The largest and most photographed in the savannah. The elephant is the animal most photographed by Italian tourists in Kenya in 2024 (and by mobile phones, alas).
This is according to a survey carried out by malindikenya.net on more than fifty tour operators, safari agencies and certified guides who have brought hundreds of enthusiasts to Kenyan parks and reserves.
The majesty of the specimen, decidedly photogenic with its long ivory tusks and trunk, and its stillness or at least slowness, allow you to prepare your photograph and also capture details that are more difficult with other animals, especially herbivores, due to their natural shyness and fear and because it is easier for them to hide.
These are the main aspects that make it the animal symbolising the past year, besides the fact that there are definitely more of them than other ‘colleagues’ of the savannah. Then there are the cute scenes with the cubs, the admiration for the large groups, families that move together with the matriarch always at the head of the expedition and unforgettable scenes such as bathing in the pools and ponds, after perhaps rolling in the red earth and spraying each other with water from their trunks.
In second place in this special ranking of the wild beauty of Kenyan nature are the lions, certainly together with the other felines the most sought-after animals, those that make a safari truly complete and satisfying.
‘That's right,‘ explains Alice Bisi of Mondo Overland Travels, “people may think more about the big cats, but elephants are everywhere, especially in Amboseli and Tsavo, which were the most popular parks for Italians in 2024. Elephants are good safari ”companions’ and don't mind the tourists‘ cameras’.
The lion is the animal to look for and immortalise, especially in the Maasai Mara and Samburu, and the one for which you should take your time. The most sought after, for example, by professional photographers and by those who come on safari not just as tourists to be baptised, but as enthusiasts and repeaters.
‘I can confirm that the lion is the number one in this particular ranking,’ explains Massimo Vallarin, honorary ranger and professional guide, known to Italians in Kenya also for having taken the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella on safari. ’As far as I'm concerned, this year the rhinos are close behind. But I must admit that elephants are always quite popular.’
The giraffe continues to be a success, especially with the female public, coming in third place among the favourites reported by guides and agencies that have dealt with Italians. Their elegant movements, the long necks that emerge from the bushes and that position themselves on the tops of the bushy plants to feed on the leaves, always capture the attention and the camera.
So here are this year's winners in Kenya. Following in the Top Ten, in order: leopards, rhinoceroses, cheetahs, buffaloes, crocodiles, antelopes and hippos. With a special note of affection for the last place finishers: not even a mention for the hyenas and the African wild dogs. A few howls of dissent...