Elephant Migration

Tanzania - Lake Manyara & Tarangire National Parks


Northern Tanzania presents a map of administratively independent National Parks that are actually interconnected and interdependent. Following the different seasons, rain patterns and other natural “rules”, different animal species move in the Parks as they have done for hundreds of years following their instincts to ensure their survival and the survival of their small ones.

The best known of these migrations is the one conducted every year by thousands of wildebeest and zebras in Serengeti and Masai Mara following the rains and searching for fresh grass. But it is not the only migration in Northern Tanzania, and wildebeest and zebras are not the only migrating animals.

We would like to report a less known migration, but equally fascinating, another survival lesson taught by nature, that will also help us being passionate about East Africa and professionals of the travel industry, to book our clients in the most convenient locations either in Tarangire or Lake Manyara National Parks depending on the season and clients´ requirements. With all the focus on the Serengeti migration, the enormous seasonal game movements which take place in the greater Tarangire area tend to be very much overlooked and little understood. The Serengeti migration is estimated at around 2.5 million animals, including 0,5 million zebra and 1,7 million wildebeest. The remainder is made up largely of lesser antelope species.

Running perhaps 250,000 large mammals in total, the Tarangire migration is around only a tenth of the size of the main Serengeti migration, especially in terms of zebra and wildebeest but it includes a much wider range of species, including giraffe, buffalo, oryx, ostrich and lion and, by far, the most significant component of this migration is the elephant population, which is thought to involve 5,000 to 10,000 animals. If one were to call it the Elephant Migration, it might achieve a much greater recognition.

As we start understanding this Elephant Migration, it should be noted that whilst the Serengeti migration tends to stick together for large parts of the year and is accessible as an entity in various locations, the Tarangire / Manyara migration is much more of an annual aggregation and dispersal pattern, therefore only being a visual phenomenon for the period during which it comes together. Tarangire National Park covers a very large area of 2,600 km2, but lies at the heart of an ecosystem which is around ten times that size.

The Tarangire National Park forms part of a bigger wildlife ecosystem covering over 20,000 sq km, which include the Lake Manyara National Park in the north, as well as five other surrounding wildlife controlled areas. The key to this wildlife ecosystem is the Tarangire River, and the local animal migration in the area begins from this river, at the start of the short rainy season around October every year. At the height of the long rainy season, the animals, which include wildebeest, Thompson gazelles, zebra and even African elephants, will be widely spread out over this 20,000 sq km area. When the wet season ends, the animals begin their migration back towards the river and spend the dry season July to October, concentrated in large numbers around the river.

The animals mostly disperse during April and May, when there is widespread greenery, vegetation and standing water to encourage all the grazers further afield. In June, the eland and oryxes begin to return, followed by elephant towards the end of the month. Tarangire is a great spot for elephant gatherings at the end of the rainy season in June, and zebra and wildebeest return together through July.

By mid-August all the animals are congregating around their last reliable water source, the Tarangire River. The calving season falls in the early months of the year, through January, February and March, and so makes the most of the fresh grass during the rainy season. There are a number of permanent year-round water sources in the area, which is crucial for the survival of animals.

The most significant of these water sources is the Tarangire River, which arises at the foot of the nearby Rift escarpment, flows into the park and then evaporates from its terminus at Lake Burunge on the western border of Tarangire NP.

During the dry season, July to October, game migrates to Tarangire National Park from the enormous hinterland and gathers in very high concentrations within the Park, and particularly along the central river valley. During the converse season, November to June, the presence of seasonal waterholes enables the game to migrate outwards, spreading across the surrounding game control areas.

Although the in and out movement is common, different species tend to move on different routes at different times. Wildebeest and zebra mainly move northwards towards Lake Manyara and beyond in the direction of Lake Natron, crossing the main Arusha to Serengeti highway along the way.

The main bulk of the wildlife, including buffalo, gazelle, elephant, kongini, eland and oryx move out onto the plains to the east and southwest. Other herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo and eland also move in a more southerly direction. Resident species which remain within the park include waterbuck, impala, warthog, duikers, giraffe and lesser kudu.

