Meru

Meru National Park, covering an area of 870 sq km is located east of Meru town, 350 km from Nairobi. Meru was one of the two areas in which conservationists George Adamson and Joy Adamson raised Elsa the Lioness made famous in the best selling book and award winning movie Born Free. Elsa the Lioness is buried in this park and part of Joy's ashes were scattered on her grave.

In the past Meru has suffered a lot from poaching and the Kenyan Wildlife Service has done a lot to deal with this. However, there is still a big problem from illegal grazing, with with cattle being brought into the park, particularly when there are drought conditions in the surrounding areas. Despite this Meru is worth a visit as it is home to a great variety of birdlife and some of the northern specialists such as Beisa Oryx, Reticulated Giraffe and Grevy's Zebra. There is also a good Elephant population to be found amongst the Doum Palms and along the rivers.

The park is always quiet, being well away from the normal tourist circuit.