National Parks Africa » Tarangire National Park

Tarangire National Park was established in 1970 and covers 2,600 square kilometres (1,000 square miles) of gently undulating plains with two large Mbunga (flat pans) that are seasonal swamps in the south. A river cuts through numerous rocky hills rising from 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) to 1,675 metres (5,495 feet) at the top of Kirogwa.

Tarangire is best seen during the dry season when there are great concentrations of animals. Rainfall averages 800 mm. (31.2 inches) per year and falls mostly between November and May, when the southern roads and unbridged river crossings become impassable.

However, during the dry season, Tarangire is the main refuge for wildlife from the surrounding areas on the floor of the Rift Valley. These animals move about an ecosystem ranging across 20,000 square kilometres (8,000 square miles) from Lake Natron in the north to Maasai Steppe in the south, including Lake Manyara.

River of life:
The importance of the Tarangire River to the animals in this ecosystem cannot be over-estimated: wildebeest—the rift valley race with lighter coloured, wider horns—zebras, elands, elephants, Coke’s hartebeest, buffalos and the elegant fringe-eared oryx flock to its waters and valleys in their thousands. These migrants join the resident waterbuck, impalas, warthogs, dikdiks, giraffes, lesser kudus and there are even a few rhinos, plus predators such as lions, leopards and cheetahs.

There are pools and open water in the river all year round, but during dry season much of the water travels underneath the sandy riverbed. To get at the water, elephants dig holes which other animals also use for drinking.

The high bluff at the end of a row of tents at Tarangire Lodge is a particularly good spot for game viewing. At dusk local baboons gather at a bend in the river to groom and fight. Near dark they climb into tall doom-palms to be safe from leopards. This scene also occurs at the large grove of palms just after crossing the Engelhard Bridge, opposite the campsites.

From your camp or lodge you can hear the barks of baboons, especially strident when a leopard is near (recognisable by its deep sawing roar). Listen too for lion roars and for elephants trumpeting.

At the permanent water spots in the river are numerous birds, such as kingfishers, herons especially goliath heron ducks, geese, hammerkops and more. Tarangire has a wealth of birdlife at all times and it is one of the very best spots to see flocks of green wood hoopoes, African hoopoes, green and yellow “brown” parrots, Fischer’s and yellow-collared lovebirds, bare-faced and white-bellied go-away birds, Tanzanian endemic ashy starling, a large number of different kinds of doves, pigeons, mousebirds, cuckoos, swifts, swallows, hornbills, and many others.

Swamps and baobabs:
The large swamps in the south which dry up gradually after the rains stop form huge pastures for elephants with seepages that provide water for many birds. Many pythons gather here. These huge, very beautifully patterned, non-poisonous snakes they kill their prey by squeezing it to death leave the marshes when dry and take refuge from predators by going up into the crowns of the flat-topped acacia. They wind themselves into a coil that looks like a nest from the ground. During the long dry season, pythons “aestivate”, not eating but conserving their resources until rats, birds and small animals are plentiful in the swamps again. Sometimes they congregate, either for habitat or to seek mates.

In north Tarangire, the Lemiyon and Matete areas have rolling landscapes with monumental baobabs. These giant “upside down” trees are often hollow or punctured with holes where elephants have ripped off the bark or poked through the fibrous trunk. Poachers sometimes use these ready-made caves as hideouts. More usually, barn owls as well as any number of bats (there are at least 10 species in Tarangire) nest inside the baobabs.

Many birds use baobabs as nest sites during the rainy season. The large communal nests of the red-billed buffalo weavers are especially conspicuous. If you see a hornbill visiting a certain site on a baobab look for its nest-hole too; the male walls up his mate inside, feeding her through a narrow slit, until the eggs hatch. Then she emerges to help feed the nestlings, who remain sealed in until big enough to fly. Baobab flowers are pollinated by bats and the pithy pods are deliciously astringent. Fruits fall off in dry season and are eagerly snapped up by a variety of animals.

Other trees include stout sausage trees along the river. Huge fruits dangle down from thick ropey stems and are eaten by baboons, rhinos and elephants. When sausage trees bloom the nectar-filled blossoms open only at night, intended solely for the fertilizing touch of certain fruit bats. In the early morning the trees are literally attacked by groups of vervet monkeys and baboons who dash up to suck any remaining nectar. In the very early morning hordes of insects rush to feed on the maroon blooms.

Common flat-topped acacia can be found in most areas, along with multibranched Commiphora and many short, leafy Combretum and bushy Dalbergia trees better known as African black-wood or ebony whose very dense, hard wood is used for carvings. These trees are usually damaged or stunted from elephant attacks. Except for combretums, all these and most other trees have spines or poisonous latex to deter animals.

Tarangire is a good park to see how plants adapt to an and area with meagre seasonal rain.
Tarangire is easy to reach: a tarmac road heads south-west from Arusha, and in about two hours (112 kilometres or 70 miles) you will reach the park entrance at Minjingu.