Wildlife of Tanzania

Tanzania contains some 20 percent of the species of Africa's large mammal population, found across its reserves, conservation areas, marine parks, and 17 national parks, spread over an area of more than and forming approximately 38 percent of the country's territory.Briggs, pp. 1–31 Wildlife resources of Tanzania are described as "without parallel in Africa" and "the prime game viewing country". Serengeti National Park, the country's second largest national park area at , is located in northern Tanzania and is famous for its extensive migratory herds of wildebeests and zebra while also having the reputation as one of the great natural wonders of the world. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area, established in 1959, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and inhabited by the Maasai people. Its Ngorongoro Crater is the largest intact caldera in the world.

The national parks are also part of the wetlands of Tanzania. The wild animals tend to be closer to the wetlands, particularly the water loving species such as the hippopotamus, waterbuck, common warthog, elephant, crocodile, sitatunga as well as water birds such as flamingoes and ducks.

Background

Since the colonial era, wildlife conservation in Tanzania has been the prerogative of the government. Under this structure, the use of wildlife resources by local communities had always been restrictive, causing increased rural poverty and poaching. In recent years, the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) has initiated corrective actions to involve the local community in conservation efforts, which is aimed at contribution to local economies by way of equitable benefits sharing.

The wildlife resources in Tanzania provide an annual income of US$30 million to the national exchequer, and an income of US$9 million as revenue from the leasing companies. Illegal hunting is estimated to be worth US$50 million. In the 1990s, exports of 1.68 million birds, 523,000 reptiles, 12,000 mammals and 148,000 amphibians occurred, in addition to an increase in wildlife related tourism by about 30%. Fishery resources have also contributed richly to the export revenue of the country, with export value of US$130 million reported in 2003, with the export of the Nile perch accounting for a major share of US$100 million.

National parks

Tanzania’s wildlife, extolled as the "finest safari experiences and wildlife spectacles found anywhere on the planet", has 40 national parks and game reserves. There are 17 national parks covering a total area of . These parks are as follows:

#Arusha National Park ()
#Gombe Stream National Park ()
# Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park
#Katavi National Park ()
#Kilimanjaro National Park ()
#Kitulo National Park ()
# Mahale Mountains National Park ()
#Lake Manyara National Park ()
#Mikumi National Park ()
#Mkomazi National Park ()
#Ruaha National Park ()
#Rubondo Island National Park ()
#Saadani National Park ()
# Saanane Island National Park ()
#Serengeti National Park ()
#Tarangire National Park ()
#Udzungwa Mountains National Park ().

Arusha National Park

Arusha National Park located entirely in Arusha Region is spread over an area of . It is within the riverine, lacustrine, and palustrine wetland ecosystem. It encompasses the montane forests and alpine deserts of Mount Meru, Africa's fifth highest mountain at . The park also has marshy areas, rolling grassy hills, and wooded savannah. The Ngurdoto Crater, the Momela Lakes, and one of the sources of the Pangani River are within the park.

Wild animals and birds reported in the park include elephant (uncommon), leopard, waterbuck, spotted hyena, giraffe, blue monkey, colobus monkey, turaco, trogon, African buffalo, warthog, klipspringer, and red-hot poker. Water birds are also concentrated in large numbers in the lake areas, particularly flamingos.

The park is near the city of Arusha, and the Kilimanjaro International Airport is away.

Gombe Stream National Park

The second smallest of Tanzania's national parks is Gombe Stream National Park is located in Kigoma District of Kigoma Region, covering an area of only . Its natural topography consists of steep hill slopes, river valleys, and the sandy northern shores of Lake Tanganyika. It is drained by the Gombe River. Access to the park is only through marine vessels from Kigoma.

The celebrated animals in the park are mostly primates, including chimpanzee, beach comber olive baboon, red-tailed monkey, and red colobus monkey. The park is the site of Jane Goodall's ongoing study of chimpanzee behaviour, which started in 1960. The study has reported 150 individuals who are familiar with humans.

The park has a rich bird life with 200 reported bird species, including African fish eagle and red-throated twinspot.

Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park

Katavi National Park

Katavi National Park, having an area of , is Tanzania’s third largest national park located in Katavi Region . Its geographic setting is in a truncated arm of the East African Rift that terminates in Lake Rukwa. It is an integral part of the riverine and palustrine wetland ecosystem. The Katuma River and associated floodplains, marshy lakes, and brachystegia woodland are part of its habitat. Eland, sable and roan antelopes are found in substantial numbers, and its marshy lakes have Tanzania's densest population of hippopotamus and Nile crocodile. Elephant, lion, spotted hyena, African buffalo, giraffe, zebra, impala, and reedbuck are a common sight during the dry season.Briggs, pp. 8–9

Kilimanjaro National Park

As the name implies, Mount Kilimanjaro gives its name to the park located in Kilimanjaro Region. It is the highest mountain in Africa at and is also the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. The park provides a "climatic world tour, from the tropics to the Arctic". Vegetation in the park includes thick Montane forests, mosses and lichen, and giant lobelias. The park, established in 1977, encompasses an area of and is within the riverine and palustrine ecosystem. Resident wild animals include elephant, leopard, African buffalo, the endangered Abbott's duiker, and other small antelopes and primates. There is hardly any game viewing in this park. However, it is popular for mountaineering expeditions to climb the volcanic cones of Kibo, which has several remnant glaciers, and Mawenzi and to witness the Afro-montane moorland habitat. It is one of the most visited parks in Tanzania. The municipality of Moshi is near several of the park entrances and is east of the larger city of Arusha.Briggs, pp.10–11

Kitulo National Park

Kitulo National Park has an area of in the Kitulo Plateau – local name 'Bustani ya Mungu' meaning "The Garden of God" – located in northwest Njombe Region. The montane grassland with rich water resources is at an elevation of about . It is hemmed between the rugged peaks of the Kipengere, Poroto, and Livingstone Mountains and has volcanic soils, and is drained by the Ruaha River. In view of its rich floral abundance, the park is a gazetted area. Wild animals are few and mostly mountain reedbuck and eland. Bird life is also very widely watched by ornithologists and consists mainly of Denham’s bustard, endangered blue swallow, mountain marsh widow, Njombe cisticola and Kipengere seedeater. Other endemic species of wild life consist of butterflies, chameleons, lizards and frogs. The park’s headquarters is located at Matamba inside the park, which is from Mbeya town.Briggs, pp.12–13

Mahale Mountains National Park

Mahale Mountains National Park, next to the Gombe Stream National Park is set on the shores of the Lake Tanganyika in Uvinza District of Kigoma Region, with a watershed comprising richly forested Mahale Mountains with its peaks as high as above the lake shore. Nkungwe peak () is the park’s largest mountain in the Mahale range which is venerated by the local Tongwe people. Located in a remote and not easily approachable area, the park is spread over an area of . Among the wild animals found here, chimpanzees are a star attraction with a reported population of about 800. Other primates found in large numbers are the red colobus, red-tailed and blue monkey. The unpolluted clear water lake, the second deepest lake in Tanzania, has as many as 1,000 fish species.Briggs, pp.14–15

Lake Manyara National Park

Lake Manyara National Park, which encompasses an area of includes (at high water stage) of Lake Manyara, an alkaline lake, below the high rift valley; Ernest Hemingway called this lake “the loveliest I had seen in Africa” is located in both in Arusha Region and Manyara Region. The geography of the park is seen formed by the serrated blue volcanic peaks that rise from the extensive Maasai steppes. It lies within the riverine and palustrine wetland ecosystem. Wild animals seen are troops of baboons, blue monkeys, bushbuck, giraffes, tree climbing lions, squadrons of banded mongoose, Kirk's dik-dik and pairs of klipspringer. Elephants, which were nearing extinction in the 1980s due to poaching, have been well conserved now. Bird life of 400 species are recorded in the park and on any given day at least 100 of them could be sighted – large number of pink-hued flamingoes, water birds such as pelicans, cormorants and storks. The entry gate to the park is , west of Arusha from Mto wa Mbu, an ethnic town. The park is also connected by charter or scheduled flights from Arusha via Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Recent activities in the park relate to "canoeing, mountain biking, walking and abseiling" It is located between Lake Victoria and the Arusha-Dodoma Road.Briggs, pp.16–17

