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Elephants in Tanzanian wilderness
Briefings

· SELOUS, TANZANIA · 2 min read

Bushmeat and the Selous–Niassa Corridor: A Quiet Wildlife Emergency

In brief

The forest corridor connecting Tanzania's southern reserves with Mozambique is one of Africa's most ecologically important. It is also one of its most heavily snared.

The Selous–Niassa corridor links Tanzania's vast Selous Game Reserve with the Niassa Reserve across the Mozambique border. Together they form one of the largest contiguous protected ecosystems in Africa — and one of the most heavily affected by bushmeat snaring.

The problem

  • The Selous–Niassa corridor covers more than 154,000 km² across two countries.
  • Bushmeat snaring is now considered one of the biggest threats to large mammals in this landscape.
  • Cross-border smuggling routes complicate enforcement on both sides of the border.
  • Lions, elephants, leopards, and wild dogs are all collateral victims of snares set for antelope.

How we tackle it

Effective anti-poaching in this corridor cannot be enforcement-only. It also requires reducing local demand for bushmeat through alternative-protein programmes, supporting ranger services with veterinary backup, and giving villages a direct stake in the wildlife economy around them.

What WARN is preparing to do

Working with local conservation partners, our Tanzania programme is designed to support ranger anti-poaching patrols, community veterinary outreach for villages bordering the reserves, and rapid-response field medicine for any wildlife found alive in snares. We need your support to launch.

W

WARN Research & Conservation Team

World Animal Rescue Network

Published 2 min read · 276 words
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