Forest Wildlife

Arabuko-Sokoke Forest is crucial to the survival of six Globally Threatened birds, which have been recorded from a few coastal forests in Kenya and northern Tanzania. Only Arabuko-Sokoke is large enough to hold viable populations for the future.

The six birds in severe danger of extinction unless their habitats are conserved, are:

• Sokoke Scops Owl - Africa's smallest owl, confined to the Cynometra Thicket
• Clarke's Weaver - found only in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest
• Amani Sunbird - flits about in the open Brachystegia Forest
• Sokoke Pipit - best observed flying over the tree canopy in the early morning
• East Coast Akalat - shy and very difficult to see
• Spotted Ground Thrush - a migrant from South Africa, and the most endangered of the six.

Fifty-two mammal species have been recorded in the forest, including three that are extremely rare. The forest contains 90% of the world's population of Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew, a curious looking creature, the size of a rabbit with a long snout and golden-yellow rump. Although globally rare, it is common in the forest and can often be seen scuttling along the forest floor in the early morning. Other rare mammals include the Sokoke Bushy-tailed Mongoose which is named after the forest. Ader's Duiker, Africa's most endangered antelope, a small russet animal with a white stripe on the flanks, can be found only here and in Zanzibar, where the population is potentially under greater threat. The handful of survivors in Arabuko- Sokoke Forest are the last of their kind on the African mainland.

Diverse populations of reptiles including 33 species of snakes and over 25 species of amphibian inhabit the forest. The frog chorus emanating from a forest pool at night is testimony to the fact that Arabuko-Sokoke Forest hosts more frog species than any other site in Kenya.

The invertebrate diversity is staggering and the 250 recorded species of butterflies are characteristic of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. One third of all Kenya's butterflies can be found here!

The forest plants are richly varied. The National Museums' Coastal Forest Survey collected 511 species in only nine days, of which 42 were classified in the highest category of rarity.

However, the future of the forest and its rare wildlife hangs in the balance. Every day the forest is threatened by continual degradation as timber and other natural resources are depleted.