Ruaha National Park

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Ruaha National Park
Ruaha National Park (Tanzania)
Paris plan pointer b jms.svg
Coordinates: 7 ° 31 ′ 52 ″  S , 34 ° 38 ′ 13 ″  E
Location: Iringa , Mbeya , Singida , Tanzania
Specialty: Large elephant population
Next city: Iringa
Surface: 20,226 km²
Founding: 1964
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The Ruaha National Park is a large national park located in central Tanzania . Since it was expanded in 2008, it has even exceeded the Serengeti National Park with an area of ​​around 20,226 km² , making it one of the largest national parks in Tanzania and in all of Eastern Africa.

The name of the park is derived from the Ruaha River , which forms the southeastern boundary of the park and along which the best roads run through the reserve. The best way to get to the park is by car from Iringa or by plane; There is an air runway in Msembe , the park's base camp.

geography

The park is located 128 kilometers west of Iringa and is part of a larger ecosystem that also includes the Rungwa and Usangu game reserves and other protected areas.

Panoramic view over the Ruaha

Its northern border is formed by the river Njombe from its source to just before its mouth. The southern border of the park is formed by the Ruaha River, although its course is most of the time within the park.

history

The establishment of a national park in this area was first approached in 1949 by the senior gamekeeper in Mbeya , George Rushby . In 1951, the British administration of what was then Tanganyika announced that it would extend the Rungwa game reserve in the northwest to what is now the park area. As a result, the ancestral population of the newly protected area was forced to leave their homes. Since it was separated from the Rungwa Game Reserve in 1964, the current park has enjoyed the status of a national park.

Maasai giraffe in the dry Ruaha
Tricolor starlings ( Lamprotornis superbus )

nature

Terrain and Flora

Part of the Ruaha National Park belongs to the Great Rift Valley . The park is divided by an approximately 200 to 300 m high break line, over which streams shoot down, especially during the rainy season. In the southern, accessible part there is a valley, in the north there is a plateau with mountains up to 1,800 m high. In the northwest, the Mzombe River forms the park boundary. The flora of the park is definitely worth protecting, because around 1,400 plant species grow in the Ruaha National Park, for example from the genera Brachystegia , Commiphora and Combretum . This is significantly more than, for example, in the Serengeti National Park , where there are only 600 plant species. Along the river there are some very large Ana trees , the seeds of which are eaten by elephants. The Ruaha National Park consists primarily of the rough, semi-arid bushland characteristic of Tanzania . It lies on the transition between East African acacia savannah and the Miombo forest belt of southern Africa ; Ruaha owes the great variety of antelopes to this fact. By forest fires , which are often caused by poachers, and the activities of elephants, which the holdings of the baobab reduce, is subject to the vegetation a constant change.

Wild populations

Ruaha is known for its particularly large elephant population ; currently around 10,000 animals roam the park. The behavior of the elephants is influenced by the changing climatic conditions. The groups of several families formed at the beginning of the rainy season break up during the dry season, when the animals roam the entire national park in search of food. By restricting tourist use to the southeastern part of the park, large reserves of land and food are available for the elephants. The Ruaha National Park is a good elephant sanctuary in terms of size, vegetation and water resources, but due to poaching, their numbers decreased from 26,625 in 1977 to 14,579 in 1983, only one year later there were 9280 specimens. In the entire Ruaha - Rungwa - Kizigo area, the population decreased from 43,685 elephants in 1977 to 21,986 ten years later and to 21,000 the following year. In terms of elephant protection, this area, together with the Katavi - Rukwa region, can be counted as part of an even larger ecosystem.

The Ruaha National Park is also a true paradise for ornithologists : Of an estimated 475 bird species living there, 436 have been identified so far. There are several species of hornbills , kingfishers and nectar birds among the resident birds . Many migratory birds also overwinter in the park, for example the white stork .

In addition to the sable antelope and the endangered African wild dog , many other mammals and reptiles such as crocodiles , lions , leopards , cheetahs , hyenas , hippos , buffaloes in large numbers, antelopes , great and lesser kudu , zebras and giraffes also live here . The range of the Grant's gazelles finds its southern edge here. Rhinos were last seen here in 1982; in the park they are probably exterminated because of poaching .

There are many tsetse flies in the area of ​​the national park.

Climate and Hazards

The annual precipitation is 500 to 800 mm. From June to September it hardly ever rains.

The water levels of the Ruaha are continuously falling. The river used to carry water all year round, but since 1993 there have been regular periods in the dry season when the river dries up completely. These dry periods are getting longer. The causes are suspected to be irrigation-intensive rice cultivation upstream and the increase in livestock (intensive cattle farming) in the Usangu wetland , which feeds the Ruaha.

In 1990 poaching was seen as a major problem for the elephant population as there were already major losses. The forest fires started by poachers endangered the vegetation.

literature

Web links

Commons : Ruaha National Park  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The official Site of the Tanzania National Parks ( Memento of the original from March 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tanzaniaparks.com
  2. ↑ a b Daniela Eiletz-Kaube & Kurt Kaube (2008): Tanzania, Stefan Loose Travel Handbooks, ISBN 978-3770161713
  3. ↑ Great Ruaha River ecosystem environmental disaster (PDF file; 144 kB)