If you leave the lakeshore southwest of the Msasa River you will soon pass through an area of extensive acacia woodland. This is composed of the umbrella or flat-topped acacia tree, which is easily recognized by its umbrella-like, thorny canopy and gnarled, twisted branches. The predominant grass growing beneath them is a star grass Cynodon plectistachyus.
It is in these trees that you may see a lion resting during the heat of the day, sprawled out lazily on a stout branch. Manyara lions take to the trees, but no one exactly knows why — it could be because the trees are easy to climb and allow the lions to get away from biting flies or herds of buffaloes and elephants.
Lion prides consist of a core of related females: mothers, daughters, sisters, cousins and aunts. These groups of females have a territorial range within which they capture prey and raise their cubs. Cubs of different females are often born close together and are raised by several females. The cubs can suckle from any lactating female and if a mother dies, her orphans will be adopted by the other females.
The role of male lions is very different. A band of male lions, often brothers, have a range which they mark, patrol and defend. Within this range may live one or more prides and the males will join these prides and mate with any receptive females. The more prides they hold, the more cubs the males are likely to sire. In Manyara two or more male lions control several prides of females.
If you find a pride of lions they will most likely be resting, as lions spend a large part of their day sleeping. If they are awake, they may be licking, grooming, playing or greeting one another. Lions greet whenever they meet after being separated or upon waking. Greeting behavior is easy to recognize and consists of rubbing heads together or even the length of the body. A cub greets its mother by rubbing the top of its head, and then its whole body and tail, under her chin.
Lions usually hunt at night but you may be lucky enough to see a kill during the day. A high proportion of hunts are unsuccessful but they are nevertheless fascinating to watch, particularly if several members of the pride are hunting together. The main prey species in Manyara are buffaloes and zebras, although lions will also take wildebeest and other smaller animals.
Plants
Throughout the acacia woodland you will see bushes of a species of gardenia called Jove's thunderbolt tree. These bushes with their pale spiky branches, waxy, white sweet-smelling flowers and strangely ridged fruit, are eaten by elephants.
Another plant that is common is the sodom apple, recognized by its small purple flower and round yellow fruit. This plant is a pernicious weed in cultivated land and is rarely eaten by browsing animals.
You will see throughout Lake Manyara National Park large sculpted earth mounds which are built by termites. Termites are sometimes called white ants, which is incorrect as they are neither white nor ants but related to cockroaches.
Termite mounds vary in shape and size depending on the different soil types and climatic conditions for any given area. They are made up of a system of galleries which serve as air conditioners, keeping the temperature and humidity at a constant level suitable for their vulnerable thin-skinned inhabitants.
Termites are able to feed on wood because of an interesting partnership. Small organisms called protozoa live in a termite's gut and are able to breakdown the cellulose in the wood into a form which can be digested by the termite.
Termite colonies are divided into castes of queen, king, soldiers and workers, each with a specific function to perform and all interdependent The queen is the largest inhabitant and may reach a length of 20 centimeters (7.87 inches). The passages of the mound are too small for her to enter and she spends her life in a central chamber laying eggs, as many as 10,000 per day, and being fed by the workers. The king is the only sexually active male and the three million or so inhabitants of the colony are all their offspring.
During the rains, vast numbers of termites fly out from the mounds in the hopes of founding a new colony. They are eaten by many different animals, including man, and only those pairs that find shelter underground manage to establish themselves.
Another species which lives in colonies, and is often found in old termite mounds, is the banded mongoose. Banded mongooses are stocky little animals with wiry coats marked by dark vertical bands. They live in packs of up to 30 individuals and can often be seen following one another very closely as they move like a huge snake winding through the bush. They sometimes follow the trails of elephants and buffaloes and eat the dung beetles and millipedes which they find in the piles of droppings. Banded mongooses also eat snails, lizards, mice, grasshoppers and locusts.
The pack roams large areas looking for food and individuals keep in contact with each other by continually twittering. There are usually several dens within a pack's territory between which they wander. Banded mongooses are diurnal and always return to a den at night. Young are kept in the den until they are old enough to forage and it is believed that they may be suckled by several females.
Special Thanks to Thomson Safaris and Tanzania National Parks for contributing Tanzanian information.
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