Mkomazi National Park
The 3701 km² Mkomazi National Park lies east of the Pare Mountains in eastern Tanzania, just south of the border with Kenya and the Tsavo National Park.
Mkomazi is almost an offshoot of Tsavo and also consists of savannah vegetation. The large mammals visit both parks, according to the seasons. In 2006, Mkomazi was elevated to the status of National Park.
In Mkomazi National Park special care is taken to preserve the endangered black rhino. The Mkomazi Rhinos Project is managed by the Tanzania Wildlife Protection Fund. The black rhinos are from South Africa and with the breeding program the government wants to repopulate Mkomazi and the Ngorongoro crater with these animals.
Mkomazi is in fact a fusion of two earlier reservations: Umba Game Reserve in the east and Mkomazi Game Reserve in the west. After the union, the area was opened for half nomads like the Parakuyo, Sambaa, Pare half-light and the Masai which let their cattle graze.
In the eighties of last century there were more than 80,000 units of cattle here and there was a lot of poaching. The government intervened and declared the area inaccessible to the herders.
The Tanzanian government asked Tony Fitzjohn to assist in a project to help the Mkomazi Game Reserve get back on its feet. The area with a size of about 3,300 square km was in bad shape. The population of black rhino and elephant was virtually eliminated as a result of poaching, although overgrazing, deliberate fires and illegal hunting had also taken their toll. Just in time Tanzania declared Mkomazi a National Priority Project. From that moment Fitzjohn focuses on restoring the natural habitat and the reintroduction of endangered species, particularly the black rhino and African wild dog.
In Mkomazi, elephants, hartebeest, zebras and various antelope species live. Lions, leopards, cheetahs and buffalo also repeatedly cross the park boundaries. The area also houses many species of snakes and 450 species of birds.
Mkomazi is popular for walking safaris and trekking. Tourist accommodations are very scarce, so this protected area attracts very few visitors. Moreover, it is often dry and dusty in the park and once the water pools dry up the animals spread out more.
