WONDERS OF TANZANIA DIFFERENT ANIMALS AND BIRDS FROM ONE OF THE GOOD NATIONAL PARKS IN TANZANIA

Udzungwa Mountains National Park

Brooding and primeval, the forests of Udzungwa seem positively enchanted: a verdant refuge of sunshine-dappled glades enclosed by 30-metre (100 foot) high trees, their buttresses layered with fungi, lichens, mosses and ferns. 

Udzungwa is the largest and most biodiverse of a chain of a dozen large forest-swathed mountains that rise majestically from the flat coastal scrub of eastern Tanzania. Known collectively as the Eastern Arc Mountains, this archipelago of isolated massifs has also been dubbed the African Galapagos for its treasure-trove of endemic plants and animals, most familiarly the delicate African violet. 

Udzungwa alone among the ancient ranges of the Eastern Arc has been accorded national park status. It is also unique within Tanzania in that its closed-canopy forest spans altitudes of 250 metres (820 feet) to above 2,000 metres (6,560 ft) without interruption. 

Not a conventional game viewing destination, Udzungwa is a magnet for hikers. An excellent network of forest trails includes the popular half-day ramble to Sanje Waterfall, which plunges 170 metres (550 feet) through a misty spray into the forested valley below. 

The more challenging two-night Mwanihana Trail leads to the high plateau, with its panoramic views over surrounding sugar plantations, before ascending to Mwanihana peak, the second-highest point in the range. 

Ornithologists are attracted to Udzungwa for an avian wealth embracing more than 400 species, from the lovely and readily-located green-headed oriole to more than a dozen secretive Eastern Arc endemics. 

Four bird species are peculiar to Udzungwa, including a forest partridge first discovered in 1991 and more closely related to an Asian genus than to any other African fowl. 

Of six primate species recorded, the Iringa red colobus and Sanje Crested Mangabey both occur nowhere else in the world – the latter, remarkably, remained undetected by biologists prior to 1979.

Undoubtedly, this great forest has yet to reveal all its treasures: ongoing scientific exploration will surely add to its diverse catalogue of endemics.

About Udzungwa Mountains National Park
Size: 1,990 sq km (770 sq miles).
Location: Five hours (350 km/215 miles) from Dar es Salaam; 65 kms (40 miles) southwest of Mikumi.

Getting there
Drive from Dar es Salaam or Mikumi National Park.

What to do
From a two-hour hike to the waterfall to camping safaris.
Combine with nearby Mikumi or en route to Ruaha.

When to go
Possible year round although slippery in the rains.
The dry season is June-October before the short rains but be prepared for rain anytime.

Accommodation
Camping inside the park.
Bring all food and supplies.
Two modest but comfortable lodges with en-suite rooms within 1km of the park entrance.

Gombe Stream National Park

An excited whoop erupts from deep in the forest, boosted immediately by a dozen other voices, rising in volume and tempo and pitch to a frenzied shrieking crescendo. It is the famous ‘pant-hoot’ call: a bonding ritual that allows the participants to identify each other through their individual vocal stylisations. To the human listener, walking through the ancient forests of Gombe Stream, this spine-chilling outburst is also an indicator of imminent visual contact with man’s closest genetic relative: the chimpanzee. 

Gombe is the smallest of Tanzania's national parks: a fragile strip of chimpanzee habitat straddling the steep slopes and river valleys that hem in the sandy northern shore of Lake Tanganyika. Its chimpanzees – habituated to human visitors – were made famous by the pioneering work of Jane Goodall, who in 1960 founded a behavioural research program that now stands as the longest-running study of its kind in the world. The matriarch Fifi, the last surviving member of the original community, only three-years old when Goodall first set foot in Gombe, is still regularly seen by visitors.

Chimpanzees share about 98% of their genes with humans, and no scientific expertise is required to distinguish between the individual repertoires of pants, hoots and screams that define the celebrities, the powerbrokers, and the supporting characters. Perhaps you will see a flicker of understanding when you look into a chimp's eyes, assessing you in return - a look of apparent recognition across the narrowest of species barriers. 

