Arusha — Tanzania leads the continent with the highest number of buffaloes, a latest report says.
Conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and other conservation agencies in the country, the report puts the number of the large sub-Saharan African bovines roaming various ecological ecosystems in the country at 191,805.
The big mammal headcount was conducted in Katavi-Rukwa and Ruaha-Rungwa ecosystems.
It also includes findings from Serengeti, Nyerere-Selous-Mikumi and Katavi-Rukwa ecosystems.
This comes as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) puts the number of adult buffalo on the continent at around 400,000.
The animals are however said to face a number of challenges, such as habitat fragmentation and conflicts with humans because of their size and aggression.
Unveiling the findings here on Tuesday, Tourism and Natural Resources Minister Pindi Chana said the government will use the available data to open up other tourism hotspots.
“Some of the attractions, especially in the southern and western corridor still remain untapped, it is high time we unleash their potential,” she said.
According to the findings, the Katavi-Rukwa ecosystem had a total 9,027 hartebeests grazing in the area followed by zebras at 5,223 and elephants at 4,132.
It also had 3,947 elands and 3,922 warthogs.
The report further reveals a drop in the number of bovines whose number stood at 526 and 400 bushbucks.
Similarly, at Ruaha-Rungwa ecosystem, the number of zebras stands at 10,550 and impalas at 8,643.
Likewise, the census puts the number of sable antelopes trotting the area at 6,996.
The report further suggests the number of jumbos has remained constant, thanks to the government’s relentless efforts of protecting the largest existing terrestrial animals.
“Incidents of elephant poaching have been on the decline since 2018,” said the Minister.
She equally commended Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA), Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) and Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) for coordinating the animal count in 2014.