Mahale Mountains National Park

Mahale Mountains National Park lies on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Kigoma Region, Tanzania. Named after the Mahale Mountains range that is within its borders, the park has several unusual characteristics. First, it is one of only two protected areas for chimpanzees in the country. (The other is nearby Gombe Stream National Park made famous by the researcher Jane Goodall.) The chimpanzee population in Mahale Mountains National Park is the largest known and due to its size and remoteness, the chimpanzees flourish. It also the only place where chimpanzees and lions co-exist. Another unusual feature of the park is that it is one of the very few in Africa that must be experienced by foot. There are no roads or other infrastructure within the park boundaries, and the only way in and out of the park is via boat on the lake.

The Mahale mountains were traditionally inhabited by the Batongwe and Holoholo people, with populations in 1987 of 22,000 and 12,500 respectively. When the Mahale Mountains Wildlife Research Center was established in 1979 these people were expelled from the mountains to make way for the park, which opened in 1985. The people had been highly attuned to the natural environment, living with virtually no impact on the ecology.

Tourism Attraction

Mahale offers a number of outstanding attractions for visitors, from tracking wild habituated chimpanzees, to mountain climbing, snorkelling, fishing, kayaking and relaxing on deserted, pristine, white, sandy beaches.

Walking safaris in the beautiful, lowland forest allow close encounters with a vast array of birds and animals, including a group of habituated chimpanzees. The opportunity to track chimps in their natural habitat is Mahale's foremost tourist attraction.

An ascent of the highest peak in the Mahale Mountains ridge, Mt. Nkungwe, is one of the most spectacular activities available to tourists. It takes 2-3 days to reach the summit, and the best time for climbing is during the dry season (May – October). Whilst camping on the mountain at night, it is often possible to see the spectacle of 'fishing fire', as the kerosene lamps carried by small fishing boats light up across the Lake.

Lake Tanganyika contains more than 250 species of fish found nowhere else on Earth, many of which can be viewed by snorkelling in the shallows along Mahale’s shoreline.

Long walking trips can be arranged for viewing big game such as lion, elephant, hippo, buffalo, giraffe and leopard. These safaris may require up to 7 days.

Sport fishing on the fresh waters of Lake Tanganyika is possible under special licences available to visitors.

Nature of Mahale Mountain National Park

The mammalian fauna of Mahale can be loosely classified into three types on the basis of their habitat preferences. The existence of all three types in a single area is unusual and is one of Mahale’s defining characteristics, resulting from the complex mosaic of eco-zones found in the park.

     Tropical rain forest animals, which include chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), giant forest squirrel (Protoxerus stangeri), red-legged sun squirrel (Heliosciurus rufobrachium), brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus sp.), Angolan black-and-white colobus monkeys (Colobus angolensis), bushy-tailed mongoose (Bdeogale crassicauda), banded mongoose (Mungos mungo), blue duiker (Cephalophus monticola) and Sharpe’s grysbok (Raphicerus sharpei);

     Savannah animals, such as lions, Grant’s zebras, warthogs, and giraffes;

      Species found in 'miombo' woodland, such as roan antelopes, sable antelopes, and Lichtenstein hartebeest.

A total of 82 species of mammals have now been recorded in Mahale Mountains National Park, which is about 70–80% of the projected total. Of the large mammals, only a handful remain to be found. The latter include greater kudu, southern or mountain reedbuck, and Harvey’s duiker.

Some smaller mammals that have not yet been recorded but that almost certainly occur in Mahale include the marsh mongoose, Atilax paludinosus and Smith’s red rock hare, Pronolagus rupestris. By far the greatest number of unrecorded mammals will be bats, rodents and insectivores. Accumulation of new mammal records for the park will probably level out at around 115–120 species.

Birds

The bird species list for Mahale now stands at 355, which represents about 80% of the species that are likely to be found in Mahale. In his field survey, Moyer (2006) noted that the Kabezi area in the north had the highest abundance of birds, but this probably reflects the better visibility in such open woodland habitat, rather than an actual higher abundance of birds.

At Kabezi, many records were made of aerial foraging species, birds of prey and migratory species, whereas in the forested study areas (Kasoge and Mfitwa), sight records were a relatively small part of the total and vocal records made up the bulk of contacts. Aerial species may easily be missed when surveying in thick forest, and it can be difficult to detect birds unless they are very close or vocalizing.

Mahale Mountains National Park plays an extremely important role in the conservation of several bird subspecies that are endemic to the immediate area. 

Reptiles & Amphibians

Very scant information exists about the reptiles and amphibians of Mahale. The Mahale area, and western Tanzania in general, has been very poorly surveyed in the past and much remains to be learnt about the herpetofauna of this area. 26 species of reptiles have been recorded in Mahale, but building up a reasonably complete list is a task that will take many years of focused fieldwork.

Fish

Lake Tanganyika is one of the oldest lakes in the world and has several million years of history. About 250 species of fish live in the lake, and most of these are endemic, occurring nowhere else on Earth. The lake is well known for the evolution and adaptive radiation of the Cichlid family (Perciforms), to which around two thirds of the lake’s fish belong.

Geographical Feature on Mahale Park 

Mahale Mountains National Park (1 613 km2) is about 128 km south of Kigoma Town, and forms a peninsula that juts out into Lake Tanganyika. Its centre lies 6°00’ – 6°28’ S and 29°43’ – 30°60’ E.

The western boundary of the park protects not only the lakeshore but also an adjacent 1.6 km-wide strip of Lake Tanganyika’s waters. The Park’s terrain is mostly rugged and hilly, and is dominated by the Mahale Mountains chain that runs from the northwest to the southeast across the park. The highest peak is 2,462 m a.s.l.

There are two seasons in the park. Generally, the dry season starts in mid-May and ends in mid-October with a maximum mean temperature of 31°C. The rainy season lasts from mid-October until mid-May. During both seasons, temperatures can fluctuate, particularly between day and night. The annual rainfall ranges between 1 500 and 2 500 mm.

Unique Characteristics of Mahale Mountains 

•     A remote, road-free National Park accessible only by boat or light aircraft
•     Conservation of indigenous fish of Lake Tanganyika: no fishing (except under special licence) is permitted within 1.6 km of the shore line
•     Mixture of west- and East-African fauna and flora
•     Unique combination of forests, mountains and lake
•     Abundant primate life: at least 9 species of non-human primates including an habituated group of chimpanzees
•     Intact fauna of mammal predators including leopards, lions and African wild dogs