Kenya’s least known National Park, Malka Mari — Home to the Hamadryas Baboon Papio hamadryas (and much more)
Thomas M. Butynski and Yvonne A. de Jong
Along the border with Ethiopia, on the Mandera Plateau, lies Kenya’s Malka Mari National Park. This national park (hereafter ‘Malka Mari’) was gazetted in 1989 and is situated southwest of the Daua (= Dawa) River in Mandera County. Rugged outcrops on both sides of the Daua River Valley are part of a limestone series known as the ‘Daua Limestone’ (Weir 1929; Ayers 1952). Erosion gullies deeply dissect the lower Daua Valley in northern and eastern Malka Mari, while part of the Awara Plains occur in southern Malka Mari. Contiguous with Malka Mari, across the Daua River in Ethiopia, lies Geraille (= Gerale) National Park (386 km²) which was gazetted in 2006.
Malka Mari is predominantly covered by acacia-commiphora bush and woodland (Figure 1) with riparian vegetation along the Daua River. The altitude ranges from 279 m asl at the Daua River to 1,040 m asl in the west (SRTM, USGS.gov 2025). The mean annual rainfall range is 20–35 cm across Malka Mari (WorldClim 2.1, Bioclimatic variable 12; Fick and Hijmans 2017). Rainfall over Malka Mari is generally scarce and irregular. Mean annual temperature ranges from 23°C in the west to 28°C at the Daua River (WorldClim 2.1, Bioclimatic variable 1; Fick and Hijmans 2017).
Figure 1. Malka Mari National Park, Mandera County, northern Kenya.
Figure 2. Pygmy Falcon Polihierax semitorquatus, Malka Mari National Park, northeastern Kenya.
Figure 3. Hamadryas Baboon Papio hamadryas records in Malka Mari National Park, northeastern Kenya. The eastward range extension for Olive Baboon Papio anubis in northeastern Kenya is depicted by the diagonal lines. Map from De Jong and Butynski (2025).
Figure 4. Somali Dwarf Mongoose Helogale hirtula, Banissa, south of Malka Mari National Park, northeastern Kenya.
At 876 km², Malka Mari is Kenya’s sixth biggest national park (Figure 3). Although this national park was gazetted 36 years ago, it remains without permanent Kenya Wildlife Service presence or infrastructure, receives no tourists, and its biodiversity remains largely undocumented. The primary reasons for this are its remoteness, poor access, lack of facilities, and the general insecurity associated with northeastern Kenya. Another reason that Malka Mari has never received much attention is that the largest of the large mammals have been extirpated, probably as a result of poaching.
Figure 5. Adult male Günther’s Dik-Dik Madoqua (guentheri) guentheri, Malka Mari National Park, northeastern Kenya.
Several well-known late 19th century European explorers ran at least five major expeditions through this region—along the Daua River from Dolo to Mandera to Ramu, and then west away from the river to the wells of Banissa (Figure 3). They found the region rich in wildlife, including numerous Black Rhinoceros Diceros bicornis and Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana (Brown 1989). These two species, as well as Reticulated Giraffe Giraffa reticulata, no longer occur (KWS 2021; Osman Abidi and Mohamed Dube, pers. comm. 2025). It is not known which other large mammals have been extirpated from Malka Mari. Very little is known about the antelopes that currently (but also historically) occur in this park. Kenya Wildlife Service rangers stationed in Banissa state that Lesser Kudu Tragelaphus imberbis, Waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus, Bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus, Gerenuk Litocranius walleri, and Dik-Dik Madoqua sp. are there. In addition, they report Olive Baboon Papio anubis, Vervet Monkey Chlorocebus pygerythrus, and Warthog Phacochoerus sp. (Osman Abidi and Mohamed Dube pers. comm. 2025).
Figure 6. Adult female Southern Gerenuk Litocranius walleri walleri, Malka Mari National Park, northeastern Kenya.
