Kenya’s Lake Nakuru National Park was set up in 1960 to protect the bird-life in the plains and mountains surrounding the lake and the huge quantities of flamingos which were to be viewed along the lake shore in these days. The park’s comparatively compact size (188 sq kilometers ) allows you push around the whole park at half a day and although you will need to stay in a vehicle there are designated picnic and camping sites where stops can be made.
Although once-famous for its huge populations of flamingos, Lake Nakuru isn’t their breeding ground and numbers have significantly diminished in recent years due to rising water levels shifting the alkalinity of the lake which has significantly reduced the algae where the lower flamingos feed. For many years now lesser flamingos have been virtually absent from the beaches of Lake Nakuru and are not likely to return until the lake levels fall and algae is present once more. The flamingos still migrate to the other Rift Valley lakes especially to neighboring Lake Bogoria in which they may be seen in huge numbers.
But Lake Nakuru is still worth a visit as it’s many other notable park residents — such as leopard and lion, also black rhino and white rhino. Nakuru has turned into among the most successful sanctuaries in East Africa for rhino and now homes healthy populations of the two. In the same way, the jeopardized Rothchild’s giraffe from the Soy Plains of Eldoret was introduced in 1974 and it too has bred successfully. There are also a number of pythons which can be seen sometimes disconcertingly dangling from trees or crossing roads. The bird life is spectacular with hundreds of bird species and a massive range of water birds such as large numbers of pelicans which have been attracted by the increased water levels.
The playground is so near Nakuru town that it is fenced to stop animals wandering into town and also to prevent unauthorised persons or poachers from getting into the park. The closeness of the park to town usually means that the local people have to know their wildlife neighbours and school kids are often bused in for game drives in the park to find the wildlife thus strengthening the links between town and the park.
Also Read :- https://www.wakingtimes.com/2019/04/10/10-buffaloes-die-of-anthrax-at-lake-nakuru-national-park-in-kenya/
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