The most visible of Gombe’s other mammals are also primates. A troop of beachcomber olive baboons, under study since the 1960s, is exceptionally habituated, while red-tailed and red colobus monkeys - the latter regularly hunted by chimps – stick to the forest canopy. 

The park’s 200-odd bird species range from the iconic fish eagle to the jewel-like Peter’s twinspots that hop tamely around the visitors’ centre. 

After dusk, a dazzling night sky is complemented by the lanterns of hundreds of small wooden boats, bobbing on the lake like a sprawling city.

About Gombe Stream National Park
Size: 52 sq km (20 sq miles), Tanzania's smallest park.
Location: 16 km (10 miles) north of Kigoma on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in western Tanzania.

Getting there
Kigoma is connected to Dar and Arusha by scheduled flights, to Dar and Mwanza by a slow rail service, to Mwanza, Dar and Mbeya by rough dirt roads, and to Mpulungu in Zambia by a weekly ferry.

From Kigoma, local lake-taxis take up to three hours to reach Gombe, or motorboats can be chartered, taking less than one hour. 

What to do
Chimpanzee trekking; hiking, swimming and snorkelling;
visit the site of Henry Stanley's famous “Dr Livingstone I presume” at Ujiji near Kigoma, and watch the renowned dhow builders at work. . 

When to go
The chimps don't roam as far in the wet season (February-June, November-mid December) so may be easier to find;
better picture opportunities in the dry (July-October and late December). 

Accommodation
1 new luxury tented lodge, as well a self-catering hostel, guest house and campsites on the lakeshore.

NOTE
Strict rules are in place to safeguard you and the chimps. Allow at least 2 days to see them - this is not a zoo so there are no guarantees where they'll be each day.

Arusha National Park

The closest national park to Arusha town – northern Tanzania’s safari capital – Arusha National Park is a multi-faceted jewel, often overlooked by safarigoers, despite offering the opportunity to explore a beguiling diversity of habitats within a few hours. 

The entrance gate leads into shadowy montane forest inhabited by inquisitive blue monkeys and colourful turacos and trogons – the only place on the northern safari circuit where the acrobatic black-and-white colobus monkey is easily seen. In the midst of the forest stands the spectacular Ngurdoto Crater, whose steep, rocky cliffs enclose a wide marshy floor dotted with herds of buffalo and warthog. 

Further north, rolling grassy hills enclose the tranquil beauty of the Momela Lakes, each one a different hue of green or blue. Their shallows sometimes tinged pink with thousands of flamingos, the lakes support a rich selection of resident and migrant waterfowl, and shaggy waterbucks display their large lyre-shaped horns on the watery fringes. Giraffes glide across the grassy hills, between grazing zebra herds, while pairs of wide-eyed dik-dik dart into scrubby bush like overgrown hares on spindly legs.

Although elephants are uncommon in Arusha National Park, and lions absent altogether, leopards and spotted hyenas may be seen slinking around in the early morning and late afternoon. It is also at dusk and dawn that the veil of cloud on the eastern horizon is most likely to clear, revealing the majestic snow-capped peaks of Kilimanjaro, only 50km (30 miles) distant.

But it is Kilimanjaro’s unassuming cousin, Mount Meru - the fifth highest in Africa at 4,566 metres (14,990 feet) – that dominates the park’s horizon. Its peaks and eastern footslopes protected within the national park, Meru offers unparalleled views of its famous neighbour, while also forming a rewarding hiking destination in its own right. 

Passing first through wooded savannah where buffalos and giraffes are frequently encountered, the ascent of Meru leads into forests aflame with red-hot pokers and dripping with Spanish moss, before reaching high open heath spiked with giant lobelias. Everlasting flowers cling to the alpine desert, as delicately-hoofed klipspringers mark the hike’s progress. Astride the craggy summit, Kilimanjaro stands unveiled, blushing in the sunrise.

About Arusha National Park
Size: 552 sq km 212 sq miles).
Location: Northern Tanzania, northeast of Arusha town..

Getting there
An easy 40-minute drive from Arusha. Approximately 60 km (35 miles) from Kilimanjaro International Airport. The lakes, forest and Ngurdoto Crater can all be visited in the course of a half-day outing at the beginning or end of an extended northern safari.

