New species? Three variant Giraffes with distinctly patterned coats spotted at Makuyuni Wildlife Park

Just when you thought there could be no more surprises from the country’s wildlife population …

… Tanzania has just discovered what could be new species of Giraffe at the Makuyuni Wildlife Park in Arusha.

Three giraffes bearing different patterns on their skins have been spotted at the newly established TAWA Makuyuni Wildlife Park, in the Monduli District.

Chacha Masase is the officer in-charge of tourism at the Makuyuni Wildlife Park, who explains that the giraffe with strange patterns seem to be endemic to the precinct and that studies are yet to be conducted to find out whether the animals were a sub-species of the Maasai Giraffe or they were of an entirely different kind.

Whichever the case, Tanzania now has a special type of giraffe which should be attracting scientists, researchers who may want to study them.

The new giraffe are also the latest attraction among visitors touring the country’s first wildlife park.

A team of media personalities from the Journalists Environment Association of Tanzania (JET) recently visited the Makuyuni Wildlife Park.

Their study tour was organized under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) ‘Tuhifadhi Maliasili,’ activity. They were also interested to learn about the new giraffe discovery.

Ruwamangi Andrew Kishe, the Manager of Makuyuni Wildlife Park told the scribes that the new tourist destination in the Northern Zone was yet to attain conservation status but is being protected under the Tanzania Wildlife Authority Management (TAWA).

Measuring 47 square kilometers the area also boasts high concentration of giraffes, species that happen to be the nation’s emblem.

However, from the recent wildlife census conducted by the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) giraffes numbering at 1679 in total, were among the less populated animals in the country.

But the Makuyuni Park seems to be amply catered with the highest concentration of the tall mammals.

“The park forms part of the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem, which encompasses the corridor linking important wildlife entities such as Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Parks, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, as well as the Swaga Swaga and Mkungunero Game Reserves,” explained Kishe.

Despite being a new entity, having been placed under TAWA in 2022, the Makuyuni Wildlife Park is already attracting visitors; in fact nearly 240 tourists sampled the new destination in the current fiscal year.

Foreign visitors include tourists from China, the United States, Canada, Israel, and the Netherlands as well as domestic ones from Tanzania and East Africa.

Yuthness Godfrey Nestory is the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority’s Tourism Officer for the Northern Zone, who explains that the park is a unique area because it offers hiking and other forms of sports tourism, new ventures that are currently trending in global travel industry.

“People here enjoy climbing on the 1900 meters, Kipara hill beacon where one gets a panoramic view of all the landscape below,” said Yuthness.

The new Makuyuni Wildlife Park is located about 70 kilometers from Arusha City and 115 kilometers from the Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA).