Daily Archives: October 3, 2018

Cape Buffalo among the Flamingos

Lake Nakuru National Reserve is one of the “fenced” reserves of the Rift Valley. The animals are not free to come and go…which is not the norm in Kenya. In fact the unfenced reserves and parks are, in my opinion, one of the main differences between the experience of Kenya and, say, South Africa, where the larger Kruger complex…though huge…is totally fenced. Nakuru is fenced to protect surviving small numbers of both endangered Black and White Rhinoceros…from wandering and from poachers…and a thriving herd of the comparatively rare Rothschild’s Giraffes, which were introduced to the park for their own protection. When lake levels are right, the lake also attracts large numbers of Lesser Flamingos, which, as here, feed in the shallows. The Cape Buffalo are on a little spit of more solid land that runs out into the lake. Our guide lamented the fact that the lake is being polluted with runoff from Nakuru Town, on its northern edge, which he feels is reducing the numbers of Flamingos, and pushing them to the far south edge of the lake. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr.