Serengeti National park

The Serengeti National Park is located mostly in northern Tanzania. The northern edge of the park lies within Kenya and is known as the Maasai Mara Reserve. The park covers an area of approximately 15,000 square kilometers. Compared to the area of Israel — 22,000 square kilometers — it becomes clear that this is an enormous park (though not the largest in Tanzania).

Throughout the year, the Serengeti is the site of the “Great Migration” of wildebeest herds. More than one million wildebeest migrate across the reserve during the year, creating the largest migration of mammals on Earth.

History

The name “Serengeti” was given to the area by the Maasai tribe, who lived and grazed their cattle in the region for hundreds of years. The word siringet in their language means “the place where the land stretches endlessly.” Indeed, the Serengeti’s savanna plains are vast.

The first European to visit the Serengeti in 1892 was the Austrian explorer Oscar Baumann. The first American to set foot in the Serengeti was Stewart Edward White, who visited the northern area. He returned to the Serengeti in 1920 and established a camp in the Seronera area, where he stayed for about three months. To entertain themselves, they hunted around 50 lions.

In fact, the term “game reserve” originates from the idea that hunting was considered a form of sport and amusement.

The British, who ruled the area at the time, saw the potential and established a hunting reserve covering approximately 3.2 square kilometers in the same region, which officially became a designated hunting area in 1929.

In 1951, the area was declared a national park by the British, based on that original hunting reserve.

To protect the wildlife and vegetation in the park, the British relocated all the tribes living in the area, including the Maasai (cattle herders), the Hadza tribe (hunters), and others.

Some were moved to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (the Maasai tribe), where they still live today, under the condition that they would not cultivate the land, build permanent settlements, or hunt animals. Other tribes were relocated to the Lake Eyasi area, where they could continue hunting, grazing, and farming.

Serengeti Plains

Southern Serengeti is characterized by vast treeless grasslands — the iconic landscape of the reserve featured in dozens of nature films. Wildebeest herds occupy this region between December and May. Female wildebeest give birth here between February and March. Other hoofed animals such as zebras, gazelles, impalas, hartebeests, topis, buffalo, and waterbucks are also found here in large numbers during March–May.

Another notable landscape feature is the “kopje” rocks, made famous in Walt Disney’s The Lion King. These granite rocks appear to “sprout” from the ground and have rounded shapes. They serve as lookout points for lions, homes for various reptiles, and habitats for rock hyraxes.

Western Corridor

Dark clay soil covers this part of the savanna. The Grumeti River and its surrounding forests provide habitat for crocodiles, monkeys, hippos, and various birds of prey. Some wildebeest herds pass through this area between May and July.

Northern Serengeti

The landscape here is characterized by woodlands and hills stretching from the Seronera area in the center of the reserve to the Mara River on the Kenyan border. Besides wildebeest and zebra herds passing through during July, August, and November, this is an excellent place to spot elephants, giraffes, and various antelope species.

Humans in the Serengeti

There are no permanent settlements in the Serengeti. The only residents are park employees (rangers, maintenance, and administrative staff), wildlife researchers, and lodge personnel. The Seronera area contains the largest residential zone, housing both researchers and park staff. This area also includes a visitor center and the main airstrip of the Serengeti.

Approximately 90,000 people visit the reserve every year, most of them tourists from countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan, Spain, Italy, and others. The animals, born into an environment where vehicles move around them and people’s sounds and smells are common, are not afraid. It is not unusual to see lions walking near jeeps or resting in their shade.

Accommodation in the Serengeti

Since this is a nature reserve, the welfare of the animals comes first. Therefore, vehicle movement within the reserve is prohibited during nighttime hours to allow the animals some “freedom.”

Accommodation in the reserve consists of lodges, luxury tents, or camping sites. None of the lodging areas are fenced, allowing animals to move freely through them.

Wildlife in Serengeti National Park

The park contains thousands of animal and bird species. It attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year who come to observe wildlife in its natural habitat — where humans are the ones confined (inside vehicles), while the animals roam freely.

Large prides of lions can often be seen here. The Serengeti is considered one of the regions with the highest concentration of lions in Africa. These prides include males, females, and cubs patrolling their territory.

The number of African elephants in Tanzania has declined dramatically over recent decades due to illegal poaching. Poachers target elephant tusks and will use any means necessary, including traps, firearms, poisoned arrows, poisoning water sources, and more. In the Serengeti, elephant herds of more than 20 individuals can often be seen near water sources. During the dry season, many families “merge” into larger herds consisting of dozens of elephants.

Hyenas play a vital role by consuming carrion and thus preventing the spread of disease. They are also skilled hunters, capturing prey through exhaustion — capable of running for long periods without tiring until the prey collapses.

It is common to observe zebra herds running alongside wildebeest herds. The combination of the zebra’s sharp eyesight, which alerts the herd to predators, and the wildebeest’s large numbers, which provide protection for the zebras, benefits both species.

Vultures and eagles feed on carrion, helping keep the environment free from disease. In the Serengeti, they can often be seen soaring through the skies searching for carcasses. Their numbers, too, are declining because of poisoning and illegal hunting.

Expanding the Park Area

Several rivers flow through the Serengeti, though their water levels vary according to the season. During the wet season, rivers such as the Seronera and Mbalageti in the central reserve attract herds gathering to quench their thirst. Hippos lounge in the water, enjoying the abundance.

In the western part of the reserve flows the crocodile-infested Grumeti River. Some wildebeest herds migrate to this area during May, June, and July before continuing northward. During the dry season, parts of these rivers (and others) dry up, leaving behind sandy ground.

In the northern reserve flows the Mara River and its tributaries. This river hosts one of nature’s greatest dramas, as wildebeest herds, zebras, Thomson’s gazelles, and even elephants cross it in search of grazing lands.

In recent years, decreasing rainfall has been recorded during the wet season, and several years have been classified as drought years, worsening the hardship faced by wildlife in the reserve.

One proposed solution currently under consideration is expanding the reserve area toward Lake Victoria, thereby creating an additional corridor where animals could find water sources even during drought years.