Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, Africa. Cultural and natural heritage. Serengeti National Park Serengeti Park in Tanzania

Cradle of Humanity is the second name of the African continent, famous for its inexhaustible natural resources, cruel internal conflicts and, of course, unique ecosystems. There are several protected areas in Africa, and the Serengeti National Park is considered to be the most famous and most visited, occupying 14,763 km 2 of area in eastern Tanzania.

National park Serengeti.

A lion cub sleeps on a fallen tree in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

The Serengeti Plains, untouched by civilization, are annually visited by thousands of tourists, explorers and connoisseurs of pristine nature in its striking biodiversity and splendor of picturesque landscapes. Those who love to tickle their nerves get an incomparable sensation, finding themselves in the animal kingdom in the bosom of the wild.

Photo of giraffes at sunset in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

Cheetah prepares to attack, Serengeti Park.

Elephants in Serengeti Park, Tanzania.

A lizard (common agama) meets tourists at the entrance to the Serengeti Park.

A huge elephant in the Serengeti park.

Vulture in Serengeti Park, Tanzania.

Cheetah in the rays of the setting sun, Serengeti Park, Tanzania.

Wildebeest of the setting sun, Serengeti Park, Tanzania.

A family of cheetahs under the golden rays of the setting sun.

Antelope of the genus Dikdiki in the Serengeti.

What is the Serengeti National Park famous for?

A visit to the park is paid, here you can stay in a comfortable hotel or a completely civilized campground, where there are observation platforms, dining pavilions and recreation areas. In the information center of the town of Seronera, each tourist will be offered entertainment, including in the spirit of wild Africa:

• safari - on foot and in closed jeeps;
• Flight to hot-air balloon;
• visit to the Maasai village.

Do not deprive yourself of the pleasure of visiting the most notable places Serengeti National Park:

• the Ngorongoro crater, which arose 2.5 million years ago after the catastrophic eruption of a giant volcano;
• Olduvai gorge, the very "cradle of humanity", where the remains of the first hominids on Earth were found;
• musical rocks and stone-bell;
• Lake Natron is the habitat of the millionth population of flamingos;
• Mount God is a young active stratovolcano Ol-Doinyo-Lengai.

But the main thing that attracts thousands of tourists to the Serengeti is the desire to see with their own eyes the great migration of animals - an amazing grandiose spectacle that can be observed annually in autumn and spring. Hunting is strictly prohibited here, all the animals in the Serengeti photo are protected by law. It's hard to believe, but just over 100 years ago, few people knew about the colossal wastelands of Tanzania with its unique ecosystem. However, for short period time, the vast territory, thanks to the efforts of researchers and conservationists, turned into one of the objects World Heritage UNESCO.

Geography of the Serengeti

Serengeti National Park is located in the East African Rift Valley. The territory of the park starts from Lake Victoria and continues up to the Kilimanjaro volcano. Its northern part is bordered by the Kenyan reserve Masai Mara, in the southeast is the Ngorongoro crater.

Plain wastelands and plateaus occupy the southern and central parts of the Serengeti. Forests approach from the west, wooded hills from the north, the total height difference ranges from 920 to 1850 m.

home water artery the park is the Grumeti River, which stretches to the west, and its wide valley is a corridor along which the seasonal migrations of millions of African mammals take place.

A unique feature of the Serengeti is its nature, preserved from the Pleistocene era. These are granite rocks, whose age is not less than 3 million years, and characteristic low-grass vegetation. The wild growth of local herbs is due to fertile soil volcanic origin. To top it off, the monsoon climate of the subequatorial belt created favorable conditions for the creation of the richest animal world on the territory of the park.

A lioness looks out for prey from the high ground in the Serengeti.

Flora and fauna of the Serengeti

The fertile lands of the Serengeti are home to at least 500 species of birds, among them it is worth noting the screamer eagle, Egyptian geese, representatives of the flaming family and especially the small flamingo, which reproduces only here, on Lake Natron.

The main objects of attention, photography and video filming are members of the African Big Five: lions, leopards, buffaloes, giraffes and elephants. The wildebeest (1.5 million individuals) occupy the first place in terms of the number of ungulates, then Thompson's gazelles (about 900 thousand individuals) and 300 thousand zebras complete the top three.

A lioness rests before a night hunt in the Serengeti National Park.

Zebras before a thunderstorm, Tanzania, Serengeti Park.

Zebra in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

Cheetah in Serengeti Park, Tanzania.

Mom is nearby, a moment from the life of lions in the Serengeti National Park.

Among the vegetation characteristic of the Serengeti, the Nile acacia is of interest - the main food for giraffes, myrrh commiphora, ficus and the famous ebony with black wood.

In the rainy season, the Serengeti savannas are covered with a silky carpet of lush low grasses. In the western part of the park, near Lake Victoria, grasses grow up to 3-4 m. By the end of autumn, during a drought period, the savannah becomes a scorched wasteland, forcing millions of animals to migrate to the lush pastures of the southern plains, irrigated by tropical rains.

Great animal migration in Serengeti park

The ancient instinct of survival drives millions of animals, covering 3 thousand km of path to rich foraging places and non-drying water bodies. The first to begin the exodus is a gigantic population of wildebeests, sweeping by an avalanche of thousands, enveloped in a cloud of red dust. Together with them, zebras go on a journey, then other species of ungulates, and this roaring, sweeping away everything in its path living stream needs at least 4 tons of grass every day.

But predators cannot remain without prey, so lions, leopards and cheetahs run after the ungulates. At the end of the great migration are scavengers - jackals and hyenas. Many animals die on the way, trampled by relatives or eaten by crocodiles on the crossings across Grumeti, but then at least 250 thousand cubs are born.

Great animal migration in the Serengeti

From April to June, migration occurs in the opposite direction, to the northern and western hills overgrown with fresh grass.

In numerous photos, the Serengeti is beautiful at any time of the year, but personal impressions from visiting the national treasure of Africa will leave a bright, lively and indelible mark in your memory.

History of the Serengeti National Park

The Masai, one of the oldest and most famous nomadic African tribes, are considered the discoverers of the Serengeti. Even today, the Maasai remain indifferent to the benefits of civilization, they do not have passports, they live in primitive dwellings built from dry dung and drink cow's blood during their sacred rituals.

Once the African savannahs were completely controlled by the Masai, and at the end of the 19th century, their semi-nomadic tribes reached from the north to the vast wastelands of eastern Tanzania. It was the nomads who gave these lands the name: in translation from the Masai Serengeti means "endless plains". The life of the Maasai is centered around cattle breeding and the fertile plains of the Serengeti are perfect for grazing.

In 1891, the first European arrived here - Austro-Hungarian Oskar Bauman, ethnographer, diplomat and naturalist, who discovered the ecosystem of these places.

At the beginning of the 20th century, in the countries of the Old and New Worlds they learned about the unique territory in eastern Tanzania, where all representatives of the African Big Five live in abundance at once: a lion, an elephant, a giraffe, a buffalo and a leopard. Since 1913, the Serengeti has become a mecca for hunters of all stripes.

The uncontrolled shooting of animals has led to a sharp decline in the number of many species, which has raised concerns among the Tanzanian authorities. In 1921, a part of the Serengeti plains, with an area of ​​only 3.2 km 2, became a hunting reserve, but this did not stop the poachers. After 8 years, most of them received the status of a nature reserve, and in 1951 the territory was expanded to the maximum and turned into a nature conservation zone - a national park.

The giant Ngorongoro crater on the edge of the Serengeti was redefined in 1959 biosphere reserve with an area of ​​8288 km 2.

Today, the national park in eastern Tanzania is extremely popular, and millions of tourists from all over the world strive to feel at least for a couple of days in the center of untouched wildlife in order to bring home stunning photos of the Serengeti and a lot of unforgettable impressions.

See also: beautiful photos of fjords.

Serengeti National Park is located in the African Great Rift, in northern Tanzania. It is quite simple to find it on the hag of Africa: it is located between the largest African lake Victoria and the highest peak of the continent - the Kilimanjaro volcano. In the west, the park territory forms a narrow corridor 8 km long, which almost reaches the shores of Lake Victoria, and in the north it extends to the border with Kenya.

Serengeti pearl among national parks Tanzania (14% of the territory of this country is protected). It is included in the list of the most famous national parks in the world. The abundance of animal species (the whole “African Big Five” is represented here: lion, leopard, buffalo, giraffe and elephant), as well as their total number and the annual migrations of thousands of ungulates make the Serengeti one of the unique places on the ground.

In 1929, a part of the Serengeti plains was declared a hunting reserve - here the shooting of wild animals was limited. Since 1940, the Serengeti plains have become a protected area. but protection status gave this land very little - there was no means of protection from trespassers, no transport, no uniforms for employees. The territory received the status of a national park in 1951. Initially, the border ran east and south of the present and included the Ngorongoro Upland.

