Sibiloi National Park
On the northeastern shore of Lake Turkana lies the 1,570 square kilometer Sibiloi National Park, situated in one of Kenya’s most inhospitable regions. The average annual rainfall is barely 200 mm, and often the rainy season, which is limited to the month of April, fails to materialize altogether. In these freshwater-scarce deserts and semi-deserts, maximum temperatures can reach up to 48°C. The extensive black lava surfaces heat up so much during the day that the temperature doesn’t drop significantly at night. In contrast, there are significant temperature differences between the land and the water, creating strong thermals: for most of the year, an unrelenting hot wind whips across the land. Due to its extremely remote location – the park’s northern border runs 30 km from Ethiopia – the park is one of the least visited in Kenya. However, this combination of remoteness, unspoiled nature, and rugged landscape makes the protected area, designated in 1973, so appealing.
Due to the climatic conditions, the plant life in Sibiloi is relatively species-poor and largely consists of annual grasses and flowers that form green, blooming carpets after the sporadic rains, but for most of the year are withered or seemingly completely gone, surviving only as seeds or roots until the next rainfall. The most striking plant in the park is the pink-flowering desert rose, a drought-resistant spurge whose latex sap was used by various peoples as arrow poison for hunting. In the luggas, the dry riverbeds, acacias and doum palms grow, which can tap into groundwater veins with their extensive root systems.
Against this backdrop, the diversity of the park’s wildlife is all the more astonishing, including typical species of the arid zone of northern Kenya, such as the finely striped, large-eared Grevy’s zebra, the blue-legged Somali ostrich, the oryx antelope, the gerenuk, and the reticulated giraffe. A unique feature is the rare tiang, a subspecies of the topi antelope. Additionally, the common plains zebra is present, capable of consuming tough, dry grass, unlike ruminants. Other animals include kudus, hyenas, and Grant’s gazelles, while lions and cheetahs can be found near freshwater sources. The park also includes a one-kilometer-wide strip of water, home to numerous hippos and crocodiles. Along the water, there are many water and wading birds, including pelicans and flamingos.
Evidently, the climate was wetter in other geological eras. A well-preserved petrified forest, around 7 million years old, has been found in Sibiloi. Additionally, thousands of interesting animal fossils have been unearthed, including giant tortoises and a 14-meter-long extinct crocodile species. Just north of the park headquarters in Alia Bay, located at the southern border of the park, some of the most exciting finds of fossilized hominid bones have been made in Koobi Fora, shedding light on the origins of humans. In 1972, the famous skull 1470 of Homo habilis was found, believed to have lived in the Turkana Basin around 2 million years ago and widely regarded as a direct ancestor of humans. The prosaic naming of the find is explained by the excavation catalog number of the National Museum. There is a small museum where, in addition to hominid exhibits, parts of a 1.5-million-year-old elephant skeleton are displayed.
Off the coast of Sibiloi National Park lies Northern Island, the smallest of the three significant islands in Lake Turkana, known for its numerous venomous snakes, including cobras, puff adders, and other vipers. It is believed that these animals were driven to the island from the Omo River delta on papyrus islands.