Tsavo National Park was established in 1948 for the purpose of preserving and providing an ecosystem that includes large mammals, like lions and elephants, found in few places on earth. With an area of 8,422 square miles (21,812 km²), which is about the same size as Massachusetts, it is the largest national park in Kenya. It is located in southeastern Kenya in the southernmost part of a region of Africa called The Sahel. The Sahel is a belt of dry grassland that runs from West to East across the continent of Africa and lies just south of the Sahara Desert.

The Tsavo area is very dry. It receives less than 20 inches (50 cm) of rain every year. Rainfall is very unpredictable, but most of it falls in two rainy seasons, a large rainy season in February and a small one in October. The rest of the time, it does not rain at all. Grasses of the genus Pennisetum and trees of the genus Acacia dominate the vegetation of the Tsavo area. In general, areas with a lot of trees tend to be found near rivers and on the small hills that dot the area. By contrast, areas with a lot of grass tend to be found on open plains. All these forms of vegetation are adapted to the dryness of the area.

The Tsavo National Park is home to a great diversity of birds and mammals, including lions, zebras, giraffes, buffalos, many antelope species, hippos, crocodiles, elephants, and, until they were illegally hunted to extinction, rhinoceros. It is famous for its large populations of elephants although these have become less common over the past thirty years due to illegal hunting.

Elephants in this region are considered the keystone species; they play a significant role in the Tsavo ecosystem. They eat large quantities of woody vegetation. Thus, they are responsible for clearing much of the land and creating the development and maintenance of the grasslands. These grasslands provide a habitat for other animals like the antelope to live. Another major player in the park are the lions. Aside from humans, they are the only large predators in the park.

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(above photo of zebras © The Field Museum z981929)

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