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The vast untamed paradise of Selous is the largest unexploited wildlife area in Africa, and the second in the world. Its
general inaccessibility, combined with the fact that no human habitation is allowed within its boundaries, has ensured a magnificent refuge for animals, birds, insects and reptiles. Here some of Africa's finest
virgin bush, unchanged throughout thousands of years, is inhabited by three-quarters of a million wild animals. Second in number only to the Serengeti.
The isolation of the area is accentuated by the Rufiji River
system; East Africa's largest. Its massive tributaries, the Great Ruaha, Kilombero and Luwegu, flow through the centre of the reserve. Although opened in 1905, Selous has remained one of the least known reserves.
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The reserve was named in honour of Frederic Courtney Selous, a naturalist, explorer, hunter and soldier, who was killed in
1917, during World War One. His grave lies inside the Selous Game Reserve, close to a ridge of hills known as Beho Beho.
Only the comparatively small portion of the reserve to the north of the Rufiji- Ruaha River
systems and the Mgeta- Ruvu River systems is open as a photographic area. The vast south remains largely unfrequented.
The Great Ruaha flows into the Rufiji at spectacular Stiegler´s Gorge. The gorge was the site
where German explorer Stiegler was killed by an elephant in 1907. After the Ruaha flows into the Rufiji river system, the waters have formed a string of lakes where schools of hippo up to 50 in number are frequently
encountered, together with a wealth of other game animals and birds.
Tanzania is home to one of the single largest remaining elephant populations in the world. Most of these elephants are found in the Selous Game
Reserve. Elephant may be seen bathing in the Rufiji River and the other rivers, browsing in the palm swamps, or crossing the track just ahead of you.
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Lion are frequent, as also are vast herds of buffalo, the most numerous animal in the reserve. A pack of wild dogs may be
observed. One of the last places in Africa where one may encounter the wild dog. In the savannah and woodland one may observe wildebeest, zebras, giraffe, waterbuck, baboon or eland, just to mention a few of the
species found in the Selous.
An extremely rich birdlife includes goliath heron, open billed stork, hammerkop, fish eagle, sunbird, kingfishers and many others to excite the ornithologist and nature lover alike.
The Selous is best visited from June through to March, as during the remaining months, which are rainy, a large part of the area becomes inaccessible due to flooding.
The Selous Game Reserve was declared a
"WORLD HERITAGE SITE" by the United Nations in 1982.
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