In 2019, it was decided by the Government of Tanzania that to further develop and enhance tourism in Selous, the northern part of the reserve will be excised to form the a new national park to be known as the Nyerere National Park, in honor of the first President of Tanzania, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere.

Nyerere National Park has a high level of biodiversity, with the most iconic African species all inhabiting the region in some capacity, including lions, leopards, Masai giraffe, herds of wildebeest and plains zebra, black rhinoceros, impala, Thomson's gazelle, spotted hyenas, countess birds, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fishes and invertebrates.

Unfortunately, due to poor protection at the time, stealthy poachers have naturally found ways inside, and the animals' numbers dropped 66% just from 2009-2013, to around 13,000 elephants.

It is now hoped that converting part of the reserve to an official National Park status will help control and minimize poaching.

Nyerere National Park can be accessed by road safari from either Dar es Salaam or Arusha.