Tourism in Tanzania 🇹🇿

  Hyenas AKA Fisi 😍 Here are fascinating hyena facts that will want to make you stop and observe these curious animals a while longer: •Hyenas are real-life Survivor players,  Hyenas form intricate social groups but here’s the fascinating fact, they are known to form allegiances with group members much to the likes of a Survivor game strategy.  Their social structure is intricate but relaxed, and they will break allegiances and form new ones as drama on the African Savannah unfolds. They form allegiances around hunting, scavenging, territory and social status. Although active allegiance players, hyenas will regroup to aggressively protect their territory if collectively threatened by predators, making them also good and tight team players. •Hyenas have white poo Nothing goes to waste—hyenas are literally trash cans of the Savannah as they devour every inch of their prey, nothing is left behind for the vultures! This makes hyena droppings easy to spot among the carnivore droppings. The

  Derivation of scientific name Proboscidea derived from the Greek word proboscis meaning ‘before the mouth’, referring to the trunk of the elephant. Loxodonta from the Greek words loxo, meaning oblique-sided, and donta, meaning tooth. Through the ages, the African elephant has captured the imaginations of people across the globe. No species has received more attention than the elephant. Not only is it the largest land animal, but its intelligence, extraordinary communication, similar lifespan to humans, strong sense of family and its uncanny ability to understand death have fascinated philosophers, poets, scientists and the general public alike. The skin of the elephant can be as thick as 2.5 cm or more on some parts of the body such as on parts of the head and on the back, while it is paper thin in other areas such as the back of the ears and around the mouth. Young elephants are covered in brownish to reddish hairs, especially on their backs and head. As the elephant grows older the

  Oxpeckers’ bills are especially adapted to their lifestyle. The bills are pointed as well as laterally compressed which helps the birds work their way through the coats of the mammals in a comb-like fashion and to pry out well embedded parasites.Their legs are also well adapted to a life spent perched on mammals. The legs are shortened to enable them to grip onto their moving hosts. Powerful toes and sharp nails further benefit the Oxpeckers in their quest to feed and as a spin off keep their mammal hosts’ parasite numbers under control. They produce either scissoring or pecking motion to collect the food from the fur. Red-billed oxpecker uses scissoring motion to extract insects tangled in the long hairs. Yellow-billed oxpecker uses pecking motion to grab insects from the fur of short-haired animals such as buffalo and rhino. Oxpeckers also eat ear wax. Scientists believe that oxpeckers use bacteria from the ear wax to facilitate digestion.

 TIPS ON TANZANIA. Tanzania is the largest country in Eastern Africa. It lies between the great lakes of Victoria, Tanganyika and Nyasa, and the Indian Ocean. Tanzania is just below the equator bounded on the north of Kenya and Uganda while on the west by Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC),Rwanda and Burundi. Zambia lies to the southwest while Mozambique lies to the south. Tanzania lies between latitude1degree and 11 degrees south and between longitude 30 degrees and 40 degrees East. It's area is 939,701 square kilometers. PHYSICAL FEATURES. Tanzania is a country having different geographical ,historical and cultural sites ,The coastal areas give a way to the Eastern plateaus, southern highland and finally the great Rift valley. It is among the features that the country harbours the highest mountain in Africa_Kilimanjaro (5895m). The other mountains include Meru (4572m), Usambara, Uluguru, Udzungwa, Rungwe ,Livingstone, Rubeho, Kipengere and Oldonyo Lengai . Tanzania has also severa

 Very Interesting! 😍 Elephants are highly social animals with a complex range of behaviours! Adult males and females live separately in differently structured societies. The basic family unit, known as a breeding herd, is a group of related females consisting of a mother and young with her grown daughters and their offspring. The activity of the group and their movements are set by the 'matriarch', recognizable as the largest cow in the herd. She normally walks at the front of the herd, with another large female taking up the rear. If disturbed, the elephants will gather around the matriarch and follow her lead. Herds can range from 2 to 24 animals but when the number of elephants in a group exceeds around 10, it tends to split into two. The two families will continue to associate closely, spending between 35 to 70% of their time together. Before young cows have their own calves they will take care of other animals in the herd. Known as "allmothers" they will rush to

