Open savannah grassland is the perfect haunt for big prides of lion. This is your typical enchanting African landscape that attracts a wide variety of game and boasts a population of over 350 different species of birds including the striking Bateleur Eagle and the grim looking Maribou Stalk. The Uaso Nyiro River is swarming with huge Nile Crocodiles and the call of the hippo can be heard for miles. Leopard can also be seen wondering through the tall grasses on pursuit of a meal.

This area really became famous through Joy Adamson’s novel ‘Born Free’ which was published in 1960 and later became a well known picture movie. This touching story is of an orphaned lion cub raised by George and Joy Adamson in an attempt to rehabilitate her into the wild. She is torn between the affection she holds for her human carers and the natural instinct to hunt and mate. When she is placed under scrutiny for causing an elephant stampede through a village, the couple are forced to distance themselves from Elsa and give her back to the wild. The success of the rehabilitation in Meru National Park is brought to life on the reserve and it is easy to get caught up in the emotion of the tale.