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The Serengeti National Park is
home to an estimated 3 million plains game, the largest
concentration of such wildlife in the world. Life on the
Serengeti is a complex cycle defined by the rains. The
short rains begin in November to mid-December, prompting
the migration back to the south-western part of the Serengeti.
From mid December to March, the short grass plains are
alive with migrant herds of wildebeest, zebra and gazelles.
When the long rains begin in April, the plains are at
their most beautiful, vivid with wildflowers and teeming
game.
From April to June, the Serengeti National Park is the
theatre for one of the most impressive wildlife shows
on earth. Hundreds of thousands of plains game begin moving
north-westwards to the Seronera, then the Grumeti River.
By the end of June or July, as the rains dwindle, huge
columns of wildebeest and zebra cross the crocodile-infested
Grumeti river into the Masai Mara, where there is permanent
water. This spectacular moving feast is trailed by predators;
lion, cheetah, leopard and hyena.
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| Serengeti
National Park - Basic Facts |
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| The park covers 14,763 sq
km of endless rolling plains, which reach up to the
Kenyan border and extends almost to Lake Victoria.
The park is flourishing with magnificent wildlife.
An estimated 3 million large animals roam the plains.
People of the Maasai Tribe called it Siringitu - 'the
place where the land moves on forever.' The Serengeti
is known as one of the best |
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wildlife sanctuary in the world.
Two World Heritage Sites and two Biosphere Reservates
have been established within this area. It's unique environment
has enthused writers, filmakers as well as numerous photographers
and scientists. The Serengeti ecosystem is one of the
oldest on earth, the main characteristics of climate,
flora and fauna have hardly changed in the past million
years.
Serengeti National Park is renown
for the migration of animals. Every October and November,
more than a million wildebeest and about 220,000 zebras
travel south from the northern hills to the southern plains
for the short tropical rains, and then journey west and
north after the long rains in April to June. The animals'
ancient instinct to move is so strong that no drought,
gorge or crocodile infested river can hold them back.
The Wildebeest migrate through a number of parks, reserves
and protected areas and through a variety of habitat.
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| Serengeti Wildlife
& Migration Attraction |
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The Serengeti
boasts large herds of antelope including Patterson's
eland, Klipspringer, Dikdik, Zebra, gazelles, lion,
impala, leopard, cheetah, hyena and other larger mammals
like the rhino, giraffe, elephant and hippopotamus.
Nearly 500 species of birds have been recorded in
the park. The Serengeti is an opportunity for one
of the best game-viewing in Africa. |
The wildebeest migration, like a discernible
thread, embraces and connects the Serengeti's ecosystem
much as it has done for at least two millions years.
Every year, with some seasonally dictated variations in
timing and scale, one million wildebeest leave the southern
Serengeti's short grass plains in search of the grass and
water they need to survive. During their annual pilgrimage
they will travel some 2.000 miles devouring 4.000 tonnes
of grass a day. A quarter of a million will be born, many
will die.
Tanzania's oldest and most popular national park, the Serengeti
National Park is famed for its annual migration, when some
six million hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000
zebra and 300,000 Thomson's gazelle join the wildebeest’s
trek for fresh grazing. Yet even when the migration is quiet,
the Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing
in Africa: great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant
and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi,
kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle. The spectacle
of predator versus prey dominates Tanzania’s greatest
park. |
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| History
of Serengeti National Park |
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| The history of human
inhabitation revolves largely around the history of the
African people, from the hunter-gatherers who wandered the
plains, to the people of today who protect it as a main
destination for travellers. The Serengeti's history has
been virtually ignored, except Olduvai Gorge, where the
Leakey family discovered fossils of human and animal ancestors
dating back to almost two million years, and which is part
of the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. Tsetse flies
in the woodlands, and sleeping sickness, guaranteed that
the Serengeti was spared of European settlement, and with
it the distinction of the wildlife that other African countries
were subjected to. |
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| When
to Visit Serengeti National Park |
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| The Serengeti's climate
is warm and dry. The tropical rainy season is from March
to May, with short rains from October to November. The Serengeti
is lush and green after the rains, but a steady drying up
follows which inhibits plant growth and encourages the animals
to migrate in search of waters. With altitudes ranging from
920 to 1,830 metres average temperatures vary from 15 degrees
to 26 degrees Celsius. The coldest temperatures are experienced
from June to October.
The main activities available in
Serengeti National Park include: Bird watching,
Exciting walking safaris, unforgetable balloon ride in
the Serengeti plains.
Recomended Safari Lodges in the Serengeti National Park
Includes, Seronera Wildlife Lodge, Lobo Wildlife Lodge,
Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge and Serengeti Sopa Lodge.
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| Further
Information and Booking |
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| Memorable visits to
the Serengeti National Park are featured within various
Tanzania safari itineraries featured in this site. We have
a wide range of carefully designed tours and safaris to
Serengeti National Park Tanzania that will reveal to you
the true meaning of a Tanzania wildlife safari. Your safari
consultant will always be at your assistance should you
need a tailor-made holiday to any of these locations. For
more information regarding this attraction, please DO NOT
hesitate to contact us.
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