With regards to elephants, as migratory animals, sustainable management of African elephant populations, both within and around protected areas, is a major challenge in the conservation policy of many African countries. Migration routes in the zone are characterized by higher cover (open and closed forest) than core areas.

Outside the park poaching occurs at times, and hence it looks like elephant management must be considered across park boundaries and migration corridors must be protected against human disturbance and land cultivation. Society problems linked to elephant conservation can be solved by creating alternative, sustainable, use of natural resources that enhance the livelihood of local communities.

By LLA


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Conservation, Tourism and the Maasai

Kenya

The Maasai (also Masai) are a Nilotic ethnic group of semi nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. Due to their distinctive customs and dress and residence near the many game parks of East Africa, they are among the most well known of African ethnic groups. They speak Maa, a member of the Nilo-Saharan language family that is related to Dinka and Nuer, and are also educated in the official languages of Kenya and Tanzania: Swahili and English. The Maasai population has been estimated as 377,089 from the 1989 Census or as 453,000 language speakers in Kenya in 1994 and 430,000 in Tanzania in 1993 with a total estimated as "approaching 900,000". Estimates of the respective Maasai populations in both countries are complicated by the remote locations of many villages, and their semi-nomadic nature.

Although the Tanzanian and Kenyan governments have instituted programs to encourage the Maasai to abandon their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle, the people have continued their age-old customs. Recently, Oxfam has claimed that the lifestyle of the Maasai should be embraced as a response to climate change because of their ability to farm in deserts and scrublands.

The Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania have co-existed with wildlife for generations. The wildlife has survived because of the protection and respect that the Maasai have for the environment, having lived alongside most wild animals with an aversion to eating game and birds. Maasai are pastoralist and have resisted the urging of the Tanzanian and Kenyan governments to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle. They have demanded grazing rights to many of the National Parks in both countries, as they have seen reduced much of the traditional grazing lands for their cattle as they became protected areas; in fact, Maasai land now has East Africa's finest game areas.

According to the Department of Remote Sensing and Resource Surveys (DRSRS), more than 60 percent of Kenyan wildlife is found on the tribal land called ‘group ranches’ belonging to the Maasai people. The popular National Parks and Reserves like Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, Maasai Mara, Tsavo East and Samburu Game Reserve are all found in Maasai land. Their contributions to the local economy of Maasai people are minimal.

In Kenya, tourism is one of the principle sources of foreign revenues for the central government. Its direct and indirect contributions to the national economy are enormous. Other sectors like agriculture, transportation, or communication depend heavily on the tourism industry. But the tourism industry itself depends on wildlife resources as the main attraction with the government being the custodian of wildlife whether inside or outside the National parks.

The Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR), to mention an example of Maasai land, attracts 60 per cent of the nature tourists who visit Kenya every year, earning the country $75 million in 1996, yet a very little percentage of the revenue collected seems to trickle down to local communities. Today more than 80 per cent of wildlife, which belongs to the state, lives outside protected areas on the Maasai land. The most pressing issue is the ownership of the wildlife in communal areas at a time of rapid population growth. The land is under pressure from people and wildlife. Having wild animals that they do not own, living on their land has made the Maasai grow over time less tolerant of wildlife, while they feel that the issues of land and wildlife related to them raises questions such as:

• Why would the Maasai forego their own development and needs for a wildlife resource that they do not own or use?

• Why should Maasai not share the money accrued from the wildlife that feeds on their cows and children?

• Why should communities bear the costs of conservation but not the benefits?

• If local communities own the land on which the wildlife exists, are they not the best people to implement and monitor measures to relieve pressures on biodiversity?

• Is not their full involvement in the decision-making and management process imperative for the success of conservation and development on their land?


A very dramatic question that arises from all the above is why should the conservation of wildlife have precedence over local people’s needs?

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), a state corporation responsible for conserving and managing all of Kenya’s wildlife, has done little in educating the communities around the MMNR on how to benefit from the resource on which Kenyan tourism thrives. KWS has also neglected the community; out of a population of 46,331 people, 36,138 lived below the poverty line in the Mara planning unit in 2001.

Furthermore, the theme of the 1997-2001 District Development Plan for Narok District was “rapid industrialisation for sustainable development”. This included improving the infrastructure, developing local raw materials, marketing and access to credit. In the Mara division this has hardly been realised.

The Maasai’s changing view of wildlife is driven by the fact that they do not have the marketing and financial skills to utilize the natural resource commercially, leaving them feeling that someone else is reaping what they have sown.

The government has encouraged the Maasai pastoralists to practice agriculture, but with the high numbers of wildlife found in their areas, it is impossible. The animals eat the crops and wildlife is seen as a curse and an obstacle to development.

The Maasai are becoming frustrated by the wildlife that lives on their land but over which they have no control. They are moving from seeing wildlife as something with which they must live alongside in mutual respect, to a commercial commodity to be used. In agricultural areas wildlife is even seen as a pest to be eliminated.

Their monopoly of power by KWS, a central power outside the community, prevents the chances of sustainable coexistence outside protected areas.

There has been some progress in that the community and the Maasai Conservation and Development Organization are designing a program to create self-reliance through conservation and tourism and to demarcate a core conservation area. The project aims to educate the community on how to utilize the wildlife by building tourism facilities and encouraging visitors to the area. The hope is that the benefits they see will balance their increasingly negative views of the wildlife.

The Maasai people have gradually become poorer over the years. The combinations of frequent droughts and poor markets have adversely affected their livestock-based economy. Supplementary incomes through employment are limited due to lack of education and training. The only other resource they have is the wildlife-rich land and their cultural heritage, both of which are coming under great pressure due to poverty.

The increase in human-wildlife conflicts and the gradual loss of wildlife habitat in tourism destinations have reinforced the view that local people’s involvement in the tourism industry is an essential adjunct to the concept of a nature-based tourism industry. The relationship between local communities and the tourism industry is that of purposeful interdependence.

Maasai’s themselves are one of the greatest tourist attractions in Kenya. The myth is sold as warrior and warlike tribe somewhere in Africa. The tribe's male live on the hearts of the lions they kill in the sprawling savannah.

The Maasai on their part have learned that there is a dollar in being merchandise of the curio type. So they turn out in front of their manyattas (kraal) as if in Hollywood. For a dollar, the tourist can both see this ‘creature’ of the wild and photograph it. For a job well done and the delivery of the ‘merchandise’ to the tourists, the tour guide gets his tip. The curio dealer in town is thus matched by the human curio dealer in the Maasai plains.

Too often, the temptation to become a caricature of themselves and a cliché for few dollars is too strong, and after which the tourist goes back home and says that he has seen Africa. He claims that he has seen man almost at his primeval stage. Something close to a lie, a fix image of a reality that is dynamic and in constant change. Culture as a fusion of a people's way of life is not a commodity. It is an expression of their totality and when taken otherwise, it is hard to tell between them and wildlife. In this case, the Maasai has the same camera value with a buffalo since their lives begin when the camera begins to whine and ends when it is shut down.

Culture is much more dynamic than a moment of a camera flash which is what the exotic image made of the Maasai turns it into. Culture holds the past and present, a blending that the post cards of the Maasai kills.

Culture is dynamic and the Maasai are not exceptional to that rule. The shuka-clad (a red cloth that the Maasai wrap around themselves) Maasai man is as at home with a Coke as the urbanized man from Central Province.

It is all a matter of understanding that culture is not a plastic thing. It is about real life. That is why constant long term effort from the government and the communities needs to be developed, so as Maasais benefit naturally of the revenue generated by tourism, where they play an important role, being able to choose how to play and how to live with respect for their history, culture and present situation. It is crucial for the tourism industry to understand and be able to deal with social and historical sensibilities since sustainable tourism means benefits for the tourists as well as for the local community and conservation of the natural resources that make the destination attractive to international visitors.


Written by LLA

Tanzania – repatriation of black rhinos.

Tanzania – repatriation of black rhinos to their native habitat enhances game viewing in the Mbuzi Mawe area of Serengeti.

In an effort to increase rhino populations in the Serengeti National Park and consequently enhance the game park’s status as one of the world’s most celebrated wildlife reserves conservationists, in conjunction with the Tanzanian government, have trans located the first 5 of 32 East African black rhinos from South Africa back to their native habitat.

