Forest home of the chimpanzees

At a glance

Area: 52 sq km.

Location: on the eastern shores of Lake Tanganyika about 24 km north of Kigoma.

Altitude: 750-1,500 metres above sea level.

Gazetted: the formerly protected area was declared a national park in 1968. 

Flora: thick woodland on the lower slopes of the escarpment, merging into gallery forest and upland grassland. 

Fauna: Gombe was established mainly to protect its chimpanzees. Other primates include baboon, red colobus monkey and blue monkey. Leopard, bushbuck and waterbuck are also present.

Birds: The park is home to a number of rare bird species, notably the palm-nut vulture and the very localized Forbes’plover. 

Activities: Chimpanzee-tracking and walking safaris.

Overview

On the shores of Lake Tanganyika, Gombe Stream is the smallest of Tanzania’s national parks, being only 5km wide and 15km long. Primarily a forest reserve, the park has gained world acclaim thanks to the pioneering work of Dr Jane Goodall, who has lived amongst the park’s chimpanzees since 1960. 

About the chimps

Gombe has become globally known thanks to the pioneering research of Dr Jane Goodall, whose book In the Shadow of Man is considered to be one of the world’s most significant contributions to the study of primates. Living amongst the chimps since 1960, Dr Goodall and her team have recorded thousands of hours of observation, which have done much to unlock the secrets of the complex social behavior of the chimps.  

Habituated to human presence by many years of exposure to human research teams, the chimps demonstrate the existence of strong bonds between related individuals, particularly between mother and offspring. Existing in loose-init communities of up to fifty animals, they feed on termites and ants, cooperating occasionally to hunt monkeys and bush pigs. Constantly interacting in grooming, play and communal greeting, the exceptionally dexterous chimpanzees have also been observed to use stalks of grass to dig out termites and ants. 

Other wildlife 

Primarily a forest, the majority of the park’s mammals are primates, most of which are  forest species such as the chimpanzees, red colobus monkeys, olive baboons and the colourful red-tailed monkeys. Of the few herbivores the most common are bushbucks, bush pigs and grey duikers. Carnivores are rare. 

Birds

Sandpipers inhabit the shores of the lake, which also provides a habitat for pied and giant kingfishers. Amid the heavy foliage, blue-breasted kingfishers, African broadbills, Ross’s turaco and trumpeter hornbill can be seen, while the parks most notable raptor is the crowned eagle. 

Getting there 

The park is 24 kms north of Kigoma and can be reached by boat only. Boat taxis run from Ujiji or Kigoma taking between four and six hours, while speedboats reach the park in around forty minutes.