The Selous Game Reserve, now renamed Nyerere National Park, is a protected area in southern

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. It covers a total area of and has additional buffer zones. It was designated a UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

in 1982 due to its wildlife diversity and undisturbed nature. Some of the diverse wildlife of the

miombo The Miombo woodland is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (in the World Wide Fund for Nature scheme) located primarily in Central Africa. It includes four woodland savanna ecoregions (listed below) characterized b ...

include the

African bush elephant The African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana'') is one of two extant African elephant species and one of three extant elephant species. It is the largest living terrestrial animal, with bulls reaching a shoulder height of up to and a body ...

south-central black rhinoceros The south-central black rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis minor''), also known as the south-central hook-lipped rhinoceros or the lesser black rhino, is a subspecies of the black rhinoceros. In keeping with the rules of zoological nomenclature, the ...

hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two exta ...

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

African wild dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lyca ...

, African buffalo,

Masai giraffe The Masai giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi'' or ''Giraffa tippelskirchi''), also spelled Maasai giraffe, and sometimes called Kilimanjaro giraffe, is a subspecies or species of giraffe. It is native to East Africa. The Masai gira ...

Plains zebra The plains zebra (''Equus quagga'', formerly ''Equus burchellii''), also known as the common zebra, is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. Its range is fragmented, but spans much of southern and eastern Africa south o ...

and

Nile crocodile The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the central, eastern, ...

. Permanent human habitation is not permitted within the reserve. All human entry and exit is controlled by the Wildlife Division of the Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.

History

The area was first designated a protected area in 1896 by the German Governor of Tanganyika

Hermann von Wissmann Hermann von Wissmann may refer to: * Hermann Wissmann (1853–1905), German explorer and administrator in Africa ** ''Hermann von Wissmann'' (steamship), a German steamer ** Hermann von Wissmann (ship, 1940), became in 1950 the Belgian Kamina * He ...

, and became a hunting reserve in 1905. The reserve was named after

Frederick Selous Frederick Courteney Selous, DSO (; 31 December 1851 – 4 January 1917) was a British explorer, officer, professional hunter, and conservationist, famous for his exploits in Southeast Africa. His real-life adventures inspired Sir Henry Ride ...

, a famous big game hunter and early conservationist, who died at Beho Beho in this territory in 1917 while fighting against the Germans during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Scottish explorer and cartographer Keith Johnston had died at Beho Beho in 1879 while leading a

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

expedition to the Great Lakes of Africa with Joseph Thomson. Since 2005, the protected area is considered a

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

Conservation Unit. A boundary change to allow the use of

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

deposits has been approved. The approval for the boundary change was given by the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

and seriously criticized by environmentalists and organizations e.g., Uranium-Network and

Rainforest Rescue Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

. Tanzania president

John Magufuli John Pombe Joseph Magufuli (29 October 1959 – 17 March 2021) was the fifth president of Tanzania, serving from 2015 until his death in 2021. He served as Minister of Works, Transport and Communications from 2000 to 2005 and 2010 to 2015 and wa ...

has given an approval of constructing a new

Stiegler's Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station Julius Nyerere Hydropower Station (JNHS; RHHP; Rufiji Hydroelectric Power Project; Stiegler's Gorge Dam) is a hydroelectric dam under construction across the Rufiji River in eastern Tanzania. Although controversial, the government approved th ...

of 2,115MW over the

Rufiji River The Rufiji River lies entirely within Tanzania. It is also the largest and longest river in the country. The river is formed by the confluence of the Kilombero and Luwegu rivers. It is approximately long, with its source in southwestern Tanzani ...

. The power station will result to an additional 2,100 megawatts of electricity, more than tripling Tanzania's installed hydropower capacity of 562 megawatts. The project started on 26 July 2019 and should be completed by 2022. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN) has criticised the Government of Tanzania for failing to consider, the impact of the flooding of nearly 1,000 km2 will have, on both the people and biodiversity of the reserve. Thousands of people are dependent on the river for fishing and agriculture. Portions of the Selous may be regarded as untouched wilderness. The Germans never mapped the Rufiji Floodplain, and in 1917, an expedition headed by Lt. E. William Boville described that area as "uninhabitable".

Description

Interesting places in the park include the

, which flows into the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

opposite

Mafia Island Mafia Island (Kisiwa cha Mafia) is an island and district of Pwani Region, Tanzania. The island is the third largest in Tanzanian ocean territory, but is not administratively included within the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar, which has been ...

and the Stiegler Gorge, a canyon of 100 metres depth and 100 metres width. Habitats include grassland, typical ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus nam ...

'' savanna, wetlands and extensive

Miombo The Miombo woodland is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (in the World Wide Fund for Nature scheme) located primarily in Central Africa. It includes four woodland savanna ecoregions (listed below) characterized b ...

woodlands. Although total wildlife populations are high, the reserve is large and densities of animals are lower than in the more regularly visited northern tourist circuit of Tanzania. In 1976, the Selous Game Reserve contained about 109,000 elephants, then the largest population in the world.Vera, Varun and Ewing, Thomas (April 2014
Ivory's Curse
Born Free USA and C4ADS, Retrieved 16 May 2014 By 2013, the numbers had dropped to about 13,000 – including a 66% drop from 2009 to 2013.Schiffman, Richard (17 May 2014) "Ivory feeds Africa's wars" The New Scientist, Volume 222, No 2969, page 10, also available on the Interne

but may need a subscription Sources blame corrupt politicians, officials and businessmen who help poachers. Most of the reserve remains set aside for game hunting through a number of privately leased hunting concessions, but a section of the northern park along the

has been designated a photographic zone and is a popular tourist destination. There are several high end lodges and camps mainly situated along the river and lake systems in this area. Rather difficult road access means most visitors arrive by small aircraft from

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

, though train access is also possible. Walking

safari A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an impor ...

s are permitted in the Selous, and boat trips on the Rufiji are a popular activity.

Literature

* Peter Matthiessen and Hugo van Lawick (Photography): ''Sand Rivers''. Aurum Press, London 1981, . * Robert J. Ross, ''The Selous in Africa: A Long Way from Anywhere'', Officina Libraria, Milan 2015, 2016 (2nd. ed.), * Rolf D. Baldus: ''Wild Heart of Africa''. Rowland Ward Publications, Johannesburg 2009,

References

External links

African World Heritage Sites - Selous

Selous Game ReserveOfficial UNESCO website entry
{{Authority control Eastern miombo woodlands Geography of Lindi Region Nature reserves in Tanzania Protected areas established in 1922 Protected areas of Tanzania Tourist attractions in the Lindi Region World Heritage Sites in Tanzania Northern Zanzibar–Inhambane coastal forest mosaic Important Bird Areas of Tanzania