BY SUKHDEV CHHATBAR
Tanzania has raised concern over the sharp decline of ‘swala twiga,’ Kiswahili for gerenuk or the highly specialised antelope that browses on leaves and pods rather than grazing, which is common for its close relatives, the impalas and gazelles.
The 2024/2025 National Wildlife Census released in Arusha by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism last week, showed that while several major wildlife species have either increased or remained stable, ‘swala twiga’ was moving in the opposite direction.
“How is the ‘swala twiga’ disappearing, who is hunting them to extinction?” asked the docket’s Minister, Dr Ashatu Kijaji, during the launch of the census, which was carried out by the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI).
The gerenuk, known scientifically as Litocranius walleri, has an extremely elongated neck, spindly “giraffe-like” legs and a wedge-shaped head, setting the animal apart both structurally and behaviourally from impalas and gazelles. It feeds almost entirely by standing upright on its hind legs to browse like giraffes rather than graze as most antelopes do.
The census report did not give actual population figures for the animal but it identified the species as having declined drastically in numbers and recommended urgent intervention measures be taken before the animal disappeared altogether.
The ministry said gerenuk were found only in northern Tanzania, mainly in the Mkomazi and the Lake Natron-West Kilimanjaro ecosystem. The animals are known to exist in only five African countries, where they number less than 100,000, with ten per cent of the animals confined to protected areas.
Their decline has been linked to natural habitat loss, expansion of human settlements, illegal hunting for bushmeat, climate change and disruption of wildlife corridors. Minister Kijaji directed conservation authorities and researchers to carry out urgent and detailed investigations into the declining numbers of the iconic antelope.
A recent Lake Natron study indicated how fragile the situation could be. Researchers counted only 172 gerenuks during the survey period, with 88 recorded during the wet season and 84 in the dry season. Their estimated density was only 0.79 individuals per square kilometre, meaning a person had to cover at least two square kilometres to spot a single animal.
But despite the seemingly gloom and doom picture for gerenuks, Tanzania remains the world’s leading lion country, with a total 17,200 of the majestic big cats, up from 16,800, according to the last census about ten years ago. Elephants increased from 46,408 in 2014/2015 to 66,714 in 2024/2025, while buffaloes rose from 242,945 to 328,437 during the same period.
Rhinos increased from 142 to 285, greater kudu from 3,877 to 6,417, sable antelopes from 12,586 to 20,983, elands from 52,558 to 102,591 and roan antelopes from 3,488 to 6,904. Giraffes rose from 27,478 to 29,185 while the wildebeest, champions of the annual Great Serengeti Migration, increased from 1,501,108 to 1,598,290.
Zebras increased from 306,620 to a steady 340,111 beasts as the census covered 340,748 square kilometres, about one third of Tanzania’s land mass. That
