Information |
|---|
| Date_registered |
|---|
| 1999-01-25 |
| Brief_description |
|---|
| A seasonal swamp on the northern edge of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. After the El Nino floods of 1997/1998 the water levels were extremely high and there were large number of waterbirds present. Since then it has dried up and only a small area is flooded in a year of reasonable rainfall. Much of the 1998 area of water is now dry and cultivated. |
| Physical_features |
|---|
| The site has coastal forest to the south and farmland to the north. The boundary for Arabuko-Sokoke Forest runs along the inside of the swamp but the electrified elephant fence has been placed through the middle of the swamp in order to include the water inside the fence for elephant to access it. |
| Hydrological_features |
|---|
| The swamp is fed by rainwater in the wet season but since c. 2005 the area of open water has been restricted to a maximum of c. 30 m wide. |
| Ecological_features |
|---|
| Arabuko Swamp provides an important source of water for forest wildlife for some time into the dry season. In good years of rain, the water may persist throughout the dry season though this has not happened since c. 2010. As a result the swamp is being in-filled with vegetation and all of the area outside of the forest boundary fence which bisects the site has been cultivated. |