 ROLE OF THE GROUND BIRDS TO THE PREY SPECIES. One thing you may notice in the bush is that most ground birds seem to be more vocal than the arboreal ones. They are generally very noisy.  They live on the ground, often covered by long grass and thick vegetation that makes them vulnerable to their enemies. When surprised they become nervous, running or flying up explosively while calling frantically. This gets all the members of the group together knowing that there is danger around! By being together, they can confuse the enemy with all the movement (CONFUSION EFFECTS) and each bird then has less chance of being eaten as part of a group (DILUTION EFFECT)  All this action created a general disturbance in the bush as the peace is shattered and this then gets other Animals (prey species) to look up and pay attention. They can then hopefully spot the enemy and take action so the birds effectively act as an early warning system for the entire community.  For a guide, these birds have become

  Dear Guides! You never know what happened to an animal prior to encountering them, so that’s why you should always be careful with all animals and treat them with respect. While animals are naturally cautious of humans, there are a number of situations or conditions which cause the animal to be compromised.  1.Animals that have been captive-reared.        such an animal has lost its natural fear of humans through positive reinforcement, such as feeding. This means that the animals behavior is less predictable than if it were raised in the wild.  2. Injured animals.            An injured animal will often behave in a desperate way, also making its behavior less predictable and more dangerous. 3. Animals with young.        Parents are naturally protective over their young and will attack if they feel their young are in danger.  Never experiment with dangerous animals or test them- If you want to develop your approach skills and experience, do so with the assistance of an experienced co

  Using tracks and signs is great way to build up anticipation en route to a sighting. While these tracks and signs may be obvious/normal to you, they are new to your guests and will help to create excitement for the sighting ahead!  Here are the factors to consider when identifying tracks, firstly always look type of tracks-  •Cloven (split) hoof- eg all antelope, giraffes. •Uncloven hoof - eg Zebra  •Paws with Claws- eg wilddogs  etc, here you can look at the position of nails, length of the nails from the toes.  •Paws without claws- eg lions  •Others- these are distinctive prints which are unlikely to be confused with something else eg- elephants, hippo, rhino and apes.

  HANDLING CHALLENGING GUESTS! Dear guides, Clients who are paying for any service expect quality. Here are suggested procedures for proper guests relations!  •Do not argue with a guest. •Listen objectively and carefully to all the guest has to say.  •Do not take criticism personally or react sensitively.  •If issues arise which you know to be true, agree and deal with the people concerned later.  •Do not reprimand other staff members in public.  •Deal with guest’s complaints immediately and attempts to resolve issues right then for the guest. •Try to accommodate the guests needs as far as is possible.  •Apologise, even though it may not be your fault.  •After an unsatisfactory incident is resolved, acknowledge a slip in service- put a note and a bottle of wine in the room or give a discount etc. Empower staff members to use their discretion to ensure happy, satisfied guests.  Remember:- The Client is always right, unless there is a safety concern.  Note- If you hear guests are unhappy

  BAOBABS TREES AND ELEPHANTS!  One of the things that fascinating about baobabs is that, they have got some elephant protection. Any other tree that is wounded by elephant can repair the damage only from the sides of the wound. The baobab regenerates the whole wound at the same time – it does not have to work from the outsides in. That makes them very successful as a tree.  The size of the tree varies, it can shrink and expand depending on its needs. In the dry season the trunk shrinks and when water is abundant, the trunk expands to support more water storage. Being so massive you would think that these trees are almost indestructible, but there is another giant in the bush that can cause great damage; the African elephant.  Elephants know that baobabs store water and especially in the dry season when water is scarce they look for baobab trees to quench their thirst. The bark of the baobab is soft enough for an elephant to poke a hole in the bark. Then it is easy to start ripping the

Animal Behaviour is arguably one of the most important areas to understand as a field guide, as it enables you to interpret situations, keep it relevant and to use trigger points to start a discussion. Guests constantly want to know why something is happening, or why something look like it does, or is behaving in a specific way. Having an in-depth knowledge of ethology will allow you to answer these questions far more effectively. Understanding animal Behaviour is also critical in allowing you to observe wildlife in a safe and sensitive manner with your guests. UNDERSTANDING ANIMAL BEHAVIOR IS VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND AS A GUIDE!