Up to date news inform that the new arrivals received a jubilant welcome, not only from the Tanzanian public, but also from the staff and guests of Serena Mbuzi Mawe Tented Camp who, thanks to the camp’s ideal location, will now have the advantage of easily spotting the rare rhino species.

The critically endangered animals were bred from a group that was rescued from the Serengeti and relocated to South Africa to prevent their total extinction as a result of rampant poaching in the 60’s and 70’s which saw their population dwindle from over 1,000 to just 70. The return of the rhinos is a significant landmark for nature conservation in Tanzania as it will not only help restore one of the Serengeti’s principal big game species but also maintain northern Tanzania as a tourist destination where all of Tanzania’s native flora and fauna can be viewed.


If you would like to see these magnificent beasts in the wild please view our sample Northern Tanzania itinerary or contact us.

The Wa-Hadzabe tribe of Lake Eyasi: Tanzania's last hunter-gatherers

Tanzania

The Hadza people (or Hadzabe'e) are an ethnic group in Tanzania living around Lake Eyasi in the central Rift Valley and in the neighboring Serengeti Plateau. The Hadza number just around 1,000, with a worrying decrease. Like the Bushmen of southern Africa, the Hadzabe are hunter gatherers.

Their ancestral homelands originally covered large parts of northern Tanzania and included the world famous Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti Plain. Now, the Hadzabe exploit a far smaller territory to the south of Ngorongoro, in the escarpments of the Rift Valley and the valleys around Lake Eyasi. The area is home to a wide array of wildlife, and to a range of flora that includes the magnificent baobab trees of Africa - home in turn to the bees from which the Hadzabe collect wild honey. But despite this environmental diversity with its rich resources, the Hadzabe are facing severe pressures on their traditional way of life.

The Hadza are not closely related to any other people. While traditionally considered an East African branch of the Khoisan peoples, primarily because their language has clicks, modern genetic research suggests that they may be more closely related to the Pygmies. The Hadza language appears to be an isolate, unrelated to any other. These nomadic hunter-gatherers live as all humans once lived during the Stone Age: wandering the plains with the changing seasons, killing game for survival, constantly avoiding aggressive wild beasts.

There are four traditional areas of Hadza dry-season habitation in Tanzania: West of the southern end of Lake Eyasi, between Lake Eyasi and the Yaeda Valley swamp to the east, east of the Yaeda Valley in the Mbulu Highlands, and north of the valley around the town of Mang'ola. During the wet season the Hadza camp outside and between these areas, and readily travel between them during the dry season as well.

The Hadzabe survive using the most ancient subsistence practice and technology known to human beings. They hunt animals with bows and arrows and gather wild fruit and plants. The Hadzabe hunt all manner of game from small animals such as dik dik, bush pig and antelope, to large creatures such as wildebeest and giraffe, using arrows with poisoned tips.

The Hadza have traditionally foraged outside these areas, in the Yaeda Valley, on the slopes of Mount Oldeani north of Mang'ola, and up onto the Serengeti Plains. Such foraging is done for hunting, berry collecting, and for honey. Although hunting is illegal in the Serengeti, the Tanzanian authorities recognize that the Hadza are a special case and do not enforce the regulations with them, just as the Hadza are the only people in Tanzania not taxed locally or by the national government.

Hadza men usually forage individually, and during the course of day usually feed themselves while foraging, and also bring home some honey, fruit, or wild game when available. Women forage in larger parties, and usually bring home berries, baobab fruit, and tubers, depending on availability. Men and women also forage cooperatively for honey and fruit, and at least one adult male will usually accompany a group of foraging women. During the wet season, the diet is composed mostly of honey, some fruit, tubers, and occasional meat. The contribution of meat to the diet increases in the dry season, when game becomes concentrated around sources of water. During this time, men often hunt in pairs, and spend entire nights lying in wait by waterholes, hoping to shoot animals that approach for a night-time drink, with bows and arrows treated with poison.

The Hadza are highly skilled, selective, and opportunistic foragers, and adjust their diet according to season and circumstance. Depending on local availability, some groups might rely more heavily on tubers, others on berries, others on meat. This variability is the result of their opportunism and adjustment to prevailing conditions. Traditionally, the Hadza do not make use of hunting dogs, although this custom has been recently borrowed from neighboring tribes to some degree. Most men (80%+) do not use dogs when foraging. Women's foraging technology includes the digging stick, large fabric or skin pouch for carrying items, knife, shoes, other clothing, and various small items held in a pouch around the neck. Men carry axes, bows, poisoned and non-poisoned arrows, knives, small honey pots, fire drills, shoes and apparel, and various small items. While men specialize in procuring meat, honey, and baobab fruit, women specialize in tubers, berries, and greens. This division of labor is rather apparent, but women will occasionally gather a small animal or egg, or gather honey, and men will occasionally bring a tuber or some berries back to camp.

There exists a mutualistic relationship between honeyguide and mammals: in order to obtain wax, the bird guides people and honey-badgers to the nests of wild bees. The Hadza whistle "dialogs" with the honey-guide that mimic the bird's song. The role of the honey-guide is reflected also in Hadza mythology, both in naturalistic and personified forms. The Hadza move camp for a number of reasons. Conflict is resolved primarily by leaving camp; camps frequently split for this reason. Camps are abandoned when someone falls ill and dies, as illness is associated with the place they fell ill. There is also seasonal migration between dry-season refuges, better hunting grounds while water is more abundant, and areas with large numbers of tubers or berry trees when they are in season. If a man kills a particularly large animal such as a giraffe far from home, a camp will temporarily relocate to the kill site. (Smaller animals are brought back to the camp). Shelters can be built in a few hours, and most of the possessions owned by an individual can be carried on their backs.

The Hadza, like many predominantly hunter-gatherer societies, are predominantly monogamous, though there is no social enforcement of monogamy. “In a world that is changing as rapidly as ours, it is painful to think of the massive numbers of people left impoverished by such changes. How much harder then to imagine those people around the globe who not only do not only do not have access to the financial and technological prizes of modern living, but who do not actually want them, preferring instead to maintain their traditional practices of subsistence and land use, medicine, myth and ritual”. We would like to make ours these words by Kate Prendergast, as they perfectly illustrate the case of the Wa- Hadzabe and the complex and usually conflicting realities of contemporary Africa, living simultaneously modernity and tradition, and showing that tradition is not only a remaining of the past, but maintaining traditions is a choice and an option in a world that pretends to be not only global, but homogeneous. With conflicts and crashing interests, African societies show their flexibility by adapting themselves to changing times and by adapting elements of tradition and modernity to live the present.

Threats to Hadzabe´s style of life include the encroachment of both livestock and agriculture into their traditional hunting grounds. As the local area becomes increasingly taken over by neighbouring pastoralist tribes such as the Barabaig and the Maasai - who themselves have problems in securing land for their herds - water supplies traditionally used by the Hadzabe become contaminated by livestock, while at the same time wild game is driven away by the overweening presence of cattle. Moreover, the vital land corridor that links the Eyasi region to Ngorongoro and the Serengeti is being eaten into by small-scale agriculture, which acts to cut off Hadzabe territories from the annual migration routes of the massive herds of wild animals such as wildebeest and water buffalo that range across the Serengeti. These problems in turn are transversely affected by tourism. Because the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti are now wildlife parks - the jewels in the crown of Tanzania's burgeoning tourist industry and a source of much needed foreign cash for the country's fragile economy - the Hadzabe are effectively excluded from hunting in these areas. As a result, many Hadzabe face the problem of devising new and innovative ways to survive as their ancient hunting and gathering territories become ever more denuded.

Included among such strategies are attempts at building small-scale economies. The Tanzanian government attempted - and failed - to resettle the Hadzabe on permanent small-scale agricultural settlements in the 1960s and 70s. For, as long as the government supplied free food, the Hadzabe stayed, but as soon as the food supply dried up, the Hadzabe moved back into the bush. However, given the harsh environmental conditions they now find themselves in, some experiments have been made growing maize to supplement their hunting and gathering practices. The Hadzabe's relationship with tourism in the region is also an active - if complex - one. Some tour companies offer the option of visiting a Hadzabe village and experiencing the unique lifestyle of an African hunter gatherer community. When these schemes directly employ and pay Hadzabe to act as tour guides, they can have benefits for the community. Cultural tourism programs and such visits when designed genuinely and with respect, benefit both these communities and the image of Tanzania as a destination not only with natural interest, but also highlights its cultural wealth. However, some companies are less than scrupulous in their treatment of the Hadzabe, and some are even known to bring commercial hunting trips into their territory, directly threatening Hadzabe security and livelihood in the process.

The larger and more long term strategy the Hadzabe are engaged in is to win back rights to hunt and gather in a far bigger territory than is currently available to them. Such demands involve complex negotiations with their pastoralist and agricultural neighbours, and with local and national government officials. While the Tanzanian government is not overtly hostile to the Hadzabe way of life - unlike the Botswana government who are currently evicting Bushmen off their ancestral lands en masse - the politics of land in Africa are often fraught, and with many competing claims, full restoration in the region of Hadzabe hunting rights looks a long way off.

by LLA

If you would like to visit a Hadzabe village and see traditional life first hand, please contact us.

The Selous and it's Wild Dogs by LLA

Selous, Tanzania
The Selous Game Reserve is a unique and unusual safari environment in Southern Tanzania; a vast, thriving wildlife area of forests and woodlands around the lagoons, sandbanks and lakes of the Rufiji River.

The Selous is Africa's largest protected area uninhabited by man, where Tanzania's greatest population of elephants wanders in an area bigger than Switzerland! The Selous(pronounced “Seloo”) is considered important enough to be World Heritage Site, in which the lucky few can experience a safari in absolutely wild and unspoiled bush. The Reserve is named after Englishman, Frederick Courtney Selous - conservationist, hunter, explorer and author, whose adventure books on Africa became best sellers in Victorian England.

The park varies from rolling grassy woodlands and plains, to rocky outcrops cut by the Rufiji River - the lifeblood of the Reserve, whose waters attracts elephant herds, and are packed full of grunting hippopotami and yawning crocodile. The banks attract large herds of plains game depending on the season, dispersing after the rains and regrouping when the water sources concentrate.

The Selous contains about one third of all the wild dogs (often called painted dogs), in the world. Their need to roam vast areas and their formidable hunting skills have caused many to be shot by farmers, but here in Selous they have boundless woodlands and savannas in which to roam. The African Wild Dog is a medium-sized canine found only in Africa, especially in savannas and other lightly wooded areas. It is also called the Painted Dog, Painted Hunting Dog, African Hunting Dog, the Cape Hunting Dog, the Spotted Dog, the Ornate Wolf or the Painted Wolf in English, and Mbwa mwitu in Swahili.

Adults typically weigh 17-36 kilograms. A tall, lean animal, it stands about 30 inches (75 cm) at the shoulder, with a head and body length averaging about 40 inches (100 cm) and a tail of 12 to 18 inches (30–45 cm). Animals in southern Africa are generally larger than those in eastern or western Africa. There is little sexual dimorphism, though judging by skeletal dimensions, males are usually 3-7% larger. It has a dental formula of for a total of 42 teeth. The premolars are relatively large compared with those of other canids, allowing it to consume a large quantity of bone, much like hyenas.

The African Wild Dog reproduces at any time of year, although mating peaks between March and June. Litters can contain 2-19 pups, though 10 is the most usual number. The typical gestation period is approximately 70 days. Pups are usually born in an abandoned den dug by other animals such as those of the Aardvark. Weaning takes place at about 10 weeks. After 3 months, the den is abandoned and the pups begin to run with the pack. At the age of 8–11 months they can kill small prey, but they are not proficient until about 12–14 months, at which time they can fend for themselves. Pups reach sexual maturity at the age of 12– 18 months.

In packs, there are separate male and female hierarchies that will split up if either of the alphas dies. In the female group, the oldest will have alpha status over the others, so a mother will retain her alpha status over her daughters. For the males, in contrast the youngest male or the father of the other males will be dominant. When two such loner separate-gender groups meet, if unrelated they can form a pack together. Dominance is established without bloodshed, as most dogs within a group tend to be related to one another in some way, and even when not this can occur.

