National Parks Africa » Mikumi National Park

Mikumi National Park, established in 1964, is Tanzania’s third largest park and the one most popular with residents because of its accessibility and proximity to populated areas. The grassy flood plain surrounded by tiers of hills and misty mountains rising to 2,000 metres (5,660 feet) in the east gives Mikumi a particularly attractive landscape covering 3,230 square kilometres (1,274 square miles). Rainfall varies between 600 mm and 800 mm. (24 inches to 31 inches): the wettest season is between November and May with a drier period between January and March.

Many distinctive trees grow here, including the tall Sterculia (Sterculia appendiculata) with long, smooth, pale yellow trunks, the well-shaped afzelias (Afzelia quanzensis), chunky sausage trees (Kigelia aethiopum), fat baobabs (Adansonia digitata) and the tree which gives the park its name, the Borassus palm (Borassusflabellifer) with a swelling high on the trunk.

Wonderful views: The Mkata River area and flood plain at an altitude of 500 metres (1,640 feet) is an open area well covered by roads. Animals in the tourist area are mostly habituated to cars and thus easy to watch and photograph. Further afield in the hills, animals are shyer and the heavier vegetation makes glimpses of them more exciting. The southern hills are covered with Brachystegia woodland and cut by watercourses. There are hot springs and wonderful views.

North of the main road is the area most frequented by visitors and one can find a large variety of animals in a relatively short time. There are herds of elephants, pools crowded with hippos, wallowing buffalos, swamps with reed-bucks and waterbirds, and plains dotted with yellow baboons, warthogs, wildebeest, zebras, elands and Lichtenstein’s hartebeest. In bushier spots you may see greater kudu. Lions and leopards are often seen but packs of African hunting dogs in open areas provide a special treat as they are often very tame.

In the hills impala are widespread and elephants are often encountered. To the south of the park sable antelope are sometimes seen. Bush and woodland birds are abundant and include many species of hornbills, sunbirds, cuckoos, shrikes and birds of prey.

Animal research: Mikumi is a very important educational park with a large hostel for university students and visiting school groups who are shown how to do animal counts, measure tree growth, gauge the extent of fires and study the distribution of grasses, among other tasks. Mikumi also has an Animal Behaviour Research Unit whose scientists have been studying the behaviour of yellow baboons since 1974.

One finding in particular illustrates the importance of ecology on social behaviour. The optimal time for giving birth for baboons in Mikumi is March to July at the end of the rainy season. For some months afterwards there is enough food to keep a certain number of nursing mothers and their babies healthy. But during the critical weaning period at six months of age, food is not so plentiful. Baboons have developed a way to decide which females will bear babies so that only the “right” number of young are born.

Adult females in the troop form coalitions. Two or more females threaten and attack other females, some of whom become disturbed at not having babies that season, although they always have another chance later on. In this way the more dominant females have fewer competitors for the food that their own children will need during weaning.

Mikumi is 300 kilometres (186 miles) from Dar es Salaam along the road from the coast to Zambia via Morogoro and Iringa. This road cuts through the park for about 50 kilometres (31 miles). There is a railway station at Mikumi village, about 22 kilometres (13 miles) from the park entrance. Light aircraft can land on the airstrip at park headquarters.