Wildlife in Nyerere National park

Wildlife Animals In Nyerere National Park, Tanzania

Wildlife in Nyerere National park :  Nyerere national park is a special Tanzania wildlife destination / national park formerly known as Selous Game Reserve, this beautiful park is one of the largest wildlife sanctuaries and national parks existing in Africa. This newly established and opened park was named after the first president of Tanzania – the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.

Nyerere national park covers an area of 30,893 square kilometers comprising the great River Rufiji renowned for its huge population of hippos and rhinos, diverse range of wildlife with significant predators and preys.

Nyerere national park is one of the Southern Circuit national parks in Tanzania.

History of Nyerere National Park

Nyerere national park was established in 2019 by Tanzania National Parks Authority, the change of the name from the former Selous Game Reserve to Nyerere national park in 2019 was decided by the government of Tanzania with the intentions of creating a new national park.

The decision resulted into carving out land from the existing Selous Game Reserve creating new park boundaries and a side an area of nearly 31000 square kilometers to be dedicated to photographic tourism under the management and protection of Tanzania National Park Authority (TANAPA).

The newly created park was given a name of Nyerere national park in honor of the first president of Tanzania – Julius Nyerere who was widely respected as an anti- colonialist and was very instrumental in gaining Tanzania’s independence from the Britain colonialists in 1961.

Wildlife/ animals in Nyerere national park

Nyerere national park hosts thousands of animals which have been in big populations since it was opened, there have also been an increase in the wildlife in the park.  Lots of wildlife in Nyerere national park can be seen all throughout the year and visiting the park for a game viewing experience will give you the best safari experience for a lifetime.

Nyerere national park is filled with many animals that visitors can see and these animals live in different parts of the park, these animals can be seen during guided walks, a boat safari and game drives which are all conducted with a help of an experienced guide.

List of Wildlife in Nyerere National Park

Animals / wildlife in Nyerere national park are categories as the Big Five, the Big 9 and others.

The Big Five

• Elephants
• Lions
• Leopards
• Rhinos
• African Buffaloes

The Big Nine

• Cheetah
• Giraffes
• Hippos
• Zebras

Other animals

• Bushbucks
• African Wild dogs
• Coke’s Hartebeests
• Common Elands
• Bushbucks
• Crocodiles
• Hyenas
• Waterbucks
• Wildebeests
• Colobus Monkeys
• Puku antelope
• Sptted hyenas
• Sable antelopes
• Topi antelopes

Best time for wildlife viewing in Nyerere national park

The best for wildlife viewing in Nyerere national park on a Tanzania safari is during the dry season which is experienced from June to October, in the dry season animals can easily be spotted as they relaxing along the banks of River Rufji to cool down from the heat and quench their thirst and the tributary lakes.

The dry season in Nyerere national park and Tanzania at large is also known as the peak season, as a tourist planning to visit Tanzania for a Nyerere safari you need to book in advance so that you get the best lodging option.

Besides the animals you will get to spot during the dry season, you will also spot some of the bird species living within Nyerere national park. Some of the birds you have a chance to see include the African skimmer, Egrets, pink backed pelican, Mangrove kingfisher, purple-crested Turaco, yellow billed stork, brown breasted barbet, white fronted bee-eater and the Pel’s fishing owl among others.

Setbacks faced by Nyerere national park

Nyerere national park still faces a problem from the industrialization of the surrounding areas which has greatly affected the animals and birds living in the park, another problem faced by the park is poaching from both the locals and some of the tourists visiting the park for a safari.

Poaching is extremely illegal and heavy fines and imprisonment faces all those caught engaging in poaching business. To combat poaching activities, Nyerere national park is protected by armed rangers who help in the protection of animals.

Birdlife in Nyerere national park

Nyerere national park is a birder haven hosting over 440 bird species that can be observed in different habits found in the park including lagoons, River Rufji, islands and Channels. These birds include mangrove kingfishers, Boehm’s bee-eater, Livingstone’s  flycatcher, green-caped eremomela, yellow-bellied bulbul, white helmet shrikes, wattle eyed flycatcher, red throated twin spot, grey-hooded kingfisher, black cuckoo-shrike, African skimmer, red-winged warbler, spotted flanked barbet, red-billed helmetshrike, pearl-spotted owl, palm-nut vulture, broad-billed roller, von Decken’s hornbill, red throated twinspot, Layard’s black-headed weavers, grey Penduline, purple banded sunbird, African spoonbill, brown necked parrot, Racket-tailed roller, Thick billed cuckoo, white backed vulture, white headed lapwing, Pel’s fishing owl, Dickinson’s Kestrel, brown headed parrot and the Rock pranticole among others.