Yala Swamp

The Yala Swamp is a wetland region of over 200 square km in Western Kenya. The wetland covers the north-eastern shore of Lake Victoria in Siaya and Busia counties in Kenya. It acts as a filter for waters that flow into Lake Victoria from two major rivers. Sometimes considered the source of the Nile. The swamps harbour endangered fish species Oreochromis esculentus and Oreochromis variabilis that have disappeared from Lake Victoria itself. The sitatunga antelope (Tragecephalus spekii) still lives in the swamps’ papyrus. BirdLife International classifies the Yala Swamp among Kenya’s 60 Important Bird Areas. Some of the birds that live there are the blue-breasted bee-eater, the papyrus gonolek, the swamp flycatcher, the papyrus canary, the white-winged swamp warbler, the great snapper and the Baillon's crake.