During Phase Two of our ‘Horn of Africa Antelope Survey’ we spent 2 days (one night; March 2025) surveying Malka Mari. We encountered Günther’s Dik-Dik Madoqua (g.) guentheri (Figure 5) and Southern Gerenuk (Figure 6) in the park, and glimpsed Greater Kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros. We also observed at least four groups of Hamadryas Baboon Papio hamadryas, a large, terrestrial primate (Figures 3, 7 & 8; access our publication). This species was thought to be endemic to the western Arabian Peninsula and Northeast Africa, approaching Somalia and Kenya along the Genale River in southern Ethiopia (Zinner et al. 2001; Swedell 2013; Butynski and De Jong 2022). These are the first records of Hamadryas Baboon for Kenya and, thus, for East Africa (De Jong and Butynski 2025). These records are about 75 km southeast of the reported (but not validated) range of Hamadryas Baboon in southern Ethiopia, about 100 km northeast of the easternmost Olive Baboon group, and about 125 km west of the documented range of Northern Yellow Baboon Papio cynocephalus ibeanus. To the best of our knowledge, the nearest confirmed record of Hamadryas Baboon is from near the Sof Omar Cave in 2019, about 300 km north of the Daua River (H. Pohlstrand pers. comm. 2025). We speculate that the range of the Hamadryas Baboon extends from Malka Mari northward into Ethiopia along the Daua River, eastward along the Daua River on the Kenya-Ethiopia border to Ramu, and westward to Lulis, just beyond the southwestern corner of Malka Mari. In Malka Mari and vicinity, Hamadryas Baboon probably relies on the Daua River for water and on a small number of artificial water sources in the vicinity of human settlements. The cliffs of the Daua Valley likely serve as critical sleeping sites.
Figure 7. Adult male Hamadryas Baboon Papio hamadryas, Malka Mari National Park, northeastern Kenya.
Figure 8. Hamadryas Baboon Papio hamadryas, Malka Mari National Park, northeastern Kenya.
With this addition, Kenya’s primate community comprises three baboon species and four baboon taxa, and a total non-human primate community of 11 genera, 19 species, and 34 taxa (De Jong and Butynski 2023). Further surveys are needed to determine which other primates are present in Malka Mari. We predict that the following additional three species of primate occur in Malka Mari: Northeastern Vervet Monkey Chlorocebus pygerythrus arenaria, Ethiopia Lesser Galago Galago senegalensis dunni, and Somali Lesser Galago Galago gallarum (Figure 9; De Jong and Butynski 2023).
Figure 9. Somali Lesser Galago Galago gallarum, Bute, northeastern Kenya.
At present, Malka Mari holds large numbers of people, sheep, goats, cattle, camels, and donkeys, several schools, a clinic, and a government administrative centre (KWS 2021). This has led to the unsustainable use of the wildlife, natural vegetation, and soils of Malka Mari and, as a result, considerable environmental degradation (Figure 10).
Figure 10. Degraded acacia-commiphora woodland, Malka Mari National Park, northeastern Kenya.
A priority for conservation action in Malka Mari is a detailed assessment of its biodiversity, in particular the determination of which species of large mammal remain and their abundance. Biological surveys should also be undertaken to assess for which species Malka Mari is of special importance for their long-term conservation, as well as which species have the most potential to attract tourists. For example, Hamadryas Baboon, White-winged Collared Dove Streptopelia reichenowi, and Black-billed Woodhoopoe Phoeniculus somaliensis are among those species not known to occur in East Africa beyond this region. Based on the findings of biological, habitat, and socio-economic surveys, a management plan should be prepared in collaboration with the local people and then effectively implemented.
Figure 11. Abdim’s Stork Ciconia abdimii, Banissa, southwestern Malka Mari National Park, northeastern Kenya.
We thank the Zoologische Gesellschaft für Arten- und Populationsschutz (ZGAP) for its support to this survey.
References
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Brown, M. 1998. Where Giants Trod. Quiller Press, London, UK.
Butynski, T.M. and De Jong, Y.A. 2022. Primates of Northeast Africa: Pocket Identification Guide. Re:wild, Tropical Pocket Guide Series, Austin, Texas, USA. Website: www.wildsolutions.nl.
De Jong, Y.A. and Butynski, T.M. 2023. Primates of East Africa: Pocket Identification Guide (2nd edition). Re:wild Tropical Pocket Guide Series, Austin, Texas, USA. Website: www.wildsolutions.nl.
De Jong, Y.A and Butynski, T.M. 2025. A new primate for Kenya: Hamadryas Baboon Papio hamadryas (Primates: Cercopithecidae). Journal of East African Natural History 114(10): 94–105.
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Figure 12. Pallid Thick-tail Scorpion Parabuthus pallidus, Malka Mari National Park, northeastern Kenya.
Tags: antelopes, east Africa, Hamadryas baboon, Kenya, Malka Mari, primates