Shimba Hills National Reserve is a small National Reserve in the Coast Province of Kenya about 33 kilometers away from Mombasa and 15 kilometers from the coast.
The reserve is an area of coastal rain forest, woodland and grassland and it is an important area for plant biodiversity whereby over 50% of the 159 rare plants in Kenya are found in the Shimba Hills reserve including some endangered species of cycads and orchids.
It is also a nationally important site for birds and butterflies thus its visitors are always welcomed by the distinct colors of many bird species and butterflies.
The reserve is an ideal place for conducting your wildlife safari because it resides a variety of wildlife species such as elephants which are estimated to be almost 700 elephants in the reserve.
This population is however unsustainably high thus causing significant damage to vegetation hence threatening the endangered plant life. Conflict between humans and elephants has also reached critical levels.
North of the Reserve, the Mwaluganje elephant sanctuary has been established to provide a route for elephants to leave the park. The remainder of the park boundary is fenced to prevent the elephants from invading farmland.
The Kenya Wildlife Service has plans to relocate up to 400 elephants from Shimba to Tsavo East National Park however Shimba Hills are also a home to Kenya’s only population of Sable Antelope numbering almost 100 in the park.
Other wildlife species found in the area include; Sable antelopes, elephant shrews, bushy tailed mongooses and other small mammals like fruit bats.
The forest is an important bird area and is endowed with forest birdlife while the grasslands hold localized species such as red-necked-Spur fowl, Croaking Cisticola and Zanzibar Red Bishop.
The scenic Sheldrick Falls and the dense Mwaluganje Forest are also found here along with four campsites.
