Lake Nakuru is one of the Rift Valley Lakes, located at an elevation of 1,754 m (5,755 ft) above sea level. It lies to the south of Nakuru, in the rift valley of Kenya and is protected by lake Nakuru National Park. Lake Nakuru National Park (188 km2, 73 mi2), was created in 1961 around Lake Nakuru, near Nakuru Town. It is best known for its thousands of flamingos nesting along the shores. The surface of the shallow lake is often hardly recognizable due to the continually shifting mass of pink flamingos.
The lake’s abundance of algae used to attract a vast quantity of flamingos that famously lined the shore. Other birds also flourish in the area, so do warthogs , baboons and other large mammals. Eastern black rhinos and southern white rhinos have also been introduced.
The park now has more than 25 Eastern black rhinos , one of the largest concentrations in the country, plus around 70 southern white rhinos . There are also a number of Rothchild’s giraffe. Waterbucks are very common both the Kenyan subspecies are found here. Among the predators are Lions, cheetahs and leopards, the latter being seen much more frequently in recent times. The park also has large sized pythons that inhabit the dense woodlands, and can often be seen crossing the roads or dangling from trees.
As well as flamingos, there are a myriad of other bird species that inhabit the lake and the area surrounding it, such as African Fish eagle, Goliath heron ,humerkop , pied kingfisher among others .
