National Parks Africa » Kora National Reserve

Bordering on the middle reaches of the Tana River, the 1,790 square kilometres (700 square miles) of the Kora National Reserve were made famous by George Adamson and Tony Fitzjohn who engaged for years in the dangerous business of re-introducing captive lions and leopards to the wild. Tragically,

Adamson was ambushed and killed by bandits in August 1988. The remote Kora region is adjoined to Rahole National Reserve, and is composed of riverine woodland along the Tana River and miles of bushland in the interior. It is also renowned for rocky outcrops with their own unique habitats and fauna. Wildlife will not be seen in great numbers, but there are occasional sightings of lion, lesser kudu, elephant and waterbuck. The river is beautiful in this section and is well stocked with hippos and crocodiles.

Kora was the site of a major ecological survey in 1983 carried out by the National Museums of Kenya and the Royal Geographical Society with support from the US National Aeronautic and Space Administration and the United Nations Environment Programme. The results gave valuable insights and management information for a wild part of Africa increasingly encroached by Somali pastoralists.

Kora is about 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the township of Garissa. There are no tourist facilities in what is essentially an area set aside for scientific research. Visits can, on occasion, be arranged to Adamson’s Camp or the riverside research station which is now a ranger post.