Established by the Tanzanian Government in 1951, the Mkomazi National Park encompasses over 1200 square miles (3,276 sq. km) in northeast Tanzania. Adjacent to Kenya’s Tsavo National Park, together they comprise one of the largest protected wilderness ecosystems in Africa. In 1988, with Mkomazi on the brink of ecological disaster due to overgrazing, burning, indiscriminate hunting and poaching, the Tanzanian Government initiated a program of habitat rehabilitation and endangered species reintroduction, with the goal of re-establishing a viable ecosystem directly linked to Tsavo. The Mkomazi Project achieved National Priority Project status.
In 1989, a request came from the Tanzanian Government to the Tony Fitzjohn/George Adamson African Wildlife Preservation Trust and Tony Fitzjohn to work in partnership with them in the rehabilitation of the reserve and to initiate crucial endangered species programs at a later date. The Trust has funded much of the reserve rehabilitation, all of the endangered species programs, flying patrols and outreach programs.
In 2005, the Mkomazi Game Preserve was declared a national park by the Tanzanian government in Parliament and is now controlled by TANAPA. This is great boost for its continued survival as a protected ecosystem well into the future and is the highest protection an area can be afforded in Tanzania.