Zanzibar Wildlife

Tanzania offers some of the greatest wildlife viewing on earth, amidst a dramatic setting of endless savannah, volcanic calderas and snowy equatorial peaks.

Across the vast grasslands more than a million wildebeest and zebra migrate annually, followed by a host of predators. Unfenced and untamed these animals roam free in a land that has the largest concentration of plains animals on earth. Linked historically with mainland Africa, Zanzibar Island conjures visions of distant shores and fragrant spices. Zanzibar today is a mixture of its ancient history as a seafaring port and its present day beautiful beaches, rare animals and coral reefs.

One of the rare wildlife is a monkey species endemic to the Zanzibar archipelago. Is is a member of the colobus family, a family of monkey widely distributed on the African continent south of the Sahara. It is rare and endangered species. According to the 2003 inventory the total population is about 2,300 animals only, the majority of which live in the area of Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park that is the only National Park in Zanzibar.

Some of the Zanzibar red colobus survive on the small Island known as Vundwe Island within Menai Bay Conservation Area. The monkeys reached the Island by taking the advantage of a very low tide, to cross the open area separating Vundwe from the mangrove forests that lie along the Coast of Unguja Island. The Zanzibar red colobus is characterized by the tuft of long white hair that fans out around the face. The face is mainly black with pink dots around the mouth and the nose. The body is whitish on the belly and the breast and very reddish on the back, the upper side of the arms and the legs. A black stripe crosses the shoulders and continues down the arms. The tail has varying shades of red graduating to a sandy orange.

They live in social groups of several dozen individuals led by adult males and comprising adult females, juveniles and babies. They spend their days foraging for foods in the trees and bushes, resting and socializing. They feed mainly on young leaves of mahogany, flowers, shoots, raw fruits and even seeds.

The population increase in the villagers near Jozani, Unguja Ukuu and Pete has resulted in habitat destruction because of the demand on land for cultivation and shelters. The colobus sometimes cause crop damage because of the need to get food. The Zanzibar red colobus are conserved in both Jozani National Park and Menai Bay Conservation Area Zanzibar.

Menai Bay Terrestrial Habitat:
The terrestrial areas surrounding Menai Bay shelter different natural habitats, each distinct from but often complementary to the others, with their own species of flora and fauna. The coastal habitats are directly influenced by the sea, and in turn influence directly or indirectly the conditions prevailing in the marine areas close to shore.

Mangrove ecosystems cover locally sheltered bays and inlets, especially in the northern and northern eastern parts of Menai Bay Conservation Area. The large number of mangrove forests can be found in Uzi- Nyeke followed by Muungoni. Mangrove forests are dominated by mangrove trees, which are perfectly adapted to the very specific conditions prevailing in this brackish, half terrestrial and half marine habitat.

Nine species of mangrove trees occurred in Zanzibar,
of which eight are common in Menai Bay these are:-
Rhizophora mucronata, Avecinia marina, Brugueira gymnorrhira, Ceriops tagal, xylocarpus granatum, Lumnitzera racemes trees e.g. Mangrove forests efficiently protect coastal areas against the beach erosion caused by waves and ocean currents. They are essential component of the Coastal Ecosystems. Numerous marine and terrestrial organisms use the mangrove as breeding grounds.

Other wildlife in Menai Bay Conservation Area:
Many other animals and Birds inhibit the Menai Bay and the surrounding areas. The dense vegetation cover, as well as the exclusive and mostly nocturnal behavior of most mammals, can make direct observations rather difficult. In the dense coral rag bush extend behind the shoreline, one can find Sykes monkey or Blue monkey a robust tree dwelling monkey species whose size is about the same as the Zanzibar red colobus monkey. The dry bush also the habitat of another Duiker species the Blue Duiker as well as minute antelope, the Suni (sometimes known as dwarf antelope) The Suni is one of the smallest antelopes of the African continent it has the size of a large adult hare. This small animal has a solitary, shy and mostly nocturnal lifestyle. And is seldom seen. The species is still common enough in Unguja Island It is hunted for subsistence by the local inhabitants. The wild pig also is a common in most of the forest in Zanzibar that is Unguja and Pemba. Galagos (Bush babies) , Tree Hyrax , tree squirrel. The number of Shore Birds such as Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Yellow Billed Egret, Squaco Heron, Night Heron and other birds. About hundred bird species are identified in Menai Bay area.