By Suleiman Juma - Tracker, Greystoke MahaleThe Palm tree is one of the trees found in the Mahale Mountain forest, mainly dominating the lowland part of the forest. It was introduced once upon a time by the Tongwe people who lived in the area before it was acknowledged as a national park.
This tree has many uses, both to wild animals and local people living adjacent to national park. It bears palm nuts as fruits in big clusters, which many animals use as food. Yellow baboon, Red tailed monkey, and Vervet monkey mostly feed on the palm nut yellowish outer flesh and drop the kernels on the ground hence make it accessible to other mammals like Bush pig and Warthog that cannot climb up to pick the nuts. Palm nut vulture, one of the big bird of prey found in mahale feed on the outer flesh of the palm nut fruit, hence the name palm nut vulture. Many locals has planted the tree outside the national park where they are living and uses the palm nut fruit to produce palm oil that they uses for cooking, and as medicine for eyes washing if you have sore eyes. They burn the male part of the palm to produce smoke that is used as mosquito repellant. Also the palm trunk once cut leaks a sap. Locals put a pot toward the end of the trunk and let the water from the trunk seep into the pot to make palm wine.