The African Wild Dog hunts in packs. Like most members of the dog family, it is a cursorial hunter, meaning that it pursues its prey in a long, open chase. Nearly 80% of all hunts end in a kill. Lions, the top predator, only 30%. Members of a pack vocalize to help coordinate their movements. Its voice is characterized by an unusual chirping or squeaking sound, similar to a bird. After a successful hunt hunters regurgitate meat for those that remained at the den during the hunt, such as the dominant female and the pups. They will also feed other pack members, such as the sick, injured, the very old that cannot keep up, or those who stayed back to watch the pups.

The African Wild Dog's main prey varies among populations but always centers around medium-sized ungulates, such as the impala, their favorite ,Springbok and young wildebeest. While the vast majority of its diet is made up of mammal prey, it sometimes hunts large birds, especially ostriches. Other predators, mainly lions, sometimes steal the prey that Wild Dogs catch. Remarkably, this large-animal hunting tactic appears to be a learned behavior, passed on from generation to generation within specific hunting packs, rather than an instinctive behaviour found commonly within the species. Some studies have also shown that other information, such as the location of watering holes, may be passed on in a similar fashion.

The home range of packs varies enormously, depending on the size of the pack and the nature of the terrain. Their preferred habitat is deciduous forests because of large prey herd size, lack of competition from other carnivores, and better sites for denning. In the Serengeti, the average range has been estimated at 1,500 square kilometres (580 square miles), although individual ranges overlap extensively. Females will disperse from their birth pack at 14–30 months of age and join other packs that lack sexually mature females. Males typically do not leave the pack they were born to. This is the opposite situation to that in most other social mammals, where a group of related females forms the core of the pack or similar group. In the African Wild Dog, the females compete for access to males that will help to rear their offspring. In a typical pack, males outnumber females by a factor of two to one, and only the dominant female is usually able to rear pups. This unusual situation may have evolved to ensure that packs do not over-extend themselves by attempting to rear too many litters at the same time. The species is also unusual in that other members of the pack including males may be left to guard the pups whilst the mother joins the hunting group; the requirement to leave adults behind to guard the pups decreases hunting efficiency in smaller packs.

There were once approximately 500,000 African Wild Dogs in 39 countries, and packs of 100 or more were not uncommon. Now there are only about 3,000-5,500 in fewer than 18 countries. They are primarily found in eastern and southern Africa, mostly in the two remaining large populations associated with the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania and the population centered in northern Botswana and eastern Namibia. Smaller but apparently secure populations of several hundred individuals are found in Zimbabwe, South Africa (Kruger National Park), and in the Ruaha/Rungwa/Kisigo complex of Tanzania. Isolated populations persist in Zambia, Kenya, and Mozambique. The African Wild Dog is endangered by human overpopulation, habitat loss and hunting. It uses very large territories (and so can persist only in large wildlife protected areas), and it is strongly affected by competition with larger carnivores that rely on the same prey base, particularly the lion and the Spotted Hyena. Lions often will kill as many wild dogs as they can but do not eat them. Hyenas usually follow them to steal their kills. One on one the hyena is much more powerful than the Wild Dog but a large group of Wild Dogs can successfully chase off a small number of hyenas because of their teamwork. It is also killed by livestock herders and game hunters, though it is typically no more (perhaps less) persecuted than other carnivores that pose more threat to livestock. Most of Africa's national parks are too small for a pack of wild dogs, so the packs expand to the unprotected areas, which tend to be ranch or farm land. Ranchers and farmers protect their domestic animals by killing the wild dogs. Like other carnivores, the African Wild Dog is sometimes affected by outbreaks of viral diseases such as rabies, distemper, and parvovirus. Although these diseases are not more pathogenic or virulent for wild dogs, the small size of most wild dog populations makes them vulnerable to local extinction due to diseases or other problems.

The alarming decrease of numbers and their social patterns, and possibilities to observe them in such limited habitats is what has made this animals become a sort of legend and top objective of wildlife lovers when visiting the Selous Game Reserve in Southern Tanzania.

Singita Grumeti introduce extended migration excursions.

