Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania was established in 1952 and is part of the greater Ngorongoro-Serengiti-Masi Mara ecosystem. The ecosystem supports 2 million wildebeests, 900,000 Thomson’s gazelles and 300,000 zebras as the dominant herds. Other herbivores include 7,000 elands, 27,000 topis, 18,000 hartebeests, 70,000 buffalos, 4,000 giraffes, 15,000 warthogs, 3,000 waterbucks, 2,700 elephants, 500 hippopotamuses, 200 black rhinoceroses, 10 species of antelope and 10 species of primate. Major predators include 4,000 lions, 1000 leopards, 225 cheetahs, 3,500 spotted hyenas and 300 wild dogs.

The park covers 5,700 sq mi of grassland plains, savanna, riverine forest, and woodlands. The name comes from the Maasai word siringet, which means “endless plains”. It is home to the great migration where millions of wildebeest, zebras and other grazers travel 1,800 miles following the greener pastures every year. The biological diversity of the park is very high with at least four globally threatened or endangered animal species: black rhinoceros, elephant, wild dog, and cheetah.

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