Ngong Forest Sanctuary

About "Ngong Forest Sanctuary"

Area Desription

Ngong hills forest is located in the northern tip of Kajiado County and it’s about 25Km from Nairobi city. The forest covers an area of 3077.6 ha. It is managed by Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and the Ngong Road Forest Association, a Community Forest Association formed under the Forest Act of 2005.

Situated in the outskirts of Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi. This remarkable geographical location gives the forest a unique role in Nairobi and Kenya.

It is divided by the Ngong Road into two main sections, the Miotoni Section to the North West and the Racecourse and Kibera section to the South East. These sections in turn are divided by the Southern Bypass.

Topography, hydrology, flora and fauna

The landscape of the Ngong Forest is gently rolling with regular shallow valleys, the deeper of which reveal volcanic tuffs and basaltic lava. Its soils are perfect for dense tree growth interspersed with glades where seasonal grasses thrive after the rains.

The main headwaters of the Ngong River (also known as the Motonie River) lie within the forest, which also forms part of the upper catchment area for the Athi and Kiserian rivers.

The Ngong Road Forest is home to a bustling community of animals, reptiles and amphibians. Animals known to be living in the forest include: duikers, bush bucks, bush pigs, genets, civets, bush babies, porcupines, sykes monkeys, squirrels, hares, epauletted fruit bats and clawless otters, hyenas, dik diks, leopards, olive baboons, mongooses, aardvarks and warthogs.

The reptile population is made up of cobras, pythons, green snakes, adders, Kenya striped skaapsters, South African rock pythons, striped skink lizards, jackson’s three horned chameleons and leopard tortoises. They are joined by a variety of amphibians including, Kenya puddle frogs, savanna ridged frogs, Senegal bubbling kassinas and mottled shovel-nosed frogs.

Birdwatchers have spotted 113 different bird species within the forest; these include the African Harrier Hawk as well as crows, ducks, owls, sparrows, doves, weavers, vultures, starlings, hoopoes, honey guides, trogons and narina trogons. The forest is also home to a pair of Crowned Eagles.