The whistling thorn is Acacia drepanalobium, which has a special relationship with a species of Crematogaster ant. The ants live in the trees, fiercely protecting them from browsers that would strip their leaves, flowers & seeds. In exchange, the tree provides the ants with hollow galls in which to live and special nectar glands for food.This relationship is the analogy for community conservation: people protecing the landscape and wildlife, and in exchange the land and animals provide the people with food, shelter, water, and economic benefit.

Activities

At Whistling Thorn Camp you can enjoy real bush walks with Maasai guides leaving right from your tent! We also will enjoy night drives ~ the best time to see animals such as jackals, leopards, and and other shy cats.

Because we are immediately adjacent to Tarangire National Park, we frequently enjoy wildlife in the camp ~ zebras, giraffes, ostrich, wildebeests, various antelope, black-backed jackals, Cape buffalo, and elephants.

Birdwatching in camp is especially excellent, as Tarangire is known as having extremely high bird diversity - for all of East Africa. Please see our Conservation page for species lists and more information.

The entrance to Tarangire is just 15 minutes' drive from Whistling Thorn Camp. This park is a little-known jewel of East Africa - a haven for one of the largest elephant herds, with a fantastic landscape of rivers, the famed baobob trees, acacia woodlands and more. It is a very large park, and wildlife viewing is excellent.

Cultural activities include visits to a Maasai village or a local school and to the women's co-operative to buy beadwork. Or, you may choose to venture south of Lake Manyara , to visit the very shy and still-primitive Datoga people, relatives of the Maasai.