Tanzania Is Home to Most African Terrestrial Mammals

By Daily News Desk

MORE than 300 terrestrial mammals exist in Africa and most of them are found in Tanzania. The number could increase or decrease depending on a number of factors such as prolonged drought or

overcropping during the hunting season (July to December).

Key species include the larger carnivores such as lions, leopards, cheetahs and wild dogs. The herbivores group includes population of elephants, giraffe, zebras, buffalos, antelopes, wildebeests and others, including a declining number of black rhinoceros.

Furthermore, some additional critical species include chimpanzee, red and blue colobus and Mangabey monkeys, including the Lophocebus kipunji, which are endemic to the Eastern Arc Mountain forests.

There are also small mammal species such as bats (97 species), shrews (32 species) and rodents (100 species).

Tanzania has 293 species of reptiles in 104 genera and 21 families and most species has a wide distribution range.

The number of bird is 1,065 of which 25 (2 per cent) are endemic and mostly are forest-based species.