Serengeti National Park

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Wildflowers Photo Gallery

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The ecosystem is defined by the dominant migration route of the wildebeest and extends into the game reserves and conservation areas that surround the Park's boundaries.

1. Serengeti National Park
2. Maasai Mara Game Reserve
3. Loliondo Controlled Area
4. Ngorongoro Conservation Area
5. Maswa Game Reserve
6. Grumeti Controlled Area
7. Ikorongo Controlled Area

As in many national parks, much of the wildlife that inhabits the area moves across park boundaries at certain seasons of the year, along traditional migration routes, in search of food and water.

The most famous features of the Serengeti ecosystem are the spectacular concentration of plains animals found nowhere else in the world, and the annual wildebeest migration. Anyone who sees the huge numbers of wildebeest gathering before trekking north will witness a marvelous sight. Throughout the world it is rare for animal migrations to be completed undisturbed and it is an important conservation achievement that the Tanzanian government has protected this wilderness area and allowed the wildebeest to migrate freely.

As in all ecosystems the vegetation and types of animals you find are closely correlated. The principal features of the Park are the short and long grass open plains in the southeast, the acacia savannah in the central area, the hilly, more densely wooded northern section, and the extensive woodland and black clay plains, dominated by the central ranges of mountains in the western corridor.

Associated with these different vegetation zones and places are different types of animals. Giraffes need trees to browse and so will not be found in open plains. Lions will usually follow the migrating wildebeest, and flamingos will be found on the lakes. It is obviously impossible to say exactly where different species will occur but it is possible to build up a picture of the most likely species to be found in any area.

Nearly 500 species of birds have been recorded in the park, some of them Eurasian migrants, which are present from October to April.