Certainly
the name Serengeti might be something you’ve
head before. In the maasai language the word
Serengeti means "endless plains",
a fitting name for this 14, 763 sq. kilometer
expanse of grasslands and forests. It evokes,
in many of our minds, an image of
stampeding wildebeest across the plains, a calculating
leopard waiting patiently for the right moment
to make a move on her prey and huge elephants
and giraffes strolling by exotic trees.
Nearly as
large as the state of Connecticut, Serengeti
National Park is the largest in Tanzania and
one of the largest wildlife sanctuaries in the
world. The park lies in a high plateau between
the Kenyan border and Ngorongoro highlands and
extends nearly all the way to Lake Victoria in
the west. The landscape of the park, with its
low vegetation and vast seas of open plain, is
ideal for game viewing..
The Serengeti
is famed for its annual migrations of wildebeest,
zebras, and gazelles. As these massive Herds
of herbivores search for new grazing ground,
they are tracked and hunted by an impressive
array of carnivorous predators such as lions,
leopards, cheetahs, and hyenas. Buffalo, elephant,
giraffe, hippo, antelope, ostrich, jackal, baboon,
and dik-dik also inhabit the vast plains and
woodlands. Bird life in the Serengeti is surprisingly
abundant with nearly 500 species of birds having
been recorded in the park.
The park was
established in 1951 to protect its many species
and ensure that it will remain a nearly perfect
example of what it was in the beginning. |