The Tarangire ecosystem is a vibrant and important ecological stronghold for the wildlife and people of Northern Tanzania. The ecosystem encompasses approximately 20,500 sq km and supports a variety of land uses, including national parks and village lands.

Tarangire National Park

Tarangire National Park, covering 2600 square kilometers, was officially declared in 1970 due to its importance as a dry season grazing refuge for large herbivores. Situated along the eastern and western banks of the Tarangire River – the main water source for the ecosystem – the park provides a safe haven for the second highest concentration of large mammals in northern Tanzania. However, the park’s grazing resources become strained and dwindle toward the end of the dry season. At the onset of the rains, the wildlife moves out of the park and into the Maasai steppe to seek nourishment, allowing the habitat to regenerate. Without the wildlife habitats outside of the park, Tarangire National Park is at risk of becoming an ecological isolate, maintaining only a fraction of the wild species it once sustained in abundance.

Maintaining unrestricted movement to dispersal areas outside of the national parks is therefore the key to preserving the integrity of the Tarangire ecosystem as well as the viability of Tarangire National Park and Manyara National Park just to the North. Historically, large herbivores like zebra and wildebeest traveled as many as 27 different routes in all directions outside of Tarangire National Park. Today, however, only a few of those original routes remain. As wet season dispersal areas become increasingly difficult to reach and overall food availability declines, the wild animals face increased hardships and suffer large declines in their overall numbers.

Village Lands

The Tarangire ecosystem was traditionally used for livestock grazing by the Maasai. Land outside the National Park is still allocated to villages to use as they see fit. Much village land is used for grazing livestock, but agriculture is becoming increasingly popular among the Maasai as a supplemental economic activity. Villages in the Tarangire Ecosystem are growing rapidly and village land use is diversifying to include agriculture, ranching, small-scale mining, and wildlife-based tourism.

Extensive land cultivation has occurred on the western boundary of Tarangire National Park, virtually closing off all possible migratory routes. To the east, habitat conversion is escalating at an alarming rate although valuable wildlife habitats and corridors remain.