Kenyan Wildlife

A brief taxonomy of living organisms

ENGLISH SWAHILI	NOTES	PHOTOGRAPHS
Aardvark Muhanga	Also known as Ant Bears, these solitary nocturnal animals are well adapted to their environment but the result gives them a bizarre appearance.
Aardwolf	Smaller but somewhat similar in appearance to the Hyena, these solitary carnivorous animals spend much time foraging for termites.
Agama	Small lizards (males of some species have a pinkish orange head and bluish green body).
Baboon Nyani	Live in large troops with a strict social order, are playful but can be vicious if upset.
Badger	The Honey Badger is sometimes called the 'Ratel' (Nyegere).
Barbet	(The photograph shows a red and yellow Barbet)
Bat Popo	The only true flying mammals. The Hammer-Headed Fruit Bat is one of Africa's largest bats with a wingspan of up to one metre.
Bataleur	A distinctive variety of eagle with black and white underwing plumage and a wedge tail.
Boar Nguruwe dume	Related to the Hog (Pig).
Bongo Bongo	Rare striped antelopes often found in dense forest which they leave at night to graze.
Buffalo Nyati	Reputed to be the most dangerous animals as far as humans are concerned.
Bushbaby Kombo	Very agile small nocturnal animals with large eyes/ears and a long tail.
Bushbuck Pongo	Medium-sized timid antelopes with white spots and stripes.
Bustard	The Kori Bustard is one of the heaviest flying birds in the world.
Caracal Sibamangu	Solitary, nocturnal, lynx-like cats (having triangular ears tipped with black fur).
Chameleon Kinyonga	Smallish lizards with gripping 'toes' and a long tongue, found in trees and bushes. They can move both eyes independently.
Cheetah Duma	Fastest living mammals which can catch prey by chasing it at terrific speed.
Civet Fungo	Small spotted nocturnal animals with musk-producing glands.
Crocodile Mamba	Can grow up to 7m long.
Crowned Crane	Distinctive appearance with black head cap and large straw-coloured tuft of feathers on/behind the head. Crane is Korongo.
Dik-dik Dik-dik	One of the smallest antelopes, named after the noise they make when alarmed.
Dog Mbwa	(see Wild dog)
Dugong	A rare marine mammal.
Duiker Nysa	Rarely seen nocturnal antelopes.
Eagle Tai	Large birds of prey. The Fish Eagle has a distinctive loud call.
Eland Pofu	Largest of the antelopes.
Elephant Tembo / Ndovu	Largest and heaviest living land mammals, live in family groups and gather in herds for migration. Have powerful trunk and need much food so can be destructive to shrubs and trees.
Flamingo Heroe	Up to two million live in vast colonies on the Rift Valley soda lakes, getting their colour from the algae they eat.
Fox Mbweha	The bat-eared foxes (Mbweha masigio) use their large ears to pinpoint prey.
Frog Chura	Common Brown Tree Frogs are often heard in the still of night.
Gazelle Swala	Grant's gazelles are similar size to Impala, but the Thomson's (Swala tomi or "Tommy" as they are affectionately called) gazelles are slightly smaller and have a distinctive coat with a black band separating their brown top from the white belly.
Gecko	Small nocturnal lizards with a translucent body and adhesive pads (not suckers) on their 'toes' which let them scurry up walls (and even along ceilings!) searching for insects and moths.
Genet Kanu	Nocturnal animals of the mongoose family, similar to yet longer than the domestic cat, very agile at climbing trees.
Gerenuk Swala twiga	A variety of antelope with very long neck, hence the swahili name meaning "gazelle giraffe".
Giraffe Twiga	The tallest living animal. Often gather in non-hierarchical herds and use their height to reach leaves high on trees.
Gnu Nyumbu	(see Wildebeest)
Hare Sungura	For example the Spring Hare (Kamandegere), nocturnal burrowing animals that move in leaps rather like a kangaroo.
Hartebeest Kongoni	Have a distinctive long thin face with short angled horns.
Hippopotamus Kiboko	Like to live and wallow in still or slow-moving water but come aground for grazing (usually in the cool of the night).
Hog Nguruwe	Giant Forest Hog are the largest of East Africa's pig species.
Hoopoe	The Africa Hoopoe has a bright rufous plumage with black/white striped wings and tail, complemented by a crest of black-tipped feathers.
Hornbill	Varieties include the Red- and Yellow-billed Hornbill, and the larger Ground Hornbill.
Hyena Fisi	Scavenging animals with very strong jaws, which often hunt at night and are famed for their whooping and laughter-like cries.
Hyrax Pimbi	Small vegetarian animals, often found in forest (Tree Hyrax) or rocky places (Rock Hyrax). They are the closest living relative to the elephant!
Ibis	Sacred Ibis have a distinctive white plumage with black head/neck and wings.
Impala Swala pala	One of the most common antelopes and a very good jumper (10m in length or 3m in height for a single bound).
Jackal Mbweha	A type of dog, but more similar to a fox in size and appearance, tend to feed off carrion and hunt small animals.