NOTE: Mountain Climbing Permits duration time is 12 HOURS .

What to do
Forest walks, numerous picnic sites;
three- or four-day Mt Meru climb - good acclimatisation for Kilimanjaro.

When to go
To climb Mt Meru, June-February although it may rain in November.
Best views of Kilimanjaro December-February.

Accommodation
Two lodges, two rest houses, camp sites, two mountain huts inside the park; more lodges at Usa River outside the park and many hotels and hostels in Arusha town

WELCOME TANZANIA

WELCOME MIKUMI NATIONAL PARK

Mikumi National Park covers an area of 3,230 square kilometers, 283 kilometers from Dar es Salaam city along the Morogoro–Iringa main road and makes the third largest Park in southern Tanzania in Morogoro region. Mikumi National Park hosts carnivores like lions, leopards, wild dogs, and a large population of herbivores grazing in the vast Mkata flood plain grasses including zebras, giraffes, buffaloes, impalas, elephants, Greater kudu and sable antelopes. Other mammals and reptiles include eland, waterbuck, wildebeests, crocodiles and baboons. The park also offers a nice view of

birdlife and hippos to the close range on the north part of the park.

Ruaha National Park covers an area of about 12,950 square kilometers and makes the second largest park. The derivation of its name is from the river that crosses to the park having largest water catchments. The vegetation of Ruaha is covered by tall trees such as baobab, tamarind, acacia albida, wild figs, grasslands and Miombo woodland to the eastern side of the river. Ruaha River is a home to hippos, crocodiles and numerous water birds includes spotted eagle owl, African cuckoo, bee-eater, doves shrikes and ostriches among others.

The park accommodates other numerous wild animals include roan and sable antelopes, African buffaloes, lions, greater and lesser Kudus, gazelles, wild dogs, cheetahs,

wildebeests, hartebeest, impalas and zebras. Selous Game Reserve - Everything is possible in this reserve from boat and walking safaris accompanied by armed ranger to vehicle and balloon safaris exploring the largest African reserve with sanctuary concentration of wild and bird life. Located in the Southern circuit of Tanzania in Iringa the reserve is 7 hours drive from Dar es Salaam or 40 minutes by charter flight covering about 55,000 Sq. Km. Like Ngorongoro and Serengeti, Selous has got the endangered Africa black rhinos and large number of wild animals respectively. It worth much for a trip to Stiegler's Gorge where the Rufiji and Ruaha rivers meet. The Rufiji River crosses the reserve and its tributaries form lakes ultimate for boat safaris. The crocodiles and hippos in plenty reside in Rufiji River. Take another trip for a fishing game at Tagalala Lake. It is so lovely when the sunset with reddish sky while birds return to their shells for night. Popular animals found in the reserve include the herds of elephants more than 10,000 that one of them killed the hunter-explorer Frederick Courtenay Selous, a keen naturalist and conservationist in the First World War in the Beho Beho of which then the reserve was named after him. The African buffaloes, jackals, Africa wild dogs, antelope, bushbuck, impala, giraffe, lion, eland, baboon, zebra, leopard and greater kudu are among of the wildlife that can be seen in the reserve. The Reserve has a varied terrain of rolling savannah woodland, grassland plains and rocky. Udzungwa Mountains National Park covers an area of 1990 square kilometers the park is bordered to the eastern by Kilombero valley and Selous game reserve, Mikumi town to the north and the continuing Udzungwa Mountains to the south which makes the total range of 10,000 square kilometers. Udzungwa forests provides

shelter for a number of rare endemic and endangered species of flora and fauna including the two diurnal primate species that are found no where else in the world namely the Iringa and the Sanje mangabey colobus monkeys. The park is attractive for its waterfalls to the Mwanihama peak which can be climbed for three days. Hiking to Udzungwa requires a high level of fitness as it is a very steep climb. The north western side has deciduous trees dominated by acacia while in eastern side of the park has evergreen moist forest of both lowland and montane forest. Walk safari takes you through ordinary woodland, Miombo woodland

then montane rain forest while sighting red, black and white colobus monkeys, different colors of butterflies likely to sight buffaloes, leopards and elephants escorted with armed ranges.

