1. Wild animals: Tanzania has the highest concentration of wildlife per km2 in the world. It is estimated that there are around 4 million wild animals in Tanzania
2. The Palm Thief: The Tanzanian island of Zanzibar is home to the Palm Thief (Birgus latro), a large hermit crab that feeds on coconuts. The crab cuts the coconuts from the trees and eats them after they have decomposed in its burrow. The palm thief can grow up to 1 meter long and weigh up to 4.1 kg – making it the world’s largest terrestrial arthropod
3. Kilimanjaro: Africa’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, is located in Tanzania close to the border with Kenya. At 5,895 meters, Kilimanjaro is also the world’s highest free-standing mountain
4. National anthem: Tanzania has the same national anthem as South Africa. The song is called “Mungu Ibariki Afrika” (God Bless Africa) and was composed by Enock Sontonga in 1897
5. Dygong: Dygongs (Dugong dugon) belong to the order of manatees and large marine mammals that live in the warm coastal waters from the western Pacific Ocean to the east coast of Africa. Dugongs can grow to just over 4 meters long and weigh up to around 1 ton. The reason they are also called ‘manatees’ is because they feed primarily on seagrass. Dygongs have long lived off the coast of Tanzania, but are now extremely endangered here as well as elsewhere
Fact: Dygong is a large marine mammal that lives off the coast of Tanzania and is currently endangered. Dygongs belong to the manatee family and feed primarily on seagrass
6. Weather and climate: The climate in Tanzania is tropical along the coasts, on Zanzibar and in the Selous Game Reserve. In the highlands and other game reserves, the climate is temperate. The weather is generally as follows: Hot and dry from mid-December to March. Wet and humid from the end of March to the end of May. Hot and dry from June to the end of October. Warm and wet from November to mid-December
7. Languages: There are over 120 languages spoken in Tanzania. Most of these are Bantu languages, of which there are between 250 and 535 – the number depends on how you define languages and dialects. Kiswahili (the same as Swahili) and English are the 2 official languages. However, English is the standard language of business, administration and higher education. In addition, Arabic is also spoken (especially in Zanzibar) as well as many local languages
8. Kiswahili: Kiswahili is the native language of Bantu people living on Zanzibar or in the coastal area close to the island. Although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, many Arabic and English words are mixed into the language. Kiswahili has also become the lingua franca of Central and East Africa. The mother tongue for many Tanzanians is one of the many local languages
9. The world’s most expensive hardwood: African blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon) – also known as Grenadilla or Mpingo – is the world’s most expensive hardwood and is found in several African countries, but especially in Tanzania. African blackwood is mainly used for clarinets, but because the wood is now endangered, several organizations are fighting to preserve it, making it harder for clarinet makers to access the wood. In the past, African blackwood was considered to be the same as ebony
10. History: Tanzania was originally part of German East Africa, but became a British mandate immediately after World War 1. Tanzania gained independence from Britain in 1961 and its first president, Julius Nyerere, in 1962. From the late 1970s, Tanzania’s economy began to deteriorate significantly. In the mid-1980s, the country began borrowing money from the International Monetary Fund and underwent a series of reforms that have significantly improved the economy
The palm thief is a huge hermit crab that lives on the island of Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania. The palm thief climbs trees to cut coconuts with its claws; the crayfish feeds on coconuts. Once a coconut has fallen to the ground, the crayfish pulls the nut into its burrow. The moist environment of the burrow helps the coconut to rot quickly, which is necessary for the palm thief to consume it
