Mahale-Mountains-Nationalpark

The Mahale Mountains National Park (English Mahale Mountains National Park ) is a national park in western Tanzania (East Africa), directly on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika. It covers an area of ​​approximately 1,650 square kilometers, covers an altitude 800-2400 meters above sea level and is located 150 kilometers south of Kigoma. The highest point is Mount Nkungwe 2,400 meters above sea level.

Description

The National Park consists mainly of forested areas, in particular the Miombe Woodland and various forms of rain forest, which go up to the mountain slopes up to an altitude of 2000 meters.

The National Park provides habitat for about 700 chimpanzees, it is the southernmost occurrence of the species Eastern Chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii ). Mahale is known for its rich bird life ( approximately 230 different species ) are known. Besides chimpanzees come here five more species of monkeys before: Olive Baboon, Black and white colobus monkeys, red colobus monkeys, Vervet Monkey and Rotschwanzmeerkatze. In addition, you can meet the warthogs and various antelope species. The only major cat is the leopard. There is here because of the remoteness no buffalo, rhino and elephant.

The mid- 1960s began a Japanese research team led by the researcher Nishida with the habituation of two groups of chimpanzees in the Mahale Mountains National Park. Since the mid- 1980s explored here Michael Huffman from Kyoto University in the Medizinalpflanzengebrauch in chimpanzees.