What are the Samburu Special Five?: The Samburu Special 5 are one of the many reasons why you should head to Samburu National Reserve on a Kenya Safari, the Samburu Special Five refers to a distinctive collection of wildlife species found in Samburu in northern Kenya.
The Samburu Special Five include the reticulated giraffe, Grevy’s Zebra, Beisa Oryx, Somali Ostrich and the gerenuk.
What makes these species different from other species is their adaptation to the semi-arid landscapes of Samburu, showcasing unique behaviors and physical characteristics.
These species have adapted to the dry regions and they are found in the great Samburu National Reserve located on the edge of Northern Kenya’s arid savannah, about 345 km from Kenya’s capital city Nairobi and lies on the leeward side of Mount Kenya.
The Samburu Special Five are as below
Gerenuk
Have you ever seen an antelope walking like a human? Well you can see them here in Samburu National Reserve, the name gerenuk is a Somali language name meaning “giraffe necked”. Their useful height advantage, coupled with the animals ability to stand erect on its hind legs, means it can feed on the highest, juiciest leaves.
It is always a bonus when you are competing for dinner in such an arid landscape, unlike most other gazing animals, gerenuk give birth at any time of year, so keep your eyes out and you might spot a fawn sleeping under a shady bush.

The Gerenuk is known as the cutest antelope, this antelope with a giraffe-like neck is adopted to dry regions. Unlike other antelopes, gerenuk stands on its hind legs and uses the front legs to graze from the tree. In as much as we say water is life, the gerenuk tends to contradict that fact.
The gerenuk can go its entire life without drinking water as they survive with water available in the plants they eat.
Reticulated Giraffe
These mega-herbivores look very different from their cousins elsewhere in Africa, with striking red hides divided by a jigsaw pattern of white lines (reticulations). They blend in well with the red Samburu earth and love taking a morning stroll down the dried up river bed.

Reticulated giraffes are becoming quite rare with numbers falling dramatically over the last few decades and Samburu is one of the few places you can still see them in all their glory. The Reticulated Giraffe is also known as the Somali Giraffe, they are endangered species with about 8,500 remaining in the world. Their striking red hides divided by a jigsaw pattern of white lines of white lines making them blend well with the Samburu red backed earth.
Grevy’s Zebra
Zebras are lovable creatures partly because of their comedy characteristics well captured in movies such as Madagascar, and also because of their black and white coloring which is so different from other creatures in the wild.

The Grevy’s Zebra is an endangered species mostly haunted for its beautiful skin, there are about 2,000 left in the world and unlike other zebra species, the gravy Zebra stripes are narrow and close-set being broader on the neck and extending to the hooves. The belly and the base of the tail also differ from other zebras.
The Grevy’s, lack stripes and are white. The Grevy Zebra can go up to five days without water.
Somali Ostrich
These Big elusive bird was recently identified as a separate species rather than a subspecies of the common ostrich found throughout most of Africa, they are native to the Horn of Africa and are also sometimes referred to as the blue-necked ostrich during courtship the necks and legs of the males turn blue instead of flushing pink.

Beisa Oryx
The common Beisa Oryx is one of the two subspecies of the East African Oryx found in Kenya, this distinctive antelope thrives in the dry regions and are most active in the morning when the sun is not scorching hot.

Beisa Oryx has an amazing surviving hack, of digging a shallow hole for cooling if there is no shade available. Beisa Oryx has light fur that helps reflect the desert heat and sunlight and it can also cool blood that flows to its brain when it breathes.