Marsabit National Park and its forest-dwelling Grévy’s zebra and other animals
Thomas M. Butynski and Yvonne A. de Jong
Eastern Africa Primate Diversity and Conservation Program, Nanyuki, Kenya
Marsabit National Park (1,554 km²), located in northern Kenya, is named after Mount Marsabit, a shield volcano (1,707 m asl; 6,300 km²) that last erupted ~600,000 years ago (Scoon 2022). The higher reaches of Mount Marsabit are mostly covered with mid-altitude and montane forest that is dependent on frequent heavy mist to supplement the low rainfall. This unique forest is an island among the arid and semi-arid plains of northern Kenya as it is bounded by the Koroli Desert to the west, the Chalbi Desert to the northwest, the Dida Galgalu Desert to the north and northeast, and the vast, semi-arid, plains leading to Somalia and the Indian Ocean to the east and southeast. Dominant trees in the montane forest include pencil cedar Juniperus procera and African olive Olea europaea africana. Big fig trees Ficus are common. Acacia woodlands and bushlands cover the lower slopes. There are several volcanic craters, some with freshwater lakes (e.g., Lake Paradise, Lake Marsabit, Lake Horr), that offer grazing around their perimeters and drinking water for most, or all, of the year.
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