Photo by Shaun Mousley
E
very year thousands of tourists flock to Kenya’s Amboseli National Park, famous for its large elephant herds and breathtaking views of Africa’s tallest peak – Mount Kilimanjaro. What many may not know is that Amboseli forms part of a much larger ecosystem, stretching northeast towards the Chyulu Hills and Tsavo West National Park. At the heart of this ecosystem is the modest, but vital, Kimana Sanctuary. Although the sanctuary is just 5,700 acres, it forms a wildlife corridor between the larger wilderness areas either side of it. At its narrowest, this corridor is only 70 metres wide, but is
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traversed by some of the largest elephants left on the planet. Kimana’s significance stretches beyond its role as a passageway for the region’s wildlife. Its springs and swamps are also a critical water resource and habitat within the ecosystem, where seasonal fluctuations in water and resource availability dictate animal behaviour. Competition for water between humans and animals in the area is at an all-time high, too, so the sanctuary’s value as a perennial water source has increased in recent years. The responsibility for protecting this important corridor was taken up in 2018 by the Big Life