Serengeti National Park TANZANIA

A million wildebeest… each one driven by the same ancient rhythm, fulfilling its instinctive role in the inescapable cycle of life: a frenzied three-week bout of territorial conquests and mating; survival of the fittest as 40km (25 mile) long columns plunge through crocodile-infested waters on the annual exodus north; replenishing the species in a brief population explosion that produces more than 8,000 calves daily before the 1,000 km (600 mile) pilgrimage begins again.

Tanzania’s oldest and most popular national park, also a world heritage site and recently proclaimed a 7th world wide wonder, the Serengeti is famed for its annual migration, when some six million hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson’s gazelle join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing. Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle.

The spectacle of predator versus prey dominates Tanzania’s greatest park. Golden-maned lion prides feast on the abundance of plain grazers. Solitary leopards haunt the acacia trees lining the Seronera River, while a high density of cheetahs prowls the southeastern plains. Almost uniquely, all three African jackal species occur here, alongside the spotted hyena and a host of more elusive small predators, ranging from the insectivorous aardwolf to the beautiful serval cat.

CHEETAHS IN SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK

AVAILABLE ONLY IN TANZANIA NATIONA PARKS

BEAUTIFUL ANIMALS FROM MIKUMI NATIONAL PRK

SAIKOLOGIA NA MAISHA. JINSI YA KUPATANA NA MTU

 
KWA kuwa migogoro ni moja kati ya mambo yanayotokea katika safari ya maisha si vibaya tukajifunza namna ya kuikabili. Kwa bahati mbaya tafiti zinaonyesha kuwa kiwango cha migogoro ni kikubwa miongoni mwa jamii ukilinganisha na watu wenye ufahamu wa kuitatua.
Watu wamekuwa wakifanyiana ukatili, nchi zikipigana vita kwa sababu ya migogoro mbalimbali ambayo ingepata wajuzi wa kuitatua isingeleta madhara makubwa. (L. Ron Hubbard Mtafiti wa Sayansi ya Jamii kutoka Marekani anathibitisha hili pia).
Zifuatazo ni mbinu za kufikia makubaliano na mtu uliyekosana naye.
KWANZA : Mgogoro unapotokea baina ya mtu na mtu au taifa kwa taifa kitu cha kwanza kabisa kufanyika ni kwa wahusika kutambua kuwa wameingia katika mgogoro na hivyo kutazama kwa kina madhara ya mgogoro na kuamua kutuliza jazba zao kwa lengo la kutazama namna ya kumaliza matatizo kwa njia ya amani.
Katika hatua hii hawatakiwi kutafuta nani mwenye makosa katika mgogoro huo bali ni wakati wa kuamua kukaa katika meza ya mazungumzo huku suala la nani mwenye makosa likishughulikiwa baadaye.
PILI : Mahali penye mgogoro kila mtu hupenda kusikilizwa, akiamini kuwa ana sababu za msingi zilizomfanya akasirike au akorofishane na mwenzake. Hivyo kwa mtu mwenye elimu na nia ya kutatua mgogoro atakuwa tayari kutoa nafasi kwa upande wa pili utoe dukuduku hata kama litakuwa limesheheni matusi na uongo. Usimkatize mwenzako anapotoa maelezo yake, nyamaza umsikilize mpaka mwisho akimaliza na wewe eleza yako.
TATU : Usikimbilie kujihukumu hasa pale wasuluhishi wanapojaribu kuchambua mambo kwa kuonesha dalili za kukuzonga na pengine kukuhukumu. “Oke, kama mimi nina makosa basi niacheni kaeni ninyi wasafi” Usiseme hivyo, vumilia lawama na pointi yako ya msingi iwe ni kwenye busara ya kulimaza tatizo.
NNE : Unapokuwa katika safari ya kutaka suluhu, pendelea sana kuunga mkono yale yanayozungumzwa kwenye kikao au anayozungumza mwenzako. “Ni kweli kabisa, hapo umesema sawa, nakubaliana na wewe” Kauli za kukubali kama hizi zina nguvu kubwa ya kuwafanya wajumbe au mgomvi mwenzako anyonywe hasira na kukuona ni mtu mwelewa unayestahili suluhu.
TANO: Kama utaona mgomvi wako bado amejaa hasira kiasi cha kutotaka kukusikiliza, sitisha mapatano na umruhusu aondoke au wewe uachane naye kwa muda. “Naona bado una hasira nyingi, tulia hasira zikipungua tutazungumza.”
Unapompa mwenzako muda zaidi wa kutafakari kiwango cha hasira hushuka na pengine kufikiria kwa kina madhara ya kugombana. Usilazimishe suluhu  wakati wa muwako wa hasira, ukifanya hivyo utakuza tatizo.
SITA: Mtakapofikia katika hatua za maelewano na ukabaini kuwa wewe ulikuwa na makosa katika mgogoro huo, uungwana unakutaka uwe mwepesi kukiri kosa na kutaka kumaliza tatizo. “Niliteleza naomba unisamehe.” Lakini hata kama umeona mwenzako ana makosa ila hataki kukubaliana na wewe, kuwa tayari kubeba lawama kwa lengo la kumaliza tatizo.
SABA: Jambo kubwa la mwisho linaloweza kusaidia kutatua migogoro ni kutumia nguvu ya ufahamu wako wa mambo. Kwa mfano; kama unaishi na mkeo  ama ndugu kwenye nyumba moja unatakiwa kumfahamu tabia zake na kuzichukulia hadhari, vivyo hivyo bosi wako, wafanyakazi wenzako, wanafunzi wenzio, waalimu wako, lazima uwafahamu tabia zao. Hii itakusaidia kutoingia katika mgogoro nao.

