Lake Turkana and its national parks

Lake Turkana is a lake with 3 rivers entering it (no rivers leave, it evaporates) . It lies in the eastern part of the great rift valley. The three parks are  Sibiloi National Park, the South Island and the Central Island National Parks, covering a total area of 161,485 hectares located within the Lake Turkana basin whose total surface area is 7 million ha. The lake is the most saline in africa which means little can survive in its waters.

This area is not the largest protected zone, as it only covers around 700 square miles. The island parks are the breeding habitats of the Nile crocodile, the hippopotamus amphibious and several snake species. The lake is an important flyway passage and stopover for palaeartic migrant birds. Over the dry grasslands ranges a frail population of grazing mammals and predators. The grazers are chiefly Grevy’s zebra, Burchell’s zebra, the beisa oryx, Grant’s gazelle, the topi and the reticulated giraffe. They are hunted by the lion and the cheetah. Elephants and the black rhinoceroses are no longer seen. Closer to the dust is the cushioned gerbil (Gerbillus pulvinatus)