Tanzania starts census for leopards, cheetahs

Arusha. Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (Tawiri) has started conducting a special census to determine the number of leopards and cheetahs in the country.

The special count, to be completed in the course of 2024, is carried out in Nyerere and Ruaha National Parks, both the biggest in the country and mapped within the Southern Tourism Circuit.

According to the Tawiri, leopards, together with cheetahs, are among the four species of wildlife described to be highly endangered in the world today.

The Director of Research at the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, Dr Julius Keyyu revealed that the Leopard happens to be one of the ‘Big Five,’ species of wildlife and among the trademarks of Tanzania’s tourism industry.

Dr Keyyu pointed out that over 75 percent of all foreign visitors who visit National Parks want to see the leopard, making the species extremely important to the country’s tourism sector.

“Tanzania has hosts over 10 percent of the global conducive habitat for the leopard,” explained the researcher.

Dr Keyyu added that, while those animals declared endangered elsewhere in the world, Tanzania still boasts a considerable population of them.

“The other globally endangered species are the Chimpanzees and Wild dogs,” explained Dr Keyyu, pointing out that, while these other types of wildlife are about to become extinct globally, Tanzania continues to conserve a number of them.

“We have 184 wild dogs in the Serengeti ecosystem, but others can also be found in Ruaha and Mkomazi National Parks,” he said.

As for the Chimpanzees, Tanzania has dedicated National Parks, the Gombe and Mahale for the species.

In the latest Census, Tanzania was found to have 2,600 chimpanzees with 700 of them in Mahale and 90 others in Gombe, with the remaining ones roaming in open areas, especially around the precincts of Mpanda and Tanganyika.

The Tawiri director general, Dr Ernest Mjingo listed some of the causes some wildlife species to disappear include loss of habitat due to encroachment of human activities, such as farming, settlement and investments as well invasive vegetation species.

 “Other reasons could be human-wildlife conflicts, blocked corridors passages, poaching, diseases and ecological challenges resulting from effects of climate change,” explained Dr Mjingo.

He said the institute is researching solutions, including taking steps to conserve their habitats, protecting biodiversity and finding solutions to emerging diseases.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says more than 42,100 species are threatened with extinction including 41 percent of amphibians, 37 percent of sharks and rays, 36 percent of reef building corals, 34 percent of conifers, 27 percent of mammals and 13 percent of birds.