Singita Grumeti Reserves, Serengeti, Northern Tanzania
Singita has introduced day excursions to the Northern Serengeti. This will provide guests with the opportunity to follow the annual wildebeest migration even after it has moved through the 350 000 acre (140 000ha) Singita Grumeti Reserves. Migration excursions will be offered 3 times/ week from September to end November and will include a 20 minute flight from Singita Grumeti Reserves to Kogatende landing strip.

Asilia News

Tanzania and Zanzibar
2010 is in full swing and the wildlife viewing at all Asilia Camps is delivering guests the experiences they were hoping to encounter, below just a few snippets of what has been witnessed this month:

Sayari Camp: the BIG 5 were seen by all Sayari guests with no other tourists in sight.

Dunia Camp: Most guests were able to see cheetah, lion kills, leopards climbing trees, buffalos in the Rongai area, hippos at Seronera pond and big herds of elephants.

Oliver’s Camp: Guests encountered lesser kudu, waterbuck, bat eared fox, giraffe and silver backed jackal – on foot during a walking safari.

Olakira Camp: The migration is still on the Ndutu plains and the calving process, with thousands of new little wildebeest babies already born, is still under way.
As always, lots of upgrade and renovation work will be done during the upcoming off-season.

Oliver’s Camp: Flush toilets and running water will be plumbed in for showers and wash basins. New lounge and dining room that will be permanent and thatched but very much keeps the feeling of traditional Oliver’s Camp.

Matemwe & Matemwe Retreat - Major refurbishment of rooms, and many back of house improvements (new electricity cabling, boundary walls, sewage systems).

Matemwe, Oliver’s, Sayari: New water treatment recycling systems for all permanent camps (Sayari Camp, Oliver’s Camp and Matemwe)

On top of that, many smaller renovations and upgrades will take place:
• New window coverings (drop down rain guards) for all open vehicles stationed in camps
• Upgrade / refreshing furnishings (all properties)
• New carpeting and floor coverings (all properties)
• New desk and desk chairs (Sayari Camp)
• New back up hot water systems for solar heaters
• New lighting (Sayari Camp)


Notice boards:
From now until March 26th Kogatende airstrip is closed so all flights to Sayari Camp will go to Sasakwa from where it is a 3 hour transfer to camp.

The power works on Zanzibar are now completed and permanent power supply has been restored. Plans have been implemented to avert a similar crisis in future.

The introduction of a single tourist visa for East Africa could be implemented by as soon as June. A work plan for the study and piloting of single tourist visa from February to September 2010 has been developed and test runs are expected to involve nationals from South Africa, the UK, USA, Germany, France, Canada, Australia, Japan, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium and the Scandinavian countries.

Singita Grumeti fund lauded for conservation projects

Serengeti, Northern Tanzania
The Singita Grumeti Community and Wildlife Conservation Fund was profiled at the recent Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute Conference. Since the fund was established in 2002, wildlife numbers in the Singita Grumeti Reserves increased by 59%. Today it offers what has been rated as the ‘best wildlife, safari and ecotourism experience’ in East Africa. This is attributed to their law enforcement programme as well as securing habitat and resident wildlife populations.

The migration returns to Singita Grumeti Reserves

Serengeti, Northern Tanzania
Sabora Tented Camp, located in the wilderness plains of Singita Grumeti Reserves in northern Tanzania, is yet again in the midst of an annual migration! Enormous wildebeest herds are returning from the northern Serengeti to join existing populations of zebra, Thompsons gazelles and topi. At this time of the year the herds are typically further north. East Africa has however been experiencing an extended dry spell and last month's early rains in the Grumeti Reserves created a spectacle more reminiscent of the migration seen during the months of June and July. On the left is the view from Sabora Tented Camp across the plains.

Grumeti Reserves, Serengeti, Northern Tanzania

Grumeti Reserves, Serengeti, Northern Tanzania
Three luxurious, 1920’s-styled tented suites have been added to the 6 existing tented suites at Singita's Sabora Tented Camp, increasing capacity from 12 to 18 guests. The new tented suites are air-conditioned and offer all modern luxuries emulating the style of the existing suites. Each is en-suite with a fully equipped bathroom, newly designed open-air showers, period baths and larger viewing decks with uninterrupted views of the Serengeti plains. A second tented lounge has also been constructed and an integrated ‘health and fitness’ facility added.