By Lake Zone Watch Writer
Tanzania's wildlife sector has rapidly grown by leaps and bounds as the population of wild animals keeps on increasing year-after-year, according to a national census carried out in 2024/25.
The wildlife population increase is attributed to strict supervisory and protection measures initiated by the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) in collaboration with other national agencies.
Unveiling results of the 2024/25 National Wildlife Census in Arusha yesterday, Minister of Tourism and Natural Resources, Dr Ashatu Kijaji, said Tanzania now is Africa's number one nation boasting of a population of 324,437 buffalos and 17,200 lions.
She said this East African nation occupies the third and fourth positions in Africa for having 66,700 elephants and 302 black and white rhinos respectively.
The 2024/25 wildlife census, normally done after ten years, was carried out by the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) in the 21 national parks owned by TANAPA.
Dr Kijaji praised concerted efforts undertaken by such state conservation agencies as the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), Tanzania Wildlife Authority (TAWA) and Tanzania Forestry Services (TFS), among others.
She said improved wildlife conservation and protection have immensely contributed to global tourism growth apart from resulting in a positive trend to various ecological systems in Tanzania.
TAWIRI Director, Dr Eblate Mjingo, said the 2024/25 census has shown the existence of 28 wildlife species of medium and large animals in various ecological systems compared to the past decade.
The animals, whose population has seen a rapid increase, include elephants, buffalos, rhinos, lions, giraffes, wildebeest and kudus.
Comparing figures from the national wildlife count, six national parks of Serengeti, Ruaha, Nyerere, Mikumi, Tarangire and Katavi have the highest number of wildlife.
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