Selous Game Reserve
Selous Game Reserve is the largest game reserve in Africa, located in the south of Tanzania. It was named after Englishman Sir Frederick Selous, a famous big game hunter and early conservationist, who died at Behobeho in his territory in 1917 while fighting against the Germans during the First World War. Selous Game Reserve was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982 due to the diversity of its wildlife and undisturbed nature.
The reserve covers a total area of 54,600 square kilometers and has additional buffer zones. Its wildlife is spectacular, with some of its mammal and reptile populations are largest in Africa, namely buffaloes, elephants, hippos, wild dogs, and crocodiles.
Other wildlife include the lions, leopards, cheetah, spotted hyena, wildebeest, impala, waterbuck, zebra, eland, the greater kudu, sable antelopes, giraffe, baboon, the vervet monkeys, blue colobus monkeys, and the black and white colobus monkey which can be seen in certain riverine forests moving from tree to tree in family groups. There is a large population of predators including and about 440 species of birds in the Selous, of both resident and migratory birds.
The area was first designated a protected area in 1896 by the German Governor of Tanganyika Hermann von Wissmann, and became a hunting reserve in 1905. Most of the reserve remains set aside for game hunting through a number of privately leased hunting concessions, but a section of the northern part along the Rufiji River has been designated a photographic zone and is a popular tourist destination. There are several low to high range lodges and camps mainly situated along the river and lake systems in this area.
Walking safaris are permitted in the Selous through game inhabited bushes in the company of an armed ranger. Also, boat safari on the Rufiji River is a popular activity. The reserve can be accessed by road from Morogoro or Dar es Salaam, or small aircraft from Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar.
This is good combination of the both Game Drives in 4X4 motor vehicles with boat and walking safari, offer an exciting and richer game viewing itinerary unique to the Selous Game Reserve.
The best time to visit the Selous Game Reserve is from June to October. During the long rains, between March and May, some parts of the Selous become impassable and are temporarily closed for game drives.