Zanzibar Tanzania's Mafia Island, are sometimes called the "Spice Islands" (a term also associated with the Maluku Islands of Indonesia). Zanzibar is the home of the endemic Zanzibar red colobus, the Zanzibar servaline genet, and the (possibly extinct) Zanzibar leopard. The word "Zanzibar" came from Arabic "zanjibār" ( [zandʒibaːr]), which is in turn from Persian "zangbâr" ( [zæŋbɒːɾ]), a compound of "Zang" ( [zæŋ], "black") + "bâr" ( [bɒːɾ], "coast"), cf. the Sea of Zanj. The name is one of several toponyms sharing similar etymologies, ultimately meaning "land of the blacks" or similar meanings, in reference to the dark skin of
Wildlife of Zanzibar The 54 terrestrial mammals found in Zanzibar include 23 species of bats ("popo" in Swahili). Other species are: bush tailed mongoose (local name "chongwe"), which is found in the coral rag forests of the south-eastern coast of Unguja and in the deep soil region on the western part of Pemba Island; the small blue duiker; suni (mammalian) or dwarf antelope (just tall); African and small Indian civet; as well as green and hawks-billed turtles. The Zanzibar red colobus has been known to consume charcoal, possibly a learned behaviour, after eating the leaves of the Indian almond tree and "Mangifera indica"