Tarangire National Park is a national park in Tanzania’s Manyara Region. The name of the park originates from the Tarangire River that crosses the park. The Tarangire River is the primary source of fresh water for wild animals in the Tarangire Ecosystem during the annual dry season. The Tarangire Ecosystem is defined by the long-distance migration of wildebeest and zebras. During the dry season thousands of animals concentrate in Tarangire National Park from the surrounding wet-season dispersal and calving areas.
It covers an area of approximately 2,850 square kilometers (1,100 square miles.) The landscape is composed of granitic ridges, river valley, and swamps. Vegetation is a mix of Acacia woodland, Combretum woodland, seasonally flooded grassland, and baobab trees.
The oldest known elephant to give birth to twins is found in Tarangire. A recent birth of elephant twins in the Tarangire National Park of Tanzania is a great example of how the birth of these two healthy and thriving twins can beat the odds
Tarangire National Park can be reached via paved road south from Arusha in under two hours. Lake Manyara National Park is a 70 kilometer (43 mile) drive from Tarangire.
The Tarangire River is a permanent feature that even shares a name with the Tarangire Park. There are a number of large swamps .These are usually dry for most of the year .The Tarangire is usually very dry ,in fact drier than the Serengeti, however its vegetation is much more green especially with lots of elephant grass, vast areas with mixed acacia woodlands and some of the wonderful ribbons of the aquatic forest.
The park is famous for its high density of elephants and baobab trees. Visitors to the park in the June to November dry season can expect to see large herds of thousands of zebra, wildebeest and cape buffalo. Other common resident animals include waterbuck, giraffe, dik dik, impala, eland, Grant’s gazelle, vervet monkey, banded mongoose, and olive baboon. Predators in Tarangire include lion, leopard, cheetah, caracal, honey badger, and African wild dog.
The wild animals in this park differ depending on the season. It is also linked to the fact that Tarangire is just a part of the bigger ecosystem. Many of the animals leave the park during the months of November to May. The zebras as well as large herds of wildebeests move into the north-western direction towards the Rift Valley floor amongst the large numbers of animals that spread across the large open areas of the Masaai Steppe.
The birds within the Tarangire are also quite many, there are over 500 species that have been identified here. The lovebirds that are yellow collared, the shy starlings are in plenty and widespread in Tanzania.
Mainly, the dry open woods like e acacia thickets, as well as many of its significant baobab trees make up the vegetation of the Tarangire. The stunning acacia tortillis trees not forgetting the occasional palm tree. There are also huge flat swamps within the woodlands in the south that get very impassable during the rains. During the rest of the year; they will also uniformly dry in green.
Tarangire national park is endowed with various tourism activities that visitors can do during their visit. The activities includes; Nature Walking Safaris, Long Walking Safaris, Picnicking, Filming, Camping, Birding, Bush meals, Night Game Drive, Hiking and Game Viewing.
Best Time to Visit: Arusha National Park