Shaba
National Reserve
Back
Ground Information
 Shaba is part of three small adjoining
savanna national reserves that lie on either side of the
Northern Ewaso Ngiro River, 340km North, North East of Nairobi
(Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba). They were established
in 1948 as the Samburu Isiolo Game Reserve, part of the
once extensive Marsabit National Reserve. Now they are managed
by their respective county councils, Samburu and Isiolo.
The reserve consists of a low lying, semi arid plain on
the southern bank of the Northern Ewaso Ngiro river. It
lies 9 km east of buffalo springs national reserve, from
which it is separated by the main road from isiolo to marsabit.
The reserve was gazetted in 1974 and is administered by
the Isiolo CC. Its Northern section includes a 34km stretch
of the Ewaso Ngiro river; here and elsewhere in the reserve
are numerous springs and swampy areas, although some have
bitter tasting water.
The starkly beautiful landscape
is dominated by Shaba hill to the south, at the foot of
which is a rugged area with steep ravines. The sandy soils
are volcanic in origin.
Climate:
The climate is hot and dry. Rainfall averages 250-300mm
per year.
How To Get there
Roads:
The reserves are reached by tar road via Isiolo from Nairobi,
a total distance of 343 km.
Major Attractions
Scenic landscape and riverine forest, Permanent Springs.
Shaba has 17 springs at which animals congregate during
the dry season, Reticulated giraffe, Somalia ostrich, Grevy's
zebra, Joy Adamson's monument.
Common Vegetation
The vegetation in the reserve includes; thicket with patches
of Acacia tortilis woodland; riverine woodland and forest
dominated by patches of Acacia elatior and doum palm, Hyphaene
coriacea; bushland and open areas of lava rock with scattered
grass and shrubs, dominated by communties of Commiphora
spp. with Ipomoea, Grewia, Acacia senegal and Salvadora;
and Sporobolus spicatus alkaline grasslands dotted with
springs and swamps. |
