page_title: Lugenda River
section_title: Ecology
hierarchical_section_title: Lugenda River / Ecology
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Wildhundrudel, Madikwe Game Reserve, Südafrika
context_page_description: The Lugenda or Lujenda is a river of northern Mozambique. It flows in a south-north direction from Lake Amaramba/Lake Chiuta and is the largest tributary of the Ruvuma River. It joins the Luambala River at 13°26′12″S 36°18′20″E. The river valley is reported to be only 800 feet above sea level. North of Lake Chiuta, those on the west bank call it the Msambiti River. At one point, the Lugenda splits into several streams with islands between them, some of whom are populated such as the island Achemponda.
  Elephants loom large in the life of people of the Lugenda River Valley. The tribal people, inhabiting the river valley for several thousand years, are mainly the Yao and Makua tribals. Other groups residing here are Ngoni, Marave and Matambwe people.
context_section_description: Lugenda River Valley, formed by the river, is part of the rich ecological corridor comprising the Messalo and Rurumana Lugenda, Messalo and Rumana rivers, which form the Niassa National Reserve and Lurio conservation area. This route is being developed for game and ecotourism envisaging fishing, wildlife viewing, boat rides and so forth.
  Lugenda Wilderness Camp, which is part of the Wildlife Preserve, is on the eastern bank of the Lugenda river, amongst the Ngalongue Mountains (inselbergs); inselberg is a common international term used to define isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. The camp is an integral component of the African wildlife ecosystem. Safaris are arranged from this camp for visits to the African wilderness. The camp has 16 east-African styled tents, a well turned out accommodation for visitors.
  Pemba Airport is the nearest airport to the Wilderness Camp and air services are operated by CFA Air Charters with light aircraft. At the eastern edge of the river, the camp has dirt roads, fairly well maintained for the purpose of safari tours to facilitate wild life tracking. Canoeing is a popular sport in the river, apart from climbing of the inselbergs in the park area from the "bush fly camps" along the river. There is also a proposal to set up another ecotourism camp on the Lugenda River, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) away from Lichinga.
  Fauna and flora
  Niassa Reserve, named after the province where it is situated, covers an area of 45,000 square kilometres (17,000 sq mi). It has the endemic Johnston’s impala, Niassa wildebeest and Boehm’s zebra. The reserve also has wild dogs and 800 to 1000 lions. It has 400 species of birds, out of which  four species are globally threatened. Taita falcon, southern banded snake-eagle, African skimmer and Starling’s woodpecker are the bird species found, apart from the rare African pitta.
  Forty species of fish have been recorded in the river, which sustains a substantial fishing industry providing economic sustenance to the local people. It has a rich population of hippos. Crocodiles are reported in deep pools in the river. Canoe safari is reported to be a success. A new species known as girdle lizard has been recorded. The mountainous forests of the preserve harbour a large number of silver hornbills, buffalo and herds of wild elephants. Black heron, black rough-winged swallow, emerald-spotted dove, green-winged glossy starling, iladadah, little egret, Shelley's francolin, South African pochard, and spot-headed weaver also frequent the area. The Niassa Preserve as such is formed of 95% of the preserve’s biomass is vegetation. It has 21 types of plant species and 191 species of trees and shrubs.
caption: African wild dogs
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