Meru National Park
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Meru National Park
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| location |
Meru County , Kenya
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| surface | 870 km² | |
| WDPA ID | 755 | |
| Geographical location | 0 ° 6 ′ S , 38 ° 12 ′ E | |
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| Setup date | 1966 | |
| administration | Kenya Wildlife Service | |
The Meru National Park is located in Meru County in Kenya , about 100 km northeast of the Mount Kenya massif , at 300 to 940 m above sea level. The annual precipitation is 600 to 800 mm.
The Bisanadi reserve joins in the east . Both areas together are 1800 km² and form an ecological unit. South of the river Tana are the Kora National Park with 1787 km² and the 745 km² North Kitui Reserve at an altitude of 250 to 675 m above sea level. Other protected areas along the Tana are the Mwingi National Reserve south of Meru National Park and the Rahole National Reserve . The Bisanadi Reserve, the Kora National Park and the North Kitui Reserve are home to elephants, but are of no major importance for their protection.
The savannah landscape flattens from the hilly and moister northwest to the east. In the northern parts there is grassland, which is interrupted in places by acacia trees or acacia trees standing together in light groves . Further south, grows monotonous long threads -Buschland, further east Acacia Commiphora -Buschland. Inselbergs like Mughwango and Leopard Rock loosen up the landscape. The area is traversed by numerous narrow, constantly water-bearing rivers, which arise in the volcanically formed Nyambene Mountains, 20 km northwest of the Meru National Park, and flow parallel to lava tongues southeast towards Tana. The park is bounded by the rivers Tana in the south, Ura in the southwest and the Rojeweru in the east.
The park became known through the BBC documentary "The Genesis Project", which reported how this national park was rebuilt. It is also part of the area made famous through the works of Joy Adamson .
Today the Meru National Park is one of the most species-rich game reserves in Kenya. In the park, the southern distribution limits of Grevy's zebra , reticulated giraffe , Erithrea- gemsbok and Rainey's Grant's gazelle . Kronenducker , Kirk-Dikdik and Kongoni have their northernmost occurrence here in Kenya. There is also the shy little kudu here . The elephant population was given as 472 in 1982 and 427 in 1987. In 1973 there are said to have been 1500 and 1976/1977 between 1300 and 2100 animals. In addition, elephants occasionally migrate from more northerly areas. These animals are very shy as they often have bad experiences with people.
literature
- Wally and Horst Hagen: The African national parks as habitats for elephants . In: Vitus B. Dröscher (1990): Save the Elephants of Africa (p. 227)
Web links
- Meru National Park ( Memento from January 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive )