The Taita Hills, sometimes also spelled as Teita Hills, are a mountain range located in the Taita-Taveta County in south-eastern Kenya. The hills consist of three massifs: Dawida, Sagalla in the southern side of Voi township and Kasigau in the south near the border of Tanzania. The Dawida massif is the largest and tallest of the three, with an altitude of 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level at its highest peak, Vuria. Dabida has three other main peaks: Iyale, Wesu, and Susu. [1]
The Taita Hills, with others in the Eastern Arc Mountains, were formed more than one hundred million years ago. About thirty million years ago, the area was covered by extensive rainforest. During a cooler and drier period some ten million years ago, the lowland forests were converted to savanna, leaving the mountain ranges as "islands" where the tropical forests continued to flourish. The isolation of each mountain range has led to a great deal of endemism, and a very diverse flora and fauna. Some of the other mountain ranges are well-forested, but the Taita Hills retain just 6 km2 (2.3 sq mi) of forest. [2] The Taita Hills rise steeply from the Tsavo West National Park. [1]
The hills are known for their moist forests with a unique fauna and flora. More than 20 endemic species of African violets (e.g., Streptocarpus teitensis ) occur exclusively in that region. Known endemic bird species are the Taita thrush (Turdus helleri) and the Taita apalis (Apalis fuscigularis). The Taita falcon (Falco fasciinucha) and the Taita fiscal (Lanius dorsalis) were first discovered at the hills but occur elsewhere, too. An amphibian in the genus Boulengerula occurs only in the Taita Hills. The Sagala caecilian ( Boulengerula niedeni ) is an endangered worm-like amphibian that lives in the Taita Hills. [1]
The native Taita people are living at the edge of the forests and farming the soil, which is very productive. Fifty percent of indigenous forests were replaced by exotic tree plantations between 1955 and 2004. [3] The region was severely logged in the past and the remaining indigenous forest is now part of a nature reserve, the Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary. On the plains and foothills surrounding the hills, the land is predominantly used for cropping and grazing. The largest fragments of forest are located in the most inaccessible areas. The land is being degraded by deforestation, the lowering of the water table, and soil erosion. The annual rainfall varies from 500 mm (20 in) in the lowlands to more than three times this amount in the mountain zone. This area experiences two rainy seasons: March to May or June, and October to December, but the precipitation is very variable. [4] Remaining forests are amazingly abundant with all forms of life [5] Taita Hills are home to Small-Eared Greater Galago (Otolemur garnettii) and rare (but locally abundant) tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax sp.) [6] . Dwarf galago (Paragalago cocos) are still also found in the Taita Hills, although its numbers are dangerously low. [7]
The Udzungwa Mountains are a mountain range in south-central Tanzania. The mountains are mostly within Iringa Region, south of Tanzania's capital Dodoma. The Udzungwa Mountains are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, and are home to a biodiverse community of flora and fauna with large numbers of endemic species.
Taita–Taveta County previously known as Taita Taveta District is a county of Kenya. It lies approximately 200 km northwest of Mombasa and 360 km southeast of Nairobi.Taita-Taveta County is located approximately 360 km southeast of Nairobi and 200 km northwest of Mombasa and is a port and major gateway to the United Republic of Tanzania through Taveta town. The County headquarters are located in Mwatate sub-county, which is one of the six counties in the Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani regional economic bloc. Major towns include Voi, Taveta, Mwatate and Wundanyi
Bura is a town in Taita-Taveta County, Kenya.
The Uluguru mountains are a mountain range in eastern Tanzania, named after the Luguru tribe. The main portion of the Uluguru mountains is a ridge running roughly north-south and rising to 2,630 metres (8,600 ft) altitude at its highest point. On the main Uluguru range, 50 villages touch the forest boundary and over 151,000 people are found within the mountain area, often at increasing densities at higher altitudes up to the forest boundary.
The Eastern Arc Mountains are a chain of mountains found in Kenya and Tanzania. The chain runs from northeast to southwest, with the Taita Hills being in Kenya and the other ranges being in Tanzania. They are delimited on the southwest by the fault complex represented by the Makambako Gap that separates them from the Kipengere Range. To the northeast, they are delimited by more recent volcanism represented by Mount Kilimanjaro. The chain is considered a tentative World Heritage Site.
Ngangao Forest is one of the few remaining indigenous cloud forest fragments of the Taita Hills, Kenya. It is located on a rock surrounded by the villages of Makandenyi, Maghimbinyi, Mgambonyi and Kitumbi. It lies 10 km from Wundanyi and can easily be reached by road. There is even frequent public transport from Wundanyi to Makandenyi. The very basic "Ngangao forest camp" is located next to the forester's house at the edge of forest.
The bar-throated apalis is a small African passerine bird belonging to the genus Apalis of the family Cisticolidae. It is native to the eastern and southern Afrotropics.
Boulengerula niedeni, the Sagalla caecilian, is a worm-like amphibian first described in 2005. The species was described from a specimen discovered on Sagala Hill, an isolated mountain block of the Taita Hills in Kenya, and is not known from other areas.
Boulengerula changamwensis, the Changamwe caecilian, is a species of amphibian in the family Herpelidae. It is also known as Changamwensis African caecilian and Changamwe lowland caecilian. It is found in southern Kenya and Malawi, and possibly in the intervening Tanzania and Mozambique.
Krefft's warty frog, or Krefft's secret frog, is a species of frog in the family Brevicipitidae. It is found in the Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania and in southern Kenya. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, rural gardens, and heavily degraded former forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Taita apalis is a bird in the family Cisticolidae that is endemic to the Taita Hills in Kenya. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the bar-throated apalis.
The Uluguru bushbaby, also known as the mountain dwarf galago or the Amani dwarf galago, is a species of primate in the family Galagidae. Like all galagos, it is a strepsirrhine primate. It is endemic to the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania at altitudes of 1,200 - 2,000 m. It has its own set of unique calls, which helps distinguish it from other species of bushbaby.
The Eastern Arc forests is a montane tropical moist forest ecoregion of eastern Africa. The ecoregion comprises several separate highland areas above 800 meters in Kenya, and (mostly) Tanzania.
Callulina dawida, also known as Taita warty frog, is a species of frogs in the family Brevicipitidae. It is endemic to Kenya, where it is only found in severely fragmented montane forests in Taita Hills in the south-eastern part of the country. Originally Callulina was thought to be monotypic and widely distributed through Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania and in southern Kenya. However, within the last decade eight new species have been identified, many which are considered critically endangered by IUCN. C. dawida was described in 2009 by a team led by Simon Loader; it received its specific name after Dawida language, which is spoken in Taita Hills.
The eastern tree hyrax is a species of mammal within the family Procaviidae. The eastern tree hyrax is the most localized of the tree hyrax species, distributed patchily in a narrow band of lowland and montane forests in Kenya and Tanzania and adjacent islands.
The Kenya coast galago is a species of primate in the family Galagidae. It is found across Kenya and Tanzania, particularly around the northern coastal area of each of the countries, and has been located living from sea level to around 350 metres (1,150 ft) above sea level.
The Rubeho Mountains are a mountain range in central Tanzania. The mountains in Dodoma and Morogoro regions, southeast of Tanzania's capital Dodoma. The Rubeho Mountains are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, and are home to a biodiverse community of flora and fauna with large numbers of endemic species.
The Ukaguru Mountains are a mountain range in central Tanzania. The mountains are in Morogoro region, east of Tanzania's capital Dodoma. The mountains are named for the Kaguru people. The Ukaguru Mountains are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, and are home to a biodiverse community of flora and fauna with large numbers of endemic species.
The Nguu Mountains are a mountain range in Tanga Region of Tanzania. The Nguu Mountains are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The mountains are covered in woodland, grassland, and forest.
The eastern dwarf galagos are a group of seven species of strepsirrhine primates of the family Galagidae, native to East Africa. They were formerly classified in the genus Galagoides but have been moved to their own genus, Paragalago, based on genetic evidence, and supported by differences in vocalizations and morphology. The three western/Congolian species remain in Galagoides. The most recently discovered species, the Rungwe dwarf galago, has yet to be formally named and described.
