TOP FLIGHT English summary Number 9–10 /125/ September–October 2020
LAKE
MANYARA
NATIONAL
PARK
LIONS
ON THE TREES
118
The name of this park derives
from the plant — rubber-bearing
milkweed, which the Maasai call
Emanyara. Located on the samename
lake, the park is included
in the UNESCO World Network
of Biosphere Reserves. Despite
the rather average size (the
park area is 648.7 square meters),
Lake Manyara is extremely
diverse in terms of natural landscapes:
there is an open coastline,
a rift valley, a thick forest,
mountain slopes of volcanic origin,
and thermal springs. The
rainy season lasts from November
to December and from February
to April.
Elephants, buffaloes, hippos,
leopards, cheetahs, giraffes
range on the territory of the
park, but it is most famous because
of its lions which demonstrate
here a fundamentally different
behaviour compared
to other habitats, spending most
of the day on the trees — which,
of course, cannot but please
tourists and photographers.
The park has its own
mini-airport.