TAITA HILLS

The Taita Hills, sometimes also spelled as Teita Hills, are a mountain range located in the Taita-Taveta County in south-eastern Kenya. The hills consist of three massifs: Dawida, Sagalla in the southern side of Voi township and Kasigau in the south near the border of Tanzania. The Dawida massif is the largest and tallest of the three, with an altitude of 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level at its highest peak, Vuria. Dawida has three other main peaks: Iyale, Wesu, and Susu.The Taita Hills, with others in the Eastern Arc Mountains, were formed more than one hundred million years ago. About thirty million years ago, the area was covered by extensive rainforest. During a cooler and drier period some ten million years ago, the lowland forests were converted to savanna, leaving the mountain ranges as "islands" where the tropical forests continued to flourish. The isolation of each mountain range has led to a great deal of endemism, and a very diverse flora and fauna. Some of the other mountain ranges are well-forested, but the Taita Hills retain just 6 km² (2.3 sq mi) of forest. The Taita Hills rise steeply from the Tsavo West National Park.The hills are known for their moist forests with a unique fauna and flora. More than 20 endemic species of African violets (e.g., Streptocarpus teitensis) occur exclusively in that region. Known endemic bird species are the Taita thrush (Turdus helleri) and the Taita apalis (Apalis fuscigularis). The Taita falcon (Falco fasciinucha) and the Taita fiscal (Lanius dorsalis) were first discovered at the hills but occur elsewhere, too. An amphibian in the genus Boulengerula occurs only in the Taita Hills. The Sagala caecilian (Boulengerula niedeni) is an endangered worm-like amphibian that lives in the Taita Hills.