Of the two, Mkomazi is larger, and has more diversity of relief and habitat, and a longer shared border with Tsavo West National Park.

Like many national parks and game reserves, Mkomazi's history is one of contest, with the main contenders being government conservation planners and local rural resources users.

When Mkomazi was first established a number of pastoral families from the Parakuyo ethnic group were allowed to continue to live there with a few thousand of their cattle, goats and sheep.

The (colonial) government of the time permitted them to reside there because they had been in the area for many years and were thought not to threaten the ecological integrity of the reserve.

They have set up fenced sanctuaries for African wild dog and black rhinoceros, and are restoring the reserve's infrastructure and supporting local communities with its outreach program.

The compounds for African wild dog, and the extensive, patrolled sanctuary for the black rhinoceros (which are breeding) have put the reserve on the map, giving it international recognition.

They resent pro-conservation literature which failed to mention or passed over the evictions and denied former residents' long association with the land.

The positive aspects of Mkomazi's conservation is repeatedly championed in diverse campaigns and fund-raisers, winning international support, awards and celebrity endorsement.

Critical perspectives thrive in university courses' teaching material, anthropological and human rights circles, and among conservationists who advocate inclusive approaches to conservation.

This is legally possible in Tanzania inside game reserves theoretically, but it would only have been realistic in the east as pastoral immigration was often unpopular in the western half.

A study by the UK's Royal Geographical Society reported a wide diversity of fauna and catalogued many interactions among the species.