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Southern Parks of Tanzania
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Selous Game Reserve
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There are so many reasons why the Selous is
remarkable. With an area of 55,000 sq km, or 5% of
Tanzania's land surface, the Selous Game Reserve is
one of the largest protected areas of the world. A
good indication of its size is that it is larger than Switzerland or Denmark and
also it is uninhabited
and hardly touched by human interference.
The wildlife
is spectacular and it houses the largest mammal
populations in Africa. Nowhere else can you make boat
safaris through more spectacular wildlife
concentrations. Visitors are also permitted to take
walking safaris with an armed ranger, which is not
possible in Tanzanian National Parks.
Outstanding features include Rufiji, Beho Beho and
Ruaha River. These provide the eco system with the
much needed water and also contribute to the marshy
conditions found within the Reserve. The Rufiji River
splits the eco-system into two distinct parts.
Stiegler's Gorge which is 100m deep and 100m wide, is a
magnificent natural feature with a rickety and gut
wrenching cable car that ferries safari vehicles
across the river. This is not for the faint hearted.
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The reserve is home to over half of Tanzania's
elephant population, as well as significant numbers of
buffalo, wild dog and hippo, as well as lion, leopard
and plenty of lesser game. This is a bird lover's
paradise with over 350 species of bird. To give you an
indication of the numbers - 120 000 buffalo, 150 000
wildebeest, 50 000 zebra, an estimated half the
African population of wild dog, about 4 000 and 50 000
impala. This is only seen by about 2000 visitors per
year, which shows that this is Africa untouched,
almost exactly as it
was hundreds of years ago.
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