Wildlife had declined by about 2 thirds since the 1970s. The main causes of decline in wildlife numbers in Kenya include land pressures, population growth, sedentarization, drought, poaching, over-harvesting, habitat loss, climate change and ecosystem degradation. But the most serious is settlement and subdivision. Wildlife numbers in the country declined sharply following the subdivision of land. The migratory herds of zebra, wildebeest, eland, and other species had all vanished due to the impact of burgeoning permanent settlements as well as privatization in the open pastoral lands. Several smaller migratory species including impala, Thomson’s gazelle, oryx, and kongoni have declined too.
Game drive
The 2 famous tourist lakes of Kenya are lake Naivasha and lake Nakuru. Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake situated in the southwest of Naivasha town at an altitude of 1,884m and is at the highest elevation of African rift valley. The lake is approximately 100km from Nairobi at the foot of Mount Longonot, which is a perfectly shaped volcano. Lake Nakuru is in East African part of the great rift valley, which is 156km northwest of Nairobi in the district of Nakuru. There are some rocky outcrops as well as the largest African euphorbia forest on the eastern side.
The East African rift valley system has paved the way to two branches – eastern rift valley and western rift valley. The two branches divide Kenya north-to-south and enters Tanzania where it dies out. Lake Victoria is between these two branches. These fractures follow the old sutures between continental masses and the Tanzania craton. Both the eastern and western branches are grouped with Ethiopian rift to create the East African rift system. Thus, what appears to be a whole rift is actually a sequence of related rift basins that create the distinctive topography and geology of East African rift valley.
Travel to Kenya to enjoy game drives