Mt. Kenya rises out of a sea of savannah grassland to straddle the equator as the second highest mountain in Africa. It’s believed that it’s an extinct volcano that last erupted 3.5 million years ago. The mountain is a water catchment area for Kenya, many rivers obtain their water from this mountain and these include Tana River and the Ewaso Ngiro rivers. The peaks are covered with snow and 11 permanent glaciers.
The mountain lies in the prevailing winds from the Indian Ocean at the Kenya coast and it’s believed that the eastern and the southern parts are the wettest slopes. The mountain is the second highest in Africa with the height of 5199m above the sea level; this is a World Heritage site with fascinating features around.
The park is mostly occupied by cheetahs and Lions plus the Leopard which forms large carnivores within the alpine. These hunt the Groove-tooth rat and the rock hyrax at this height up to the summit of Pt. Lenana. The park also has several small mammals including the Groove-tooth Rats which are seen wandering during the day. At night, the furry tailed African Dormouse is heard around forest. Others include the Pigmy Shrew, Mole Rat, Striped Tree Mouse, Harsh-Furred Mouse and the Four Striped Grass Mouse can also be seen around the Alpine grassy areas.
Lakes, tarns and glaciers, these have occupied the park and these forms part of the park’s most attracting features around, this is due to the flowing glacial rivers from the top of the mountain, mountain climbers are persuaded with the slogan of the park of “Touching the sky”.
