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Mkomazi National Park East of the Pare Mountains, Mkomazi falls along the edge of semi-arid savanna that stretches from Kenya's Tsavo East National Park. Mkomazi officially became a national park in 2005, after being designated as a Game Reserve since 1951. The park encompasses over 1200 square miles. In 1988, with Mkomazi on the brink of ecological disaster due to overgrazing, burning, indiscriminate hunting and poaching, the Tanzania government initiated a program of habitat rehabilitation and endangered species reintroduction, with the goal of re-establishing a viable ecosystem directly linked to Tsavo. As part of this plan, in 1989, the government asked the Tony Fitzjohn/George Adamson African Wildlife Preservation Trust to work in partnership to rehabilitate the reserve. Tony Fitzjohn created the Mkomazi Rhino Sanctuary and has attempted to breed and reintroduce wild dogs to the area. Other mammals found in the park include elephant, zebra, lion, cheetah, leopard, giraffe, buffalo, jackal, aardwolf and lesser kudu. There are 78 species of mammals in the park and more than 450 recorded species of birds. Of particular interest is the tall, slender-necked Gerenuk who stand on their hind legs to stretch for leaves of thorny bushes and trees. Gerenuk can survive in arid lands where other antelopes cannot. This is one of the only parks in Tanzania were Gerenuk can be found.
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