Meru National Park

Meru National Park benefits from Mt Kenya's generous rainfall; it has different types of vegetation - savanna, rainforest and swamps. The park became famous for George and Joy Adamson released several animals, including the son of the famous lioness Elsa and also their cheetah Pippa. The area was hard hit by poachers, who were determined to destroy rhinos and elefants for their tusks and lions for their rich pelts. Joy Adamson was murdered in Meru National Park and later George, at the nearby Kora National Reserve. Meru National Park has made an amazing recovery in the last few years. Game has returned to the park in large numbers with lion, leopard, cheetah, large herds of elephant, giraffe, oryx, hartebeest and gazelle easily spotted. Kudu, a rarity in Kenya, is also found in some numbers in this area. The birdlife in Meru is also spectacular with Somali ostrich, ground hornbills, secretary birds, Bateleur eagles, oxpeckers, egrets, bee-eaters and starlings. So there are plenty of animals these days and a nice viewing with Mt Kenya as a background. Nearly fifty elephant and many black rhino have been transported and released into the Park, where they are settling into their new homes away from the more populated Laikipia area. This was an historic event as the largest successful translocation of its kind.