Kora National Park
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| Kora National Park | |
|---|---|
| IUCN Category II (National Park) | |
| Location | Coast Province, Kenya |
| Area | 1,787 km² |
| Established | 1990 |
| Governing body | Kenya Wildlife Services |
Kora National Park is located in Coast Province, Kenya. The park covers an area of 1,787 square kilometres. It is located 125 kilometres east of Mount Kenya. The park was initially gazetted as a nature reserve in 1973. It was gazetted as a national park in 1990, following the murder of George Adamson by poachers.[1]
Meru National Park and the Tana River mark 65 kilometres of the park's northern boundary. Features of the Tana River include Adamson's Falls, Grand Falls and the Kora rapids. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Mwitamvisi River.[1] The park has several seasonal rivers.[2]
The topography of the park slopes gently from an altitude of 490m in the south-west to an altitude of about 270m in the north-east. The central area of the park is an undulating peneplain. Basement ridges protrude above the surface of the peneplain as rocky inselbergs, domed hills or hard rocks that rise steeply from the surrounding area. The highest of these inselbergs are Mansumbi (488m), Kumbulanwa (450m) and Kora Rock (442m). The cracks and crevices in the inselbergs have become filled with soil, and a wide variety of herbs, shrubs and small wind-blown trees have become established in them.[2]
There is a wide variety of animal species in the park, including the caracal, cheetah, elephant, genet, hippopotamus, spotted and striped hyenas, leopard, lion, serval, wildcat and several types of antelope. The vegetation in the park is mostly comprised of acacia bushland. There are also riverine forests of doum palm and Tana River poplar.[1]
The park had serious problems with poachers in the 1980s and 1990s. George Adamson and two of his assistants were murdered by poachers in the park in 1989. Adamson is buried in the park.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Hodd, Mike (2002-01-09). Footprint East Africa. Footprint Travel Guides. ISBN 1-900949-65-2.
- ^ a b Kenya Wildlife Services. Kora National Park.
[edit] External links
- Kenya Wildlife Service (official site)
- Photos of George Adamsons Kampi Ya Simba in the Kora Reserve.
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