While in Kenya, you might be keeping your eyes peeled for the animals known as the ‘Big Five’. These are the animals that everyone hopes to see while walking Kenya, the elite wildlife renowned for the difficulty in hunting them. Their ranks include the lion, the leopard, the Black Rhino, the elephant, and the Cape Buffalo. All associated with Africa and safaris, these animals are truly iconic, and a spectacular sight in the wild or on a nature preserve. Read a little more about the Big Five below.

Lion

Marked out by their distinctive mane, the lion is one of the most widely recognized animals in human culture. You might see them resting in the shade of an acacia tree while walking; Kenya lions have been known to spend up to twenty hours sleeping after they’ve eaten, in order to digest their meal. The life of a lion, though, isn’t all easy. Their population has declined almost 50% in Africa over the past two decades, due to habitat loss and their popularity for display in zoos or menageries.

Leopard

Found across Kenya, the leopard is the smallest of all the big cats. Unlike the lion, the leopard is a solitary creature, and lives and hunts on its own, usually at night. In order to defend its kill, the leopard will often drag its prey into a tree to defend its meal against opportunistic scavengers like the hyena. Don’t even try to challenge a leopard to a race; even walking, Kenya leopards are super quick but at their fastest they can reach top speeds of up to 36 mph.

Black Rhino

Despite the name, it’s actually hard to tell the black rhino apart from its fellow rhinoceroses classified as ‘white rhinos’. Their thick layered skin is, in fact, a mottled grey in colour and protects it against thorns and sharp grass. This rough skin harbours many parasites, but these are often eaten by helpful ‘oxpecker’ birds. The black rhino is one of the more aggressive species in Kenya – walking close to one isn’t advised. Though they have poor eyesight, it’s made up for by their keen hearing.

Elephant

Aristotle once noted that the elephant was “the beast which surpasseth all others in wit and mind”, and the quote captures the gentle demeanour of the creatures. The elephant is, however, the largest living land animal, with no natural predators in Kenya. Walking close to one isn’t advisable though, unless it’s domesticated and used to human contact. Elephants are social creatures, and are often observed ‘playing’, both with each other and with small items such as sticks grasped in their dextrous trunks.

Cape Buffalo

Highly dangerous to humans due to its unpredictable nature, and classed as the most dangerous animal in the ‘Big Five,’ the Cape (or African) Buffalo is one animal you won’t want to get close to while walking. Kenya is the site for many Cape Buffalo accidents, and the number of deaths and injuries are estimated to amount to over 200 every year. Due to the deadly effects of a buffalo attack, the animals are sometimes referred to as the ‘Black Death’ in Africa.

Author Bio: Tony Maniscalco is the Sales and Marketing Manager for Ramblers Worldwide Holidays. They offer over 250 guided group walking holidays in over 90 different countries. While in Kenya walking with Ramblers Worldwide Holidays, you will see scenic locations & landscapes at the best value prices.

Category: Travel
Keywords: Kenya Walking