Lake Manyara National Park

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Lake Manyara National Park

IUCN Category II - National Park

LakeManyaraNP08.jpg
location Tanzania (Region: Arusha )
surface 330 km²
WDPA ID 924
Geographical location 3 ° 30 ′  S , 35 ° 50 ′  E Coordinates: 3 ° 30 ′ 0 ″  S , 35 ° 50 ′ 0 ″  E
mark
National parks in Tanzania
Setup date 1960
administration TANAPA (Tanzanian National Park Administration)
Information board at the entrance to Lake Manyara National Park
Animals at Lake Manyara (limit in the east)
Animals in front of the cliffs (boundary in the west)
Lake Manyara
Various animals at Lake Manyara
Hippopotamus at Lake Manyara
A lion in Lake Manyara National Park

The Lake Manyara National Park is a national park in northern Tanzania . In the west, the park is bordered by high cliffs of the Great Rift Valley, Lake Manyara occupies the eastern part. In the south of the park are the Maji Moto hot springs .

location

The Lake Manyara National Park is located about 120 km west of the capital Arusha in the region of the same name , in the immediate vicinity of the town of Mto wa Mbu . The park is located between 960 and 1828 m above sea level. It covers an area of ​​330 km², of which about 220 km² are covered by Lake Manyara .

climate

The annual average temperature is 22 ° C. The rainy seasons are from November to December and from February to April. The park's average annual precipitation is 600 mm, with twice as much rain falling in the south as in the north.

vegetation

There is a variety of landforms in Lake Manyara National Park. The groundwater forest is characterized by Trichilia roka , Croton macrostachyus , the mulberry fig and Tabernaemontana usambarensis ; at its edges are yellow-bark acacias and Senegalese date palms . There are also areas overgrown with grasses, for example dog-tooth grass . Narrow-leaved cattail grows on the northwest corner of the lake after disappearing for a few years. In the middle of the park there is woodland with umbrella acacia , Acacia sieberiana and desert date . To the south there are Capparis tomentosa , liver sausage tree and perennial grasses. Alkaline grassland characterized by Sporobolus spicatus grows along the western shore of the lake . There are also swamps on the lake shore.

Wildlife

Lake Manyara National Park has possibly the highest biomass density (weight per area) of mammals in the world. The elephants with 6 specimens per square kilometer and buffalo with a density of 18 per km² have the largest share in this. There are still black rhinos in the park, but not in the large numbers that Lake Manyara National Park was known for.

Other occurring species of mammals, for example, zebras , hippos , giraffes , blue monkeys , baboons and other monkeys, leopards , banded mongoose and various antelope species, including impala , bushbuck , Kirk-dik , cliff divers and wildebeest . In the dry season, large herds of wildebeest migrate from the northern Mto wa Mbu Game Controlled Area to Lake Manyara National Park for a short time. Lions are also rarely seen; in the last decades (status: 1992) there were 20 to 30 copies. These became famous by climbing trees. During the day they can occasionally be seen several feet above the ground on easily accessible acacias. The largest known density of elephants can be found in Lake Manyara National Park. In 1977 there were 453 elephants, an estimated 485 in 1981 and around 180 in 1987.

With over 400 species, there is a wide variety and number of birds in the park, such as hornbills . Duck birds can sometimes be found breeding. Lesser flamingos can be found in thousands, greater flamingos in smaller numbers. There are great white pelicans , hungry storks and cormorants, as well as at least 44 species of diurnal birds of prey, including the palm vulture and Hieraaetus ayresii . The Charadrius venustus , which used to be common in the past, is rarely seen today. Among the numerous reptiles there is the Nile monitor , which is often seen on rivers, and some species of cobra.

tourism

Around 1985, around 28,000 visitors came to Lake Manyara National Park annually. By 2007, there were 140,000 tourists a year giving the park an annual income of over $ 3 million. Lake Manyara National Park supports the construction of schools, water systems and health centers with 10% of its income.

There is a hotel with 100 beds on the edge of a plateau and a few campsites near the main entrance at the north end of the park, where there is also a small museum; Outside the park, near the hotel, there is a runway . Through the length of the Lake Manyara National Park there is a path that can be used in all weathers, from which some secondary routes branch off. The south entrance was recently opened to provide a better connection to Tarangire National Park.

In 2016, the entrance fee was US $ 45 per person per day, the camping fee was US $ 30 per person per night and the car fee was US $ 40 per day.

research

The vegetation was cataloged, described and provided with maps by various researchers. A longer-term elephant study was started in 1966. The behavior of the buffalo was studied from 1981 to 1985. Accommodation for scientists can be found outside the park in Mto wa Mbu. A very small research camp in the center of Lake Manyara National Park, built and primarily used by the Elephant Project, is managed by the Serengeti Wildlife Research Institute . A herbarium of the park is kept there.

Administration and safeguards

The area was a game reserve from 1957 , before that it was a controlled game area . Since 1960 it has the status of a national park; In 1981 it was declared a biosphere reserve. At the southern end, around 550 hectares of land were added to the national park in 1974. The southwestern Marang Forest Reserve with a size of 200 km² is now part of the national park. To the north and northeast of Lake Manyara National Park is the Mto wa Mbu Game Controlled Area , in which hunting is permitted under certain conditions.

The good relationship between park administration and residents as well as the high number of patrols keep poaching to a minimum, only illegal fishing is a problem. Various methods have been and are used to control the migration of animals from the park to the subsequent agricultural areas. For example, an electric fence was used along the northern park boundary for a number of years in the 1960s. Harvest-destroying elephants and other species and cattle-killing lions are very rarely shot down. Chain link fence wrapped around the tree trunk prevents elephants from stripping the umbrella acacias. In 1984, 66 people were employed in Lake Manyara National Park.

photos

Commons : Lake Manyara National Park  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

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