Tanapa to reintroduce rhinos in Mikumi after three decades

Morogoro. Mikumi National Park plans to reintroduce rhinos, which were wiped out from the park by poaching in the 1980s.

The planned reintroduction is part of efforts to attract more visitors to tourism’s Southern Circuit.

Located in Morogoro Region, Mikumi is one of the 22 national parks managed by Tanzania National Parks (Tanapa) and attracts the highest number of local visitors, according to the park’s head of tourism section, Mr Herman Mtei.

The rhino, which is endangered, is the only member of the “Big Five” that is missing from the park.

The last rhino was spotted in Mikumi more than three decades ago and its disappearance from the park has been attributed to rampant poaching, which decimated Tanzania’s rhino population in the 1980s and 90s.

Tanapa now wants to reintroduce rhinos in Mikumi, which is ranked ninth by size in the country, to boost tourism in the Southern Zone.

“Surveys were done and areas have been identified. We are currently conducting further studies on parasites and natural supply of food,” said Mr Mtei during a presentation to editors on Friday.

“There is a specific task force that must be convinced that the current environment can support their survival,” he said, adding that wildlife researchers have gathered samples of food available in areas where the animals were last spotted.

According to Mr Mtei, rhinos are available for relocation from South Africa to Mikumi National Park.

“They are actually waiting for our readiness to bring the rhinos,” he added.

This is not the first time rhinos have been brought to Tanzania from South Africa. Conservationists flew five black rhinos to Serengeti National Park in May 2010.

In 2019, nine black rhinos were flown to Serengeti national park from South Africa as part of efforts to restore the population of the critically endangered animals.

The rhinos were donated by the Grumeti Fund, a non-profit organisation carrying out wildlife conservation in the Serengeti.

Tourism revamp

Mr Mtei said Tanapa only introduces animal species after conducting thorough studies.

“Every animal has its importance in the ecology and that also applies to rhinos,” Mr Mtei said.

“Of course, we have been missing revenue from some potential visitors who want to see all big five animals in a single visit. If you tell people that one is missing then definitely the potential visitor may change mind. So, we are reintroducing rhinos for tourism purposes,” he said.

Mikumi received about 66,000 visitors in the 2021/22 financial year, who generated about Sh2.6 billion and the projection for 2022/23, is to receive more than 80,000 tourists and collect more than Sh4 billion.

Most of the visitors here are locals due to the fact that the park is easily accessible from different cities and towns.

Mikumi is located 288 kilometres west of Dar es Salaam and 107 kilometres from Morogoro Municipality, hence making it an ideal place for weekend visitors who don’t have to spend a long time on an extended safari itinerary.

The available wildlife include four of the “Big Five” – elephants, buffaloes, lions and leopards – and other animals such as wildebeests, impala, giraffe, monkeys, hippos and over 400 species of birds.

Rhinos are hunted and killed by poachers for their horn which is prized in parts of Asia, where it is thought to have medicinal properties.