Aberdare National Park

 

The Aberdare National Park is a protected area in the Aberdare Mountain Range in central Kenya located east of the East African Rift  Valley. It covers the higher areas and the Aberdare Salient to the east .The park is located about 100 km north of Nairobi and stretches over a wide variety of terrain at elevations from 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). Established in May 1950, the Aberdare National Park covers an area of 766 square kilometers and forms part of the Aberdare Mountain Range. The park contains a wide range of landscapes – from mountain peaks that rise to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) above sea level, to their deep, v-shaped valleys intersected by streams, rivers, and waterfalls.  Moorland, bamboo forests and rainforest are found at lower elevations.

Wildlife present in the protected area include lion, leopard, elephant,  East African wild dog , giant forest hog , bushbuck, mountain reedbuckwaterbuckCape buffalosuniside-striped jackalelandduikerolive baboon, black and white colobus monkey, and sykes monkey. Rarer sightings include those of the African golden cat and the bongo. Species such as the common elandserval live in the higher moorlands. The Aberdare National Park also hosts a large eastern black rhinoceros population and over 250 bird species including the endangered Aberdare cisticolaJackson’s spurfowlsparrowhawkAfrican goshawkAfrican fish eaglesunbirds and plovers.

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