Choppers deployed to fight poaching in Tanzania’national parks

Aerial patrols have been initiated by conservation authorities in and around Tanzania national parks to fight poaching. The Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), both based in Arusha will join forces in conducting aerial patrolling using helicopters and various wildlife rangers to combat poaching, crime and other illegal acts in Tanzania’s national parks in the Northern Circuit. According to the Tourism Officer with Tanzania National Parks, Mr. Johnson Manase, revealed that TANAPA and NCAA had agreed to pool their resources together and fight poaching in order to secure Tanzania’s wildlife from extinction. Wildlife rangers on the ground and a helicopter in the sky will be used to ensure faster rescue operations as well as aerial perambulation. the Public Relations Manager for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, Mr. Adam Akyoo, said the joint patrol initiative was taken because the area under NCAA and Serengeti national park were too close and this could help to simplify on this task hence putting Kenya’s national parks and game reserves on a safer side. The Serengeti eco-system is formed by The Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Serengeti National Park and Kenya’s Maasai Mara, that is why during migrations millions of animals move back-and-forth between the three destinations to get better habitats. He pointed out that any attack on Serengeti also affects Ngorongoro and vice-versa, therefore a joint patrol between the two was necessary. Ngorongoro, whose main selling point is the wildlife filled, giant volcanic crater, and the Serengeti, an endless plain filled with practically all species that came off Noah’s ark after the legendary floods, account for 850,000 tourists out of the 1 million visitors who tour Tanzania every year. With such high number of visitors, both the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Serengeti National park are essentially Tanzania’s most popular and equally sensitive tourist destinations that call for high-level protection of its wildlife