Kenya Beasts - Large Mammals

The Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus amphibius, is a well-known animal that most people will recognise instantly. Despite being depicted as a gentle, slow giant in many stories and cartoons, the reality is very different. Hippos are fast, they can outrun the average man, big and bad-tempered if interfered with. They have massive, curved canine teeth in both the upper and lower jaw which they use both in defence and attack. Their skin is almost completely hairless but does contain a large number of mucous glands which protect the animals hide in the water and prevent it from drying out. They spend most of the day in the water, coming out onto land in the early evening and then through the night to graze. They prefer soft, short grass and fallen fruit. There are many good places to see Hippo, one of our favourites is Lake Baringo Country Club where the Hippos come onto the lawn most evenings to graze. They can also be seen at Mzima Springs in Tsavo West, where there is a submerged viewing hide which allows you to see underwater and watch the Hippos walking across the bottom of the pools.

Hogs

The Warthog, Phacochoerus aethiopicus, is my personal favourite Kenyan mammal. I have no idea why this should be since I will admit that they are ugly, scruffy and not particularly appealing to most people .... but then I also love Giant Forest Hogs! They mostly eat short grass and tubers or fallen fruit, however they are also known to eat carrion and small mammals. When grazing they look rather odd since they kneel. Warthogs tend to avoid areas with dense cover, preferring open plains. When disturbed they run away with a rather oddly mechanical movement, their tails sticking straight up in the air. Both males and females are fiercely defensive of their young and will attack using their lower tusks. They are also unusual in that they will adopt orphan warthogs into their family groups (see .... doesn't that make you want to love 'em too!).

Elephants

The world's largest land animal, the Elephant, Loxodonta africana, needs no introduction. Despite their massive size they are entirely vegetarian eating a wide variety of foods including grass, leaves, shoots, flowers, bark and a variety of cultivated plants (maize, bananas, mangoes, sweet potatoes etc). This latter eating habit brings them into conflict with man (many farmers in Kenya make a marginal living and the loss of an entire crop to a passing elephant is a serious economic blow). Interestingly Elephants are somewhat partial to over-ripe and fermenting fruits .... which can cause them to get drunk! These long-lived animals are one of the few that show recognition of one another even after death. Females will stand watch over their dead young and may even cover the body with branches and twigs. One of the best places to see Elephants is at Amboseli. This is the home of "Echo" the matriarch of one of the herds studied by Cynthia Moss and featured in the book and documentary "Echo of the Elephants".

Rhinoceroses

Kenya has two species of Rhinoceros, the Black Rhinoceros, Diceros bicornis, and the White Rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum. The two can be distinguished by the mouth, which has a prehensile upper lip in the Black and a very wide upper lip in the White. Also the White Rhinoceros has a large hump at the top of the neck behind its head. The 2 species have different feeding habits with the White feeding exclusively on grass and the Black feeding on leaves, shoots and buds. White Rhinos are less solitary than Black and may form small family groups.

Zebras

There are 2 species of Zebra found in Kenya, the Common Zebra, Hippotigris quagga and Grevy's Zebra, Hippotigris grevyi. The latter species was named after french president Jules Grevy who was presented with 3 animals by the King of Ethiopia. Grevy's Zebra lives in the drier regions of Kenya and can be seen in Samburu and Buffalo Springs. It is the largest of the wild equids and has very large rounded ears, it is however much easier to distinguish them from the pattern of stripes. In the Common Zebra the stripes are broad and continue down into the belly, in Grevy's they are very narrow and they stop on the lower flanks leaving the belly clean and unmarked.

Grevy's Zebra is an endangered species and most of the world's population is in Kenya.

Giraffes

The world's tallest land animal, the Giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis, is highly distinctive. There are 3 different subspecies found in Kenya; the Reticulated Giraffe (the form most commonly seen in Samburu) has narrow cream-coloured lines criss-crossing a brown background which gives the impression that the animal has been encased in a net. The Maasai Giraffe (common in Amboseli, Tsavo and the Maasai Mara) has less well defined markings and lacks the clean lines of the Reticulated Giraffe, the markings can sometimes look like small rosettes of dark brown on a creamy-yellow background. Rothschild's Giraffe (which can be seen at Lake Nakuru and on Crecent Island in Lake Naivasha) carries a similar pattern to the Maasai Giraffe but has long white socks.

Buffalo

The Cape Buffalo, Syncerus caffer, is a massive, moody and very dangerous animal. Their main diet is grass but at certain times leaves and buds may make up the greater part of their intake. Despite this vegetarian and somewhat pastoral appearance they are fearsome animals, killing more people than lions or crocodiles ever do. Old lone male Buffaloes will even lie in wait and ambush people and it is a very unwise tourist who walks outside the grounds of their lodge or camp and comes between a herd of Buffalo and their mid-morning drink. They will also take on groups of lions and are known to kill cubs if they come across them, they are ferocious in defence of their own young.