Mikumi National Park

Mikumi National Park covers an area of (the fourth largest park in the country) in a tract of wilderness in Morogoro Region. It borders in the north with the Selous Game Reserve, which is the largest such reserve in Africa. The habitat has the Mkata floodplain, extensive grass plains with the Mkata River flowing through the park and the miombo-covered foothills of the mountains. It lies within the riverine and palustrine wetland ecosystem. Animal life consists of herd of zebras, lions in the grassy vastness, wildebeest, impala, buffalo herds, giraffes, elands, kudu, sable and hippos in water ponds ( north of the main entrance gate). Antelope, and elephants are also seen. Bird species recorded are 400, which includes lilac-breasted roller, yellow-throated longclaw and bateleur eagle. It is connected by a road with Dar es Salaam, via Selous Reserve, Ruaha, Udzungwa and Katavi.Briggs, pp.18–19

Mkomazi National Park

Ruaha National Park

Ruaha National Park is Tanzania's largest national park, covering . It has rugged, semi-arid bush country, typical of central Tanzania located in Iringa Region. The Ruaha River flows through the park and gets flooded during the rainy season, otherwise remaining an ephemeral stream with ponds, sand and rocky river bed and banks. The park includes an extensive riverine and palustrine wetland ecosystem on the Usangu Plain. Open grasslands and acacia savanna abound in the park. There are reportedly 10,000 elephants, zebras, giraffes, impala, waterbuck and other antelopes, cheetahs, striped and spotted hyena, sable and roan antelope sable and roan antelope, greater kudu with corkscrew horns (which is the park’s emblem) in the park. Of the reported 450 bird species, notable ones are the crested barbet (yellow-and-black bird), endemics such as the yellow-collared lovebird and ashy starling. It is located 128 km west of Iringa.Briggs, pp. 20–21 (p 20-21)

Rubondo Island National Park

Rubondo Island National Park is an island park with an area of . It is located in Geita Region, west of Mwanza. It includes nine smaller islands. It is in the lacustrine wetland ecosystem on the shores of the Lake Victoria. Known as a "water wonderland", it is fish breeding ground; tilapia, yellow-spotted otters and Nile perch (as heavy as ) are some of the special species.Briggs, pp. 22–23

Mammal species abound in this remote and not easily accessible park and consist of indigenous species of hippos, vervet monkeys, genets and mongooses, which coexist with introduced species of chimpanzee, black-and-white colobus, elephant and giraffe, bushbucks, shaggy-coated aquatic sitatunga. Fish eagles are seen near the bay and so also crocodiles.

Saadani National Park

Saadani National Park, a game reserve since the 1960s, was declared a national park in 2002, covers an area of including the former Mkwaja ranch area, the Wami River and the Zaraninge forest. It is the only park in East Africa with an Indian Ocean beachfront. It is located and shared between Pangani Districtof Tanga Region and Chalinze District of Pwani Region. It is Tanzania's 13th National Park. Animals are seen basking along the Indian Ocean shores. Before it was declared a national park it was maintained by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) with the objective to preserve the last coastal rainforest in the country. It was also run as a cattle ranch between 1952 and 2000.Briggs, pp. 24–25 Hunting lodges had also been established on the coastal front of the park, which catered to the celebrities who came here for hunting game and to be away from the busy life in Dare es Salam.

The climate in this sea coast fronted park is hot and humid. Marine and mainland fauna reported in the park are of 30 species of large mammals, reptiles and birds; elephants, black and white colobus monkeys and Roosevelt sable antelope are some of the terrestrial species, while the marine or coastal species noted are many species of fish, green turtles which breed on the beaches, dolphins (''pomboo'') and humpback whales (''nyangumi'').

Saanane Island National Park

Serengeti National Park

Serengeti National Park is the oldest and most popular national park which was established in 1951, with an area of located entirely in Mara Region. The habitat, bounded by Kenya and bordered by Lake Victoria on the west, is characterized by vast plains, savannah, wooded hills, large termite mounds, rivers, and acacia woodlands. The spectacular wildlife witnessed in the park generally refers to the great wildebeest migration where a million wildebeests chase green lands across the rolling plains of Serengeti in Tanzania and Masai Mara in Kenya. Sometimes they are seen in long columns migrating across the rivers to the north, over a distance of , after spending three weeks of mating and giving birth to 8000 calves daily. This migration and life cycle creation is an annual feature witnessed in the park. This migration is in unison with 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson's gazelle in search of grazing pastures, aptly described as "six million hooves pound the open plains". Other mammals seen here are buffaloes, elephants, giraffe, large number of elands, topis, kongonis, impalas, and Grant's gazelle

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