The Narus River flows in a northwesterly direction through Kidepo Valley National Park

Kidepo Valley National Park

Kidepo Valley National Park is a national park in the Karamoja region in northeast Uganda. Kidepo is rugged savannah, dominated by the Mount Morungole and transected by the Kidepo and Narus rivers.-Location:...

 in northern Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

, joining the larger Kidepo River

Kidepo River

The Kidepo River is a seasonal river along the Kidepo Valley in the Karamoja region of Uganda, and in East Equatoria area of South Sudan.-See also:* List of rivers of Uganda* List of rivers of South Sudan...

 shortly after entering Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan

South Sudan

South Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...

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"Narus" in the Karamojong language

Karamojong language

The Karamojong Language is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken mainly in the Karamoja subregion of north-eastern Uganda....

 means mud.

The park headquarters, lodge and hostel for visitors at Apoka overlook the Narus Valley, the main area for viewing game in the National park. There is one wet season each year, after which the Kidepo valley dies up and game move south to the Narus.
The Narus river valley in the south of the park gets about 890 millimetres (35 in) of rain each year, compared to 635 millimetres (25 in) in the Kidepo Valley to the north.
Although both rivers are seasonal, the Narus is the only perennial source of water in the park.
Water can be found in swamps and pools along the Narus river channel throughout the year.

The Narus valley is an area of flat grassland plains. Large mammals include zebra

Zebra

Zebras are several species of African equids united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds...

, giraffe

Giraffe

The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...

, buffalo

African Buffalo

The African buffalo, affalo, nyati, Mbogo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear...

, elephant

Elephant

Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...

, hartebeest

Hartebeest

The hartebeest is a grassland antelope found in West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa. It is one of the three species classified in the genus Alcelaphus....

 and other antelopes.
Carnivore species include the bat-eared fox

Bat-eared Fox

The bat-eared fox is a canid of the African savanna, named for its large ears. Fossil records show this canid to first appear during the middle Pleistocene, about 800,000 years ago....

, striped hyena

Striped Hyena

The Striped Hyena is a species of true hyena native to North and East Africa, the Caucasus, the Middle East, Middle and Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent...

, aardwolf

Aardwolf

The aardwolf is a small, insectivorous mammal, native to Eastern and Southern Africa. The name means "earth wolf" in Afrikaans/Dutch. It is also called "maanhaar jackal". It is related to hyenas, but unlike its relatives, it does not hunt large prey. This unusual animal preys on insects...

, caracal

Caracal

The caracal is a fiercely territorial medium-sized cat ranging over Western Asia, South Asia and Africa.The word caracal comes from the Turkish word "karakulak", meaning "black ear". In North India and Pakistan, the caracal is locally known as syahgosh or shyahgosh, which is a Persian term...

, cheetah

Cheetah

The cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws...

 and hunting dog

Hunting dog

A hunting dog refers to any dog who assists humans in hunting. There are several types of hunting dogs developed for various tasks. The major categories of hunting dogs include hounds, terriers, dachshunds, cur type dogs, and gun dogs...

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The river itself is home to the Nile crocodile

Nile crocodile

The Nile crocodile or Common crocodile is an African crocodile which is common in Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Gabon, South Africa, Malawi, Sudan, Botswana, and Cameroon...

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