Serengeti National Park
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What is Serengeti National Park?
Serengeti National Park in north-central Tanzania is a wildlife refuge on the Serengeti Plain partly bordering Kenya. Known for huge herds of plains animals, especially gnu (wildebeests), gazelles, and zebras, it is the only place in Africa where vast land-animal migrations still occur.
Established in 1951, the park covers 5,700 square miles of grassland and acacia woodland savanna. During the wet season, the herds graze in the southeastern plains. In late May or June, one group moves west into the park’s woodland savanna and then north into the grasslands just beyond the Kenya-Tanzania border, an area known as the Mara (Masai Mara National Reserve), while another group migrates directly northward.
In addition to over 35 species of plains animals, there are lions, spotted hyenas, leopards, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, giraffes, cheetahs, baboons, and elephants. Over 500 species of birds have also been recorded. The park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981.
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Where is Serengeti National Park located?
Serengeti National Park is a national park and wildlife refuge located on the Serengeti Plain in north-central Tanzania. The park is partly adjacent to the Kenyan border and northwest of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
The park, established in 1951, covers 5,700 square miles (14,763 square km) of grassland and acacia woodland savanna. It stretches 100 miles (160 km) southeast from near Lake Victoria and 100 miles (160 km) south from the Kenya-Tanzania border. Serengeti National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site and an international tourist attraction.
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What animals can be found in Serengeti National Park?
Serengeti National Park in Tanzania is renowned for its vast plains and abundant wildlife. It is best known for the large herds of plains animals that migrate through the area, especially gnu (wildebeests), gazelles, and zebras.
In addition to these herbivores, the park is home to numerous predators, including lions, spotted hyenas, leopards, and cheetahs. Other animals found in the Serengeti include rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, giraffes, baboons, and elephants. The marshes near the Mara River are inhabited by crocodiles. The park also boasts over 500 bird species, such as ostriches, vultures, and flamingos.
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What is the Great Migration in the Serengeti?
The Great Migration in Serengeti National Park involves vast land-animal migrations that still take place in Africa. The Serengeti is best known for its huge herds of plains animals, especially wildebeests, gazelles, and zebras.
During the wet season, from November to May, the herds graze in the southeastern plains within the park. In late May or June, one major group moves west into the park’s woodland savanna and then north into the grasslands just beyond the Kenya-Tanzania border, an area known as the Mara (Masai Mara National Reserve). Another group migrates directly northward. The herds return to the park’s southeastern plains in about November, as the dry season ends with the onset of short rains. Some antelope remain in small areas throughout the year, but many species undertake seasonal movements over a large range. In the Serengeti region of Tanzania, plains animals, particularly wildebeests and zebras, travel more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) in their seasonal migrations.
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How does Serengeti National Park help protect wildlife?
Serengeti National Park is a national park and wildlife refuge located on the Serengeti Plain in north-central Tanzania. Established in 1951, the park spans 5,700 square miles (14,763 square km) and is known for its large herds of plains animals, including gnu (wildebeests), gazelles, and zebras.
Serengeti is the only place in Africa where vast land-animal migrations still occur. The park provides a protected environment for over 35 species of plains animals, as well as lions, spotted hyenas, leopards, rhinoceroses, giraffes, cheetahs, baboons, and elephants.
Conservation strategies include setting aside large tracts as national parks, refusing export licenses for certain kinds of skins, and creating transfrontier parks to allow wider movement for migratory animal populations.
Since its establishment, the park has faced threats such as competition from growing hyena and lion populations, outbreaks of disease, and human activities like poaching.
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What challenges does Serengeti National Park face in preserving its ecosystem?
Serengeti National Park faces several challenges in preserving its ecosystem. Threats to animal populations have been observed since the park's establishment in 1951. The last of the Serengeti’s wild dogs disappeared in 1991, possibly due to competition from growing hyena and lion populations, as well as outbreaks of disease. In 1994, an epidemic of canine distemper caused the deaths of nearly one-third of the area’s lions.
Humans also pose a danger to the animal population through poaching, killing elephants for their ivory tusks and slaughtering the critically endangered black rhinoceros for its horn, and poaching game animals for meat.
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Serengeti National Park, national park and wildlife refuge on the Serengeti Plain in north-central Tanzania. It is partly adjacent to the Kenya border and is northwest of the adjoining Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It is best known for its huge herds of plains animals—especially gnu (wildebeests), gazelles, and zebras—and it is the only place in Africa where vast land-animal migrations still take place. The park, an international tourist attraction, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981.
The park was established in 1951 and covers 5,700 square miles (14,763 square km) of some of the best grassland range in Africa, as well as extensive acacia woodland savanna. With elevations ranging from 3,020 to 6,070 feet (920 to 1,850 meters), the park extends 100 miles (160 km) southeast from points near the shores of Lake Victoria and, in its eastern portion, 100 miles (160 km) south from the Kenya-Tanzania border. It is along the “western corridor” to Lake Victoria that many of the park’s animals migrate. In the 2020s some 2,000,000 gnu (wildebeest), 300,000 zebras, 900,000 gazelles, and numerous other animals were in the area. During the wet season, from November to May, the herds graze in the southeastern plains within the park. In late May or June one major group moves west into the park’s woodland savanna and then north into the grasslands just beyond the Kenya-Tanzania border, an area known as the Mara (Masai Mara National Reserve). Another group migrates directly northward. The herds return to the park’s southeastern plains in about November, as the dry season ends with the onset of short rains.
In addition to more than 35 species of plains animals, there are great numbers of lions, spotted hyenas, leopards, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, giraffes, cheetahs, baboons, and elephants. Crocodiles inhabit the marshes near the Mara River. More than 500 species of birds, including ostriches, vultures, and flamingos, have also been recorded.
Since the park’s establishment, various threats to the animal populations there have been observed. The last of the Serengeti’s wild dogs disappeared in 1991; it is possible that the local extinction was due to increasing competition from the growing hyena and lion populations, coupled with an outbreak of disease. An epidemic of canine distemper caused the deaths of nearly one-third of the area’s lions in 1994. Humans have also posed a danger to the animal population, killing elephants for their ivory tusks, slaughtering the critically endangered black rhinoceros for its horn, and poaching game animals for meat.
The first systematic wildlife population survey in the area was undertaken by the German zoologist Bernhard Grzimek in the late 1950s. The park’s headquarters are near its center, at Seronera, where there is also a visitor’s center as well as the Serengeti Wildlife Research Centre (established as the Serengeti Research Institute, 1962).