Arusha National Park and Momella Lodge, Tanzania: Giraffe, African Buffalo, Hatari! Film

Click photos to enlarge.

Hold your mouse over photos for additional captions.

Arusha Park

Animals have the
right of way
Arusha National Park is one of the few in Tanzania to allow walking safaris, in part because it is a small park with few dangerous predators. The park contains a variety of habitats including forest.

Mmmm... fig and olive
No, they did not build a road through a tree - it's a natural arch formed by two olive trees enveloped by a strangler fig (ficus) tree. The host trees stood on either side of the path and were smothered by the ficus which grows from seeds dropped in trees by birds. Munching elephants ensure that roots which grow down in the centre of the archway don't fill in the opening. This is a well known location for picture taking, so ficus were famous even before so many ran for elected office.

It was nice to be set free from the vehicle and walk near giraffes browsing serenely by our lodge. Giraffes, a symbol of Tanzania, are Athumani's favourite animal and it's easy to see why. They are non-territorial and sociable, living in loose, open herds without leaders. Their peerless height and excellent eyesight enables visual contact between herd members spread over several kilometres.

Acacia tree leaves are the favoured food of these giraffes. Species of acacia have evolved various defences including long sharp thorns. So giraffes evolved 45 cm long prehensile tongues to pluck the tender leaves from amongst the thorns. This, along with their height, enables them to feed on trees that other animals can't touch. It was fascinating to watch these giraffes methodically strip the trees of green. Giraffes can go weeks without stooping in a vulnerable splayed position to drink at water holes, relying on morning dew and the water content of food instead.

Females have two horns, topped with a tuft of hair. A mother giraffe often gives birth while standing so that the newborn's welcome to life is a 2 metre drop! While adult giraffes are too large (males weigh up to 1,900 kg, females up to 1,200 kg) and strong legged to be regular prey, over 50 percent of calves are taken by lions or hyenas. And, contrary to what the giraffe told the Jewish lion, giraffe meat is kosher.

Giraffe with pecker (ox, that is)
Males have three or more hairless horns. Males forage higher in trees than cow giraffes which reduces food competition between the sexes. This bull has two oxpeckers on his neck and one above his right foreleg. These helpful birds eat insects off the backs of large animals.

Armed park rangers
Hikers in the park must be accompanied by an armed park ranger. Innocent Mkama, the ranger standing with the rifle in this picture, climbed Mt. Meru with us. Meru's slopes form the backdrop in the picture; its peaks peeking out from behind the clouds piqued our interest.

If there are few large predators in the park, why the men with guns? It's mainly because of the African buffalo. While usually placid if not disturbed, these powerful grazers can be unpredictable. They are one of the African animals responsible for the most injuries to humans. While he has fired in the air occasionally to scare them off, Innocent told me he's only ever shot, and killed, one buffalo. In ranger training, they stress that a charging buffalo allows no time for a second shot.

Inpenetrable buffalo herd
Also called cape buffalo, they are endemic to Africa and related to cattle, bison and water buffalo. Lions, working as a team as they are much smaller than buffalo, can prey upon adult buffalo that stray from the herd. Up close, lions seem very large, with "strikingly" enormous paws. But compared to buffalo, let alone elephants and giraffes, lions seem like house cats again. With its perimeter of strong sharp horns (effective against lions, unlike antelope horns), the herd itself is virtually impenetrable. Mothers guide newborns into the co-operative herd's lion-proof centre.

Out the window of our comfy hut
The 1962 film Hatari! starring John Wayne was filmed in the area. Momella Wildlife Lodge, where we spent two nights, was home base for the production. Forty years on, the lodge proudly displays film memoribilia and screens the film on request.

Peaks of Meru behind the huts

We did not come to Arusha Park to walk with giraffes.
We did not come to pose under a fig tree arch.
Nor to watch Hatari! at Momella...

We came to climb Mt. Meru...