Mkomazi National Park in northern Tanzania is a superb national park. It was founded in 1951 and was initially difficult to reach it. like the other parks, never obtained the necessary financial assistance. Its actual significance was first discovered in 1989.
Mkomazi National Park is now easily accessible and a wonderfully magnificent wilderness! Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, may be seen to the northwest. In the south, the Pare and Usambara mountains provide a striking backdrop. Tsavo National Park in Kenya borders Mkomazi National Park to the north. These two parks together create one of the largest and most important protected ecosystems in the world. They serve as a hub for elephant, Oryx, and zebra herds. Mkomazi is located at the Sahel’s southernmost tip. It has a typical dry landscape, complete with gray-green Nyika bush, elderly baobab trees, and lonely rocky hills. Scrub seas give way to savannah woodlands with umbrella acacias and mbugas – flat grassland valleys in other locations.
WILDLIFE LIVING IN MKOMAZI
Mkomazi National Park features sparsely inhabited areas and wary animals. Giraffes, antelopes, small kudus, impalas, and Grant’s gazelles are typical of the dry landscape. They share the park with elephants, buffalo, and a variety of predators, such as lions, leopards, and cheetahs. On a game drive, you may also see other species such as dik-diks, zebras, wildebeests, elands, and topis. There are 78 species of recorded animals living here, which visitors can view.
BIRDS IN THE NATIONAL PARK
In total, the park has approximately 400 registered bird species. Northern dry-country specialties like Shelley’s starling and three-streaked Tchagra are among them. This makes it an ideal location for birdwatchers! The park is also home to hornbills, weaver birds, guinea fowl, martial eagles, and the purple European hoopoe. Mkomazi National Park is also the only area in Tanzania where you may witness the rare vulturine Guinea fowl. The ostrich, Kori bustard, secretary bird, and southern ground hornbill are also common large birds on the grassy plains. Also, migratory species such as the European roller are present from November to April.
MKOMAZI RHINO SANCTUARY
The rare black rhino was brought into the carefully guarded, walled Mkomazi Rhino Sanctuary in 1989 after the Tanzanian government invited the George Adamson Wildlife Preservation Trust to collaborate.
“Protecting the strongholds” is crucial during the rhino poaching crisis. To make sure that Mkomazi’s rhino population never experiences mass extinction again, local populations must be won over. In 2012, Prince William visited Mkomazi National Park to learn more about conservation activities on the front lines of a Tanzanian national park.
With the help of their progeny, the Mkomazi Rhino Sanctuary hopes to increase the number of black rhinos in Tanzania. Their goal is to create a breeding population of 50 black rhinos. Around 30% of Tanzania’s total population of black rhinos live in the Mkomazi Rhino Sanctuary. Due to this, the Mkomazi rhinos are crucial to the nation as well as the survival of this endangered species. Prince William attended the Mkomazi educational program at Rafiki Wa Faru while he was in Mkomazi, where kids from 14 nearby communities learned all about rhinos and other animals in the hope that the Mkomazi rhino population won’t ever be decimated by poachers once more.
THE MOST COMMON ANIMALS IN MKOMAZI NATIONAL PARK
- Elephants
- Oryx
- Zebras
- Giraffes
- Lion
- Leopard
- Cheetah
- Antelopes
- Kudu
- Impala and gazelle
- Buffalo
- Hornbills
- Weaver birds
- Guinea fowl
- Martial eagles
- Purple European hooves
MKOMAZI HIGHLIGHTS
- View of Kilimanjaro
- skittish wildlife
- 78 species of recorded mammals
- fantastic destination for bird watchers
- Rhino Sanctuary
MKOMAZI FACTS
- Area: 3,500 km2
- Established in 1989
- On the southern tip of the Sahel
- Borders Tsavo (Kenya).
TRAVEL TIME TO MKOMAZI NATIONAL PARK
- 5-hour journey from Tanga
- 6 hours of driving from Pangani
- 5-hour trip from the Usambara Mountains
- 5 hours of driving from Kilimanjaro
BEST TIME TO VISIT MKOMAZI NATIONAL PARK
The best time to see wildlife in the park is generally during the dry season, which runs from June through October. The wet season, which runs from November to May, is when the beauty and mountain views are at their best, but the park isn’t a great place to see wildlife. Elephants from Tsavo are currently migrating into the park, and this is the best time to watch them.
