Tanzania news stories on Newser

Farmers Fight Elephants With Chili Peppers

Mark Russell — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 08:55:05 CDT

With elephant populations finally on the rebound in eastern Africa, farmers are increasingly squaring off against the giant pachyderms, which can eat up to 660 pounds of food a day. Electric fences have been deemed too dangerous and expensive, so many farmers have started employing a much lower-tech solution to...

Meet the World's Newest Snake: Matilda

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:10:36 CST

A brand-new species of snake sports yellow and black scales, two spiked horns, and a pretty cool name: Matilda's Horned Viper. Scientists discovered it in Tanzania two years ago and it got introduced last month as the world's newest snake species. It's only the third new snake discovered in Africa...

Unlikely Tourist Hotspots for 2012

Neal Colgrass — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:33:49 CST

If you like cool design, upscale safaris, or a forbidden communist island, the New York Times can recommend 45 locales to visit in 2012. Among them: Panama . See the world-famous canal before its expansion, then stay for Panama City's economic boom and Frank Gehry's first design in Latin America—a...

Amnesty Demands Bush's Arrest

Matt Cantor — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:40:34 CST

George W. Bush should be arrested for his role in waterboarding, Amnesty International says, and his trip to Africa presents an opportunity for that. “International law requires that there be no safe haven for those responsible for torture; Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia must seize this opportunity to fulfill their obligations...

Hundreds Missing in 2 Ferry Accidents

John Johnson — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 07:42:26 CDT

Separate ferry accidents in Tanzania and China have taken a heavy toll: Tanzania: An overcrowded ship with about 600 people capsized in rough seas after leaving port at Dar es Salaam. At least 40 are dead and about 370 missing. The rest were rescued, reports AP . Relatives are livid the...

Why Lions Will Eat You After Full Moon

Sarah Whitmire — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:51:18 CDT

African lions are most likely to hunt prey on moonless nights, and especially on nights following a full, bright moon, the Telegraph reports. A study looked at roughly 500 lion attacks on Tanzanian villagers over the past two decades, and found that a vast majority occurred between dusk and 10pm...

Cunning Crew Foils Pirates... by Locking Door

Slurge — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:45:24 CDT

Somali pirates attempted to grab a French tanker yesterday, and failed—after the crew locked themselves in the control room. Unable to take over the vessel, the pirates gave up and returned to their ship. The attack took place about 100 miles off the coast of Tanzania on a liquefied...

US Navy Thwarts Pirate Attack on Tanzanian Ship

Kevin Spak — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:49:00 CST

A US warship stepped in to defend a Tanzanian ship that was under attack from pirates, scaring off and capturing the scallywags. When the USS Farragut got a distress call from the Tanzanians saying a gang on a skiff was attacking them, a Seahawk helicopter was dispatched to the scene....

Startled Snake Horks Up New Chameleon Species

Will McCahill — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:41:29 CST

A Tanzanian snake so startled by a British researcher that it threw up its still-undigested dinner in fact horked up a previously unknown species of chameleon. Andrew Marshall tells the Guardian he was surveying monkeys in the Magombera forest when he tripped over the nervous twig snake; though worried about...