Tsavo East National Park

Tsavo East National Park, established in April 1948 over the former semi-arid Taru Desert in Taita-Taveta County, Kenya, covers about 13,747 square kilometers and, together with neighboring Tsavo West, forms roughly 22,000 square kilometers of protected land crossed by the Tsavo River. The mostly flat savanna holds the Yatta Plateau, at 290 kilometers the world's longest lava flow, and Mudanda Rock, a 1,600 meter inselberg that collects water during the dry season. The park is known for the Tsavo lions, whose adult males often lack manes entirely, alongside elephant, giraffe, zebra, leopard and more than 500 recorded bird species.