Road links between Tanzania and Kenya to improve

The African Development Bank (ADF) approves loan to rehabilitate road links between Tanzania and Kenya. The overall goals of the project are to "support regional integration, cross border trade, tourism, socio-economic development of the area and contribute to the reduction of poverty."

Elephants can recognize self in mirror

National Geographic News reported recently that elephants can recognize themselves in mirrors. Elephants join humans, great apes and dolphins as having this self-awareness ability reports the news item.

Latest News About Tanzania

In this post, you will find continuously updated links to news stories about Tanzania. I am providing links to the Arusha Times, a weekly from Tanzania's largest city in the northeast quadrant and a news feed from allAfrica.com. Enjoy and happy planning for your trip to Tanzania, the land of Ndugu.

Current news, however, are not adequate to capture the rich history, culture and nature of Africa. To fill that gap, Carol and I are compiling a reading list of books about Africa. The selections present the views of the past, present and future of a continent that has captured our hearts. In addition, I discovered two online guide to Tanzania: Explorer's Guide to Tanzania on the BBC site and Lonely Planet's online guide to Tanzania. Bahati njema!

Of course you can also consult the log of our December 2004 Serengeti safari and associated photographic collections: Arusha and environs, Kambi ya Tembo, Tarangire, Olgira le Korongoro, Olduvai and Shifting Sands, and Elwai Esirenget.

Animal Kingdom Turns the Table

I felt fairly safe in my safari vehicle in the Serengeti where this male lion lives. However, in other parts of Tanzania, humans are not so fortunate. David Blair reports in the Telegraph that the number of lion attacks since 1990 have tripled in Tanzania. Blair indicates that about 100 people fall prey to lions today. Tanzania represents the last great bastion for lions in Africa. Of the 30,000 lions in Africa, over half roam Tanzania. About 8,000 lions in Tanzania are located in national parks and while the other 7,000 follow their prey just about anywhere they can find it, including people. In some regions where wild prey is down and human population is growing, lions seem to adapt quickly and pursue human prey as readily as they give chase to wildebeest in the Serengeti. Villages in the Mkuranga district just south of Dar-es-Salaam are visited regularly by lions. Dr Craig Packer, a known lion specialist is studying the problem to both limit risks of lion attacks on people and protect the lion from extinction.

Monkey Business

Monkeys are again receiving attention in Tanzania. Sometime last year, scientists reported that a new monkey species had been discovered in mid-eastern Tanzania. Earlier identification was established by analyzing photographs. When a dead animal was examined earlier this year, it turns out that the new monkey deserved its own genus with close genetic ties to the baboon. The new genus name is Rungwecebus kipunji. Source: The Register.

Over 400 Dolphins die on Zanzibar Coast

Biologists are still looking for answers to explain the death of over 400 bottleneck dolphins off the Zanzibar coast. Most of the dolphins washed ashore on Nungwi beach, located at the northern tip of Zanzibar Island. Preliminary examinations of the stomachs of the dead animals indicate that they had not eaten for some time or had vomited severely. More tests are planned to determine if toxic "red tide" algae might have contributed to their demise.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

In the spirit that pictures tell the story, I am providing a link to the BBC page "Africa in Pictures." The BBC encourages readers to send pictures and stories about Africa and other continents. The reader can browse the pictures and stories by category or by the week. Enjoy the views.

The Importance of Documents

Yesterday's edition of the Business in Africa Online reported that a group of Zanzibaris filed a lawsuit with the Zanzibar High Court. The suit calls into question the legitimacy of the four-decade old agreement between the Indian Ocean Archipelago and mainland Tanzania. Prior to confederation, the mainland was called Tanganyika. The secession movement gained momentum in December when the government was unable to produce the original charter signed April 26, 1964. Unless the document can be produced and seen, Rashid Salum Addiy, spokesman for the plaintiffs, says the legitimacy of the agreement is in question. There is no word yet on when the case would be heard.

Darwin's Nightmare

In this morning's issue of Scripps Howard News Service, there is a review of the Oscar-nominated documentary Darwin's Nightmare by Hubert Sauper. The setting is Lake Victoria and the protagonist is the Nile perch, which was introduced in the 1960's with deleterious effects to the lake's ecology. The documentary receives three out of four stars. Its message is not uplifting. Nevertheless, it does reinforce the reality that "Third World squalor offsets Western splendor".

Oldonyo Lengai Erupts

The only active volcano in Tanzania, Oldonyo Lengai erupted earlier this week. No injuries or deaths were reported. The mountain is sacred to the Maasai, who call it the "Mountain of God." It last erupted in 1983. It is believed that ash from earlier eruptions created the "shifting sands" located west of the mountain.

Environmental News from Tanzania

Tanzania's Vice President Dr. Ali Mohamed Shein has ordered a halt to some of the more deteriorating assaults on Tanzania's environment. Dr. Shein is concerned primarily with "reckless tree felling, use of plastic bags, uncontrolled grazing and invasion of reserved forest and mountain areas." His implementation plan is sketchy. Nevertheless, he did indicate that pastoralists should vacate reserved lands immediately. In addition, he said that "the manufacturing, importing, buying and use of plastic bags of 30 and 65 microns in thickness is now prohibited." Dr. Shein also expects "small-scale" miners to vacate reserved areas in three months. Source: Tanzania goes green -- news24.com.

Follow Your Roots

Get your Genographic kit and find out how you ended up where you are today. The Genographic Project, through DNA studies, can trace our ancestral migratory routes. In the end or in the beginning, the project is showing that the gene pool ground zero is in East Africa. As a result, your safari to Tanzania or other countries in the region is actually a return trip to our ancestral home. I will share the results of my particular ancestral route when I receive them. When rafiki Alex from Tanzania calls me Ndugu, it carries a much deeper significance for me. The word Ndugu in Kiswahili means brother/sisterhood.