Nairobi National Park

Nairobi National Park, the oldest national park in Kenya, established in 1946. It was created by the British colonial authorities to protect wild animals living near Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, and to provide a place of recreation for the city's residents. Covering an area of 115 sq km (44 sq mi), it is one of the smallest national parks in Africa. The section of the Mbagathi River that lies to the south of the park has been dammed in several places to secure a year-round water supply and thus attracts gazelles, oryxes, lions, zebras, giraffes, buffalos, cheetahs, leopards, and rhinoceroses into the park. Unlike other parks in Africa, Nairobi National Park was relatively unaffected by the rise in poaching (illegal hunting) during the 1970s and 1980s, since there are no elephants in the park and it is unusually close to a population center. As in most other African national parks dedicated to protecting wildlife, visitors may travel inside the park only in vehicles, not on foot.