Mahale National Park

The other sanctuary of the chimpanzee is the Mahale Mountains National Park which is reached by boat from Kigoma. Covering an area of 1,613 square kilometers, its western boundary is the shore of Lake Tanganyika. The vegetation of the Mahale is populated with the Miombo woodland, the narrow forest along the rivers.

The chimpanzee population of the park is estimated to about 1,000 which can be seen, in groups of between five and 30 at a time, in their natural habitat.

Other primates such as baboons and colobus monkeys, bush pig, porcupine and other animals are found in the north; while to the south live various antelope species, lion, elephant, buffalo and giraffe.