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Information on Parks
Serengeti National Park
The name "Serengeti" has come to represent the safari experience itself, evoking images of sweeping savannahs swarming with lion, wildebeest, and gazelle. The Serengeti National Park, the largest in Tanzania, is about 14,763 sq kms in area. One of the largest wildlife sanctuaries in the world and it is the site of one of the most breathtaking events in the animal kingdon, the migration of thousands of woldebeest. The park's name, Serengeti, means 'endless plains' and is derived from the Maasai language. The park was gazette in 1951. The park lies in a high plateau between the Ngorongoro highlands and the Kenya/Tanzania border, and extends almost to Lake Victoria. The park encompasses the main part of the Serengeti ecosystem. Upon these grasslands roam more game animals than anywhere in the world. There are over a million wildebeest alone. About 35 species of plains animals can be seen here including so called "big five". elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and buffalo.
Throughout the winter months of December to March (the best time to come), many of the animals are concentrated in the park's southern regions, near Ngorongoro. During the spring months of May or June, the vast herds of wildebeest and zebra start to head west in search of water, beginning a circuitous migration that takes some of them to shores of Lake Victoria, and others to northern areas and to Kenya's Maasai Mara park just across the border. Virtually every African game animal can be seen in the Serengeti; however, because the animals are more dispersed between July and November visitors should give themselves sufficient time to track them down.
The commitment to its preservation shown by the government of Tanzania is important in a country faced by land shortage and a rising population. Activites and Special Interests Bird watching, photography, walking safaris, and ballooning with Serengeti Balloon Safaris.
Wildlife Large herds of antelope of all sorts including: Patterson's eland, Klipspringer, Dikdik, impala, Zebra, gazelles, water, bush and reed buck, topi, kongoni, cotton's oribi, grey bush duiker, roan antelope buffalo, and wildebeest. Plus: lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, bat eared fox, hunting dog and jackal. Smaller mammals: spring hare, porcupine, warthog, hyraxes, baboon, vervet monkey, colobus monkey, patas monkey, and mongooses. Larger mammals: giraffe, rhino, elephant, hippopotamus. Nearly 500 species of bird, including vultures, storks, flamingoes, martial and fish eagles, ostrich. Reptiles: crocodiles, a number of species of snakes and lizards
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