Klipspringer Mbuzi mawe	Live in or near rocky terrain, with specially adapted hooves which make them appear to be walking on tip-toe. They are only about 50cm at shoulder-height and have an unusual greenish mottled coat.
Kudu Tandala	A shy variety of antelope with white vertical stripes.
Leopard Chui	Have become very rare and when found are often in trees where they like to carry and store their prey.
Lion Simba	Live in prides (a handful of males and up to a dozen females and young), are generally lazy and spend much of the time resting.
Mongoose Nguchiro / Kicheche	Weasel-like creatures, typically with long tails and thick hair.
Monitor Kenge	Large lizards sometimes found along river banks.
Monkey Nyani	These include the Black and White Colobus (Mbega) which are commonly found in tree tops, and the mischievous Vervet (Tumbili).
Mouse Bird	Have distinctive long tail feathers.
Oribi Taya	Small uncommon antelopes with a black-tipped tail and an unusual scent gland (area of bare black skin) just below their ears. Use a distinctive stiff-legged jump (stotting) when fleeing danger.
Oryx Choroa	A type of antelope with particularly long, straight horns.
Ostrich Mbuni	Largest living birds (up to 2.5m high and 150kg weight) with long powerful legs and able to run at over 50kph.
Otter Fisi maji	Semiaquatic members of the weasel family.
Pangolin	An unusal nocturnal creature armoured with scales (like an Armadillo), which walks on its hind feet and will curl into a ball if attacked. A pangolin has an amazingly long tongue (as long as its head and body) which it uses to reach insects which are often found in decayed bark or termite mounds.
Pelican	Have a large bill and pouch.
Porcupine Nungunungu	Large (up to one metre long) nocturnal spine-bearing rodents.
Rat Panya	Giant Rats and Cane Rats are sometimes caught and eaten by humans.
Reedbuck Tohe	Medium-sized antelopes with a short bushy tail, found in reed-beds or tall grass near water.
Rhinoceros Kifaru	Have poor eye-sight but a good sense of smell and hearing plus great bulk and sharp horns. Have become particularly endangered by poaching.
Roan Antelope Korongo	Large and aggressive antelopes.
Sable Antelope Pala hala	Antelopes with an unusual patterned mask-like face and long swept-back horns.
Secretary Bird	Birds of prey with unusual crest feathers.
Serval Mondo	Wild cats, generally nocturnal and found near water.
Shrew	There are normal Shrews and Elephant Shrews (which have the shape of a shrew but the size of a very large rat).
Sitatunga Nzohe	Very shy swamp antelopes with webbed hooves; a good swimmer and liable to hide almost totally under water if in danger.
Snake Nyoka	Have hinged jaws which let them consume large prey (the Rocky Python can survive for months without eating after a big kill).
Squirrel Kidiri / Kindi	There are ground (Kidiri) and bush (Kindi) varieties.
Steinbok Dondoo	Small reddish antelopes which often have a black triangle of fur sweeping up their muzzle.
Stork	Marabou Storks are tall birds with a long bill and large pink throat pouch; they catch small animals and scavenge on carrion.
Sunbird	Sunbirds feed from the nectar of flowering plants. Most males are brightly coloured often with a metallic plumage, whereas females are dull-coloured and hard to distinguish.
Suni Paa	These animals are slightly smaller than the Dik-dik and tend to dwell in forests.
Superb Starling	Sociable birds with glossy plumage, often found near human habitation. Starling is Kwenzi.
Tiger	The tiger (Panthera tigris) is native to Asia and not Africa. Click here for more information about where different cats live.
Toad Chura	A group of toads is called a knot.
Topi Nyamera	Almost-purplish antelopes with black patches on their face and around the top of the legs. Males can sometimes be seen guarding their territory from on top of small mounds.
Tortoise / Turtle Kobe / Kasa	Tortoises are terrestrial turtles. Giant Tortoise can live for up to 150 years.
Vulture	Large scavenging birds (wingspan up to 3m) which use their excellent vision to locate carrion - or to see where other vultures have found food and are beginning to congregate!
Wart hog Ngiri	Have bristly hair, small curved tusks and carry four wart-like growths on their head (larger on the boar than the sow).
Waterbuck Kuru	Antelopes that live near water, are good swimmers and have a thick shaggy water-repellent coat.
Weaver Bird Mzingi	Weaves fine nests.
Wild cat Paka wa mwitu	.
Wild dog Mbwa mwitu	Very rare. Tend to hunt in packs, working together to catch their prey. The have large ears, a white-tipped tail and their coats often have many different coloured patches of black, brown, yellow and white.
Wildebeest Nyumbu	Famed for their mass migration between the Masai Mara and Serengeti plains.
Zebra Punda milia	Sociable animals which often gather in large herds. The Swahili name means "striped donkey".

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