The Selous Game Reserve, now called Nyerere National Park (in part), is a protected area in southern Tanzania, East Africa. It covers 50,000 km (19,000 sq mi), including extra buffer zones. In 1982, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it has a lot of different plants and animals and large areas of untouched nature, such as grasslands and miombo woodlands. Many important animals live there, including some of the largest and most famous species in Africa, such as bush elephants, black rhinoceroses, hippos, lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, painted dogs, Cape buffalo, Masai giraffes, plains zebras, white-bearded gnus, and giant Nile crocodiles. Because the animals and environments in the park are fragile, people are not allowed to live inside it. Everyone who enters or leaves the park is counted and tracked by the Wildlife Division of Tanzania’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.

History

The area was first made a protected place in 1896 by Hermann von Wissmann, the German Governor of Tanganyika. It became a hunting reserve in 1905. The reserve was named after Frederick Selous, a well-known hunter and early conservationist who died at Beho Beho in 1917 while fighting against the Germans during World War I. In 1879, Scottish explorer Keith Johnston died at Beho Beho while leading an expedition for the Royal Geographical Society with Joseph Thomson.

Since 2005, the area has been recognized as a Lion Conservation Unit. A boundary change to allow mining for uranium was approved. UNESCO approved this change, but groups like Uranium-Network and Rainforest Rescue strongly opposed it.

In 2019, Tanzania’s president, John Magufuli, approved the construction of a new Stiegler’s Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station on the Rufiji River. This project will add 2,100 megawatts of electricity, more than tripling Tanzania’s current hydropower capacity of 562 megawatts. Construction began on July 26, 2019, and is expected to finish by 2022. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) criticized the Tanzanian government for not considering the effects of flooding nearly 1,000 square kilometers of land on people and wildlife. Many people rely on the river for fishing and farming. Parts of the Selous may be considered untouched wilderness. The Germans did not map the Rufiji Floodplain, and in 1917, an expedition led by Lt. E. William Boville described the area as "uninhabitable."

Description

Interesting places in the park include the Rufiji River, which flows into the Indian Ocean near Mafia Island, and Stiegler Gorge, a canyon that is almost 100 meters deep and very wide. The park has many different environments, such as grasslands, Acacia savanna, wetlands, areas near rivers and lakes, and large miombo woodlands. While the park has a high number of wildlife, it is very large, so the number of animals that can be seen in one area may be less than in more popular parks in Tanzania’s northern region, like the Serengeti. In 1976, the Selous Game Reserve had about 109,000 elephants, the largest population in the world at that time. By 2013, this number had dropped to about 13,000 elephants. Between 2009 and 2013, the population fell by 66%, which is about a 10-11% loss each year for six years. Many experts say that corrupt leaders and officials who help illegal hunters are to blame for this decline.

Most of the reserve is used for hunting by private companies, but a part of the park near the Rufiji River is a protected area where only photography and wildlife observation are allowed. This area is more visited by tourists. Luxury lodges and camps are located along the river and lake systems. Because the park is hard to reach by car, most visitors arrive by small planes from Dar es Salaam, though trains and cars can also be used. Walking safaris are available in the Selous, which is not allowed in all parks. Boat trips on the Rufiji River are also a popular activity.

Literature

• Peter Matthiessen and Hugo van Lawick (Photographs): Sand Rivers. Published by Aurum Press, London, 1981. ISBN 0-906053-22-6.
• Robert J. Ross, The Selous in Africa: A Long Way from Anywhere. Published by Officina Libraria, Milan, 2015. Second edition, 2016. ISBN 9788897737643.
• Rolf D. Baldus, Wild Heart of Africa. Published by Rowland Ward Publications, Johannesburg, 2009. ISBN 9780980262674.