In 1954, the territory of the park was divided into a single part: the current Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Protected Area. The functions of the national park included the protection of fauna and other resources of the territory and tourism, and the access of people to the Serengeti was strictly limited. But even after that, the Serengeti was still more of a park on paper. The number of animals continues to decline. It became apparent that with this state of affairs, paradise in East Africa would soon cease to exist.

Extraordinary measures were required to protect the Serengeti. They were proposed by the German zoologist Bernhard Grzimek. Grzimek hoped he could attract international interest and tide to the park Money v East Africa... Travels of father and son, their book "The Serengeti Must Not Die", their films, tragic death in a plane crash on January 10, 1939, Michael Grzimek made the Serengeti famous all over the world.

However, international conservation status the territory received more than 20 years later, in 1981. Then, together with the adjacent Ngorongoro reserve located in Kenya, as well as the Masaua reserve in Tanzania, the national park entered the list of participants in the "Man and the Biosphere" program and in the same year was recognized as a monument of the World Natural and cultural heritage UNESCO.

In open eastern savannahs During the rainy season from November to May, hundreds of thousands of wildebeests and zebras gather. This is where it starts annual migration Serengeti. At the end of May, when the grasses become dry and stunted, the wildebeest hit the road to the never-ending water sources in the north of the park. A huge avalanche of rushing animals, moving like the sea, raises clouds of red dust and leaves behind heaps of grass. Thin-legged antelopes rush to the full support along the hilly plains and hillocks "across the expanses of the low-grass savanna, overcoming rivers and streams on their way. This huge roaring flock of frightened blue wildebeests is one of the most magnificent sights to be seen in wildlife and which is called the great migration of animals. Zebras follow the antelopes. Predators run after them. In November, when the long northern trek ends, the pastures in the south turn green again and the herds start their way back. ”

In the central part of the park, the landscape is more varied. In addition to savannahs, there are woodlands here, where long slender acacias coexist with the curved trunks of the commiphores. It is in this part that the town of Seronera is located, which houses the headquarters of the park and the Serengeti Research Institute.

In the northern part of the park, the landscape becomes hilly and wooded. Marks on tree trunks indicate the appearance of elephants here. There are almost no antelopes, giraffes and zebras. On the way to the west, in the forests of the Grumeti river valley, there are many black and white colobus monkeys; Nile crocodiles jump out of the water.

Although the main source of income for indigenous people is Agriculture, they are attracted to the park by wild animals, due to which the growing demand for meat, as well as the possibility of earning money associated with tourism, are satisfied. If earlier poaching was rather isolated, then at the end of the 20th century it became large-scale and turned into a business. About 200 thousand animals are annually destroyed in the Serengeti region, which leads to a significant reduction in the number of some species.

A whole range of other problems arose as well. In the Serengeti, the number of elephants that have abandoned their original habitats due to human intervention has increased. This entailed damage to the park's vegetation: elephants damage tree trunks and large branches, trample down grasses. The canine plague epidemic in 1994 caused the deaths of about a third of all Serengeti lions, and the widespread distribution of domestic dogs sparked an epidemic of rabies. As a result, wild dogs disappeared.

Since the late 1980s, the concept of a protected area has undergone significant changes. If earlier local residents were excluded from the development and management of the park, now the need to develop the population of the territory is also taken into account when protecting resources. Wildlife has been officially recognized as an important economic resource for local residents in the vicinity of the park. It is expected that the adoption of such schemes, under which the local population has legal rights to use wildlife resources and in the immediate vicinity of the place of residence, will reduce the current high level of poaching in the park. Currently, the areas in the vicinity of the park are an intermediate (buffer) zone where the local population can use the resources of the park, and the village wildlife committees oversee nature conservation activities.

The history of the creation of a national park on the Serengeti plains is dramatic and triumphant at the same time. For the first time, Europeans and Americans learned about these places in 1913. Spaces of Africa were still unknown at that time white man... However, the lands of the British colonies in East Africa have already turned into places of mass pilgrimage for hunters from the United States and European countries. Lions, leopards, elephants and other animals became hunting trophies, stuffed animals in museums. One of these hunters, Stuart Edward White, went south with guides from Nairobi. After several days of travel, he wrote in his diary: “We moved further and further south along the savannah scorched by the sun. Then I