SAMSUNG KUTOA SIMU ISIYOVUNJIKA NA INAYOJIKUNJA KAMA KARATASI

Screen inatumia technolojia ya  OLED- organic LED kama smart phone nyimgi za sasa lakini ikiwa kwa mfumo wa plastic badala ya glass.

Samsung wamewashangaza watu sana wiki hii, huko Las Vegas kwa screen ya sim inayofanya kazi na yenye uwezo wa kujikunja kama karatasi.

screen inaendelea kufanya kazi licha ya kukunjwa  na kukunjuliwa, wakionyesha kuwa ni bora zaidi kuliko screen zinazokunjika pekee

 Nokia seeks Blackberry sales bans after patent dispute

 

Blackberry devices could be forced off shop shelves if it does not agree to pay licence fees

Nokia has asked courts in the US, UK and Canada to block sales of rival Blackberry smartphones.

It follows a patent dispute between the Finnish company and Blackberry's parent, Research In Motion (RIM).

Nokia says an earlier ruling means RIM is not allowed to produce devices that offer a common type of wi-fi connectivity until it agrees to pay licence fees.

All current Blackberries would be affected. RIM had no comment.

It is the latest legal distraction for the Canadian company as it prepares to launch an operating system that could determine its survival.

Share drop

Nokia's action comes two months after an arbitration ruling by the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce in Sweden.

The organisation had been asked to act as an arbitrator in a dispute over RIM's use of handsets and tablets featuring wireless active network (WLAN) connections to the internet.

 

Nokia says more than 40 companies license its mobile-phone patents

RIM had argued that an earlier licensing deal with Nokia meant it should not have to pay a separate fee for the technologies. However, the tribunal disagreed.

After news of Nokia's latest action was revealed by Computerworld magazine, RIM's shares fell more than 10% in after-hours trading in New York.

When contacted by the BBC, Nokia confirmed it had taken action "with the aim of ending RIM's breach of contract", adding it would also continue to pursue a separate case against RIM in Germany involving antenna, email and navigation technologies.

Nokia noted it had licensed its intellectual property rights to more than 40 other companies. The revenue from such deals helps justify its current $11.8bn (£7.4bn) market valuation.

Patent wars

RIM is also fighting several other patent lawsuits at this time.

They include a dispute with Washington-based patent portfolio owner SoftVault Systems, which alleges RIM has infringed its anti-piracy DRM (digital rights management) technologies.

RIM is also involved in a case against California-based Lochner, which is suing a number of big-name tech firms over the way their devices play videos streamed over the internet.

RIM chief executive Thorsten Heins talks through the Blackberry 10 system

RIM has itself sued others in the past over patents, including Motorola - before the handset division was bought by Google - and the instant message software Kik,

However, the timing of the clash with a big-player like Nokia could be particularly troubling as it comes less than three months before RIM plans to release its first Blackberry 10 handsets.

"RIM has had a tough time losing market segment to other smartphones. And the future of the business is now going to be based on the success of its new operating system, which itself has been delayed," said UK-based patent attorney Andrew Alton, from Urquhart-Dykes & Lord, who has previously acted for Apple.

Artificial Wombs: Is a Sexless Reproduction Society in Our Future?

 Cutting-edge research around the world will soon launch a new era in human procreation – a world in which embryos can be ‘brought to term’ in artificial wombs, replacing traditional pregnancies.

In “Like a Virgin: How Science is Redefining the Rules of Sex,” author and genetic scientists, Aarathi Prasad writes, “This might be the biological and social equalizer, a truly new way of thinking about sex.”

Cornell University’s Dr. Hung-Ching Liu has engineered endometrial tissues by prompting cells to grow in an artificial uterus. When Liu introduced a mouse embryo into the lab-created uterine lining, “It successfully implanted and grew healthy,” she said in this New Atlantis Magazine article. Scientists predict the research could produce an animal womb by 2020, and a human model by early 2030s.

In Japan, Juntendo University researcher Yosinori Kuwabara and his team kept goat fetuses growing for ten days. While this womb was only a prototype, Kuwabara predicts that a fully functioning artificial womb capable of gestating a human fetus will evolve in the near future.

However, ethicists voice concerns that this technology could endanger the very meaning of life. Mother-child relationships, the nature of female bodies, and being ‘born’, not ‘made’ all play a role in defining how most people around the world view this magical state of existence called life. Artificial wombs will enable both men and women to reproduce entirely alone, removing intercourse from the reproductive equation.

But proponents believe people will reason, “Why risk gestating the baby in a biological womb, when this new science can produce a child with our exact genetic makeup, perfect personality, and zero flaws.”

“The womb is a dark and dangerous place, a hazardous environment,” says University of Virginia Professor Joseph Fletcher. Fetuses are 100% dependent on their mom’s health and sensible judgment. If the mother falls prey to accidents, disease, or inadequate nutrition, the embryo can become traumatized.

Although naysayers believe that this bold science makes us less human, most experts predict that artificial wombs will one day be accepted by mainstream society as more people recognize its many benefits. Babies would no longer be exposed to alcohol or illegal drugs by careless mothers, and the correct body temperature would always be maintained, with 100% of necessary nutrients provided.

Concerns over losing emotional bond between mother and newborn are unwarranted, say scientists. Artificial intelligence advances expected over the next two decades will enable doctors to reproduce exact parent emotions and personalities via vocal recordings, movement, and other sensations. The developing infant would be maintained in a safe secure environment, connected electronically to the mother 24/7.

In the near term though, experts predict most women will probably gestate their children the old-fashioned way; but career-minded females might welcome a concept that allows them to bear children and raise a family without becoming pregnant, a physical condition that often weakens their job status.

Ultimately, this technology would enable anyone – single, married, male, female, young, old, heterosexual or gay – to combine DNA from his or her own body with another person; and the gene pool marches on; a clean birth without pain or morning sickness.

As this science matures, people could freeze eggs and sperm in their teen years when they are most physically fit; then create children later when ready for a family. Artificial wombs may sound radical, but people already donate eggs and sperm to create life in a lab and bring it to term in a surrogate mother.

In an unusual twist, this technology offers justification to pro-lifers in the abortion debates. Choosing an abortion to protect a mother’s health would not be necessary, as artificial wombs could bring all aborted embryos to term. Unwanted pregnancies would no longer mean a death sentence for the unborn.

 As we move into the future, this procedure could become the preferred method of birthing; but today, many disagree. Some see artificial wombs as a triumph of modern science; others believe it’s the ultimate folly. We ask again; is a sexless reproduction society in our future? Time will tell. Comments welcome.

HOW BABIES WILL BE BORN IN FUTURE