East Africa’s ‘Special Five’ Animals Face Climate Crisis

In Kenya’s arid northern regions, a remarkable group of animals known as the “Samburu Special Five” are fighting for survival as climate change intensifies the challenges of their already harsh environment. These extraordinary species—the reticulated giraffe, Grévy’s zebra, beisa oryx, gerenuk, and Somali ostrich—have evolved unique adaptations to thrive in one of Africa’s most unforgiving landscapes.

Unlike the famous “Big Five” of safari legend, the Special Five earn their nickname not for being challenging to hunt, but for their rarity and incredible specialization. Found only in northern Kenya, southern Ethiopia, and Somalia, these animals have developed remarkable survival strategies over millennia. The Grévy’s zebra, for instance, sports distinctive white stripes that are more prominent than black ones—a clever adaptation that helps reflect heat and regulate body temperature in scorching temperatures.

“These animals are restricted to a very specific geographical area and they only exist in that place,” explains Samuel Mutahi, a wildlife specialist with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). “They have distinct features that are ways of adapting to the environment they live in.” The Horn of Africa region experiences extreme heat and drought conditions, broken only by two brief rainy seasons each year.

However, as climate change brings increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and extended droughts to the region, these perfectly adapted species face an uncertain future. Their specialized evolution, once their greatest strength, may now limit their ability to adapt quickly enough to rapidly changing environmental conditions.