Kora National Park is located in Tana River County , Kenya . The park covers an area of 1,788 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 1989, following the murder of George Adamson by poachers .
8-664: 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 . The park has several seasonal rivers . The topography of the park slopes gently from an altitude of 490 m in the south-west to an altitude of about 270m in the north-east. The central area of
16-516: A wide range of wild animals including the African bush elephant , lion , African leopard , cheetah , eastern black rhinoceros , southern white rhinoceros , Grévy's zebra , hippopotamus . Meru was one of the two areas in which conservationists George Adamson and Joy Adamson raised Elsa the Lioness made famous in the best selling book and award-winning movie Born Free . Elsa the Lioness
24-468: Is a Kenyan national park located east of Meru , 350 km (220 mi) from Nairobi . Covering an area of 870 km (340 sq mi), it is one best known national parks in Kenya. Rainfall in this area is abundant with 635–762 mm (25.0–30.0 in) in the west of the park and 305–356 mm (12.0–14.0 in) in the east. The rainfall results in tall grass and lush swamps . The park has
32-439: Is a wide variety of animal species in the park, including the caracal , Tanzanian cheetah , African bush elephant , genet , hippopotamus , spotted and striped hyenas , African leopard , lion , serval , wildcat and several types of antelope . The vegetation in the park is mostly acacia bushland . There are also riverine forests of doum palm and Tana River poplar . The park had serious problems with poachers in
40-706: Is buried in this park and part of Joy's ashes were scattered on her gravesite. Between the years 2000 and 2005, the Kenya Wildlife Service , helped by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), restored Meru National Park from near ruin to one of the most promising tourist destinations in Eastern Africa, solving the parks poaching problem. IFAW donated $ 1.25 million to this major restoration project, and with this money aided in improving
48-647: 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 with three lions he released. Efforts to restart the park were culminating in 2012 when the British actor Martin Clunes filmed a four month old orphaned lion cub being introduced to the compound; the first in 22 years. The cub named Mugie was around a year old when hyenas attacked it inflicting internal injuries from which it did not recover. Meru National Park Meru National Park
56-471: The basic infrastructure and provided essential equipment and vehicles for law enforcement activities. Since 2005, the protected area is considered part of a Lion Conservation Unit. Aside from the scenery and wildlife, tourist attractions include the once home of George and Joy Adamson, Adamson's Falls, the burial sites of Joy Adamson and Elsa the Lioness , views of Mount Kenya , and the Tana River. This Eastern Province (Kenya) location article
64-465: 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. There
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