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DESTINATIONS
Arusha National Park
Momela Gate
A small mammal often seen here is the banded mongoose, a stocky little animal with a wiry coat marked by dark transverse bands. They live in groups of up to 30 individuals and can be seen following one another very closely as they move like a huge snake winding through the bush. Mongooses sometimes follow the trails of elephants and buffaloes and eat the dung beetles and millipedes which they find in the piles of droppings.
The pack can roam a large area looking for food and while foraging keep in contact with each other by continual twittering. Within a pack's territory there are usually several dens among which they wander. Young are kept in the den until they are old enough to forage and it is believed that they may be suckled by different females.
The vegetation which lines the road towards the Momela Gate is primarily Dodonaea viscose. This small tree or shrub is very hardy and is not eaten by any of the animals. It has thin leaves and yellow-green flowers. The shrub has great powers to withstand fire and is often characteristic of secondary growth which occurs in areas that have been denuded of original forest or cleared by fire.
Buffaloes are often seen in this area in mixed breeding herds or as male animals living alone or in bachelor herds. The males weigh up to 775 kilograms (1,708 pounds), measure about one and a half meters (nearly 5 feet) at the shoulder and carry massive, heavily bossed horns. Buffaloes are primarily grazers and spend more time feeding at night than during the day. This may be because they have a poor ability to regulate their body temperature and must therefore avoid too much activity during the heat of the day. As they need to drink regularly and are especially fond of wallowing, buffaloes tend to stay close to water.
Buffalo dung is put to good use by dung beetles which act as scavengers. There are many species of dung beetles, specializing in different types of dung, and they play a very important role in the breakdown of organic materials. Some beetles are active by day, some by night. The most common types belong to the genera Scarabeus and Khepher. These busy beetles roll the dung into balls which are buried underground. This activity occurs particularly in the wet season. For most of the year the adults feed on these dung balls, but at certain times of the year the female lays an egg inside one of the balls which provides food for the larva when it emerges.
A common monkey here is the vervet monkey, a small monkey with a black face, white cheek-tufts and grey fur. Male vervets are easily identified by their azure blue scrotum. Vervets feed on insects, fruit, leaves and seeds and may also eat young birds and eggs. Their social structure is similar to baboons although vervets are territorial and defend their ranges against nearby groups. Leopards are their main enemies.
A small dainty antelope which will be seen either singly or in pairs is Kirk's dikdik. They weigh about 4 kilograms and the female is slightly bigger than the male. In color they are drab grey and they have very large eyes and proboscis-like noses. Only the male is horned. Dikdiks pair for life and live in a territory which they know well. This helps them in foraging and when fleeing from predators. They have a habit of depositing their droppings in a selected spot where large quantities will accumulate. These dung piles serve as territorial markers.
Special Thanks to Thomson Safaris and Tanzania National Parks for contributing Tanzanian information.
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