giraffe, African hare, springhare, Coke's hartebeest, hunter hartebeest, East African hedgehog, spotted hyena, striped hyena, rock
hyrax, tree
hyrax, impala, black-backed jackal, side-striped jackal, klipspringer, lesser
kudu, leopard, lion, banded mongoose, dwarf mongoose, Egyptian mongoose, marsh mongoose, slender mongoose, white-tailed mongoose, black faced vervet monkey, Sykes' monkey, fringe-eared
oryx, clawless otter, ground pangolin, crested porcupine, cane
rat, giant
rat, naked mole rat, ratel, bohor reedbuck, black rhinoceros, serval, spectacled elephant shrew, bush squirrel,
East African red squirrel, striped ground squirrel, unstriped ground squirrel, suni, warthog, waterbuck, common
zebra and Grevy's
zebra.
Birds
Over 500 bird species have been recorded
in the area, including ostriches, kestrels, buzzards, starlings, weaver
birds, kingfishers, hornbills, secretary birds and herons.
Poaching
Between 2001 and 2006 more than 100 lions have been
killed in the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem. Most of them have been speared by young
men. The poachers usually do not face serious consequences. In contrast, the
game scouts who arrested offenders have been punished by the community.
