Arabuko Sokoke National Park

Arabuko Sokoke National Park is located about 100km North of Mombasa Town and about 18km from Malindi along Mombasa-Malindi highway. The Park positioned at the Northwestern Edge of the Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reserve. Which covers an area of 6sqkm and constitutes only a small portion of the latter. Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reserve is the largest coastal dry forest in the entire East African region.  And the second most popular for bird and butterfly watching in Africa.

The Arabuko Forest Reserve  first protected as a crowned forest in 1943, later gazetted as a national park in the late 1980s. The reserve hosts over 20% of Kenya’s bird life. 30% of her butterfly species and over 24% of her endemic birds, reptiles and mammal species.

Arabuko Sokoke shelters a diverse number of wildlife amounting to about 40 species. For instance the African elephants, civets, buffalo and the elusive Golden-rumped Elephant-shrew. Rare near-endemic mammals, butterflies, and amphibians contribute to the rich tapestry of this coastal forest.

Arabuko-Sokoke boosts of a more than 230 bird species checklist including nine globally threatened species. Namely; Southern Banded Snake Eagle, Fisher’s Turaco, Sokoke Scops Owl, Spotted Ground Thrush, Sokoke Pipit, East Coast Akalat, Amani Sunbird, Plain-backed Sunbird, and Clarke’s Weaver.

Arabuko-Sokoke has five of the seven species of the East African coastal forests Endemic Bird Area and twenty-three of the twenty-nine species of the East African coastal biome species that occur in Kenya.

The place is also rich in rare and endemic wildlife with six taxa of butterfly endemic to the East African coast, present. As well as three rare near-endemic mammals, and amphibians.

The Arabuko Sokoke National Park protects the Arabuko Sokoke Forest on the coast of Kenya, 110 km north of Mombasa. This national park protects the largest fragment of coastal forest (420 square km) left in East Africa, and is an area of high endemism, containing endemic mammals, birds and plants. The park first protected as a Crown Forest in 1943, and  gazetted in the 1960s. The park  threatened by the desire for land by local people. Several international conservation organizations are working with the Kenya Wildlife Service to protect the park.

The forest contains three forest types, mixed forest, Brachystegia and Cynometra. Each of which protects different communities of plants and animals.

Wildlife of Arabuko Sokoke

The Arabuko Sokoke Forest protects many endemic and near endemic species. The Clarke’s Weaver is completely endemic to the forest. While the emonymous Sokoke Scops Owl, Sokoke Pipit, and the Amani Sunbird and Spotted Ground Thrush  found only here and in a forest fragment in Tanzania.

The park adjoins Mida Creek, a mangrove forest that is an important shorebird wintering ground. Protecting species such as the Terek Sandpiper and the Crab Plover.

The endearing Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew, an endemic elephant shrew the size of a rabbit, is the most noticeable of the park’s endemic mammals; the Sokoke Bushy-tailed Mongoose and Ader’s Duiker (found only here and in Zanzibar) are more elusive. The forest also has Forest Elephants, African Civets, as well as baboons and Vervet Monkeys. The park is also recognized as an outstanding centre of amphibian diversity.

The Arabuko Sokoke National Park a coastal protected area of forest about 100 km north of Mombasa. And contains a lot of endemic species. For example different mammals, birds, and plants. The forest here is regarded as one of the best preserved in the country and protects a few different forest types. Which are each home to their different communities. The Arabuko-Sokoke Forest itself extends beyond the park and is the largest remaining tract of native coastal forest in East Africa.

The endemic species that live in the park include a number of birds such as the Sokoke pipit, Amani sunbird, and spotted ground thrush. There are also different shrews and duiker. As well as these endemic animals, you can find elephants, baboons, vervet monkeys, and others.

This forest merges with the mangroves, which you can explore on boat trips. The mangroves are visited by a number of birds, including flamingos and the area is an important breeding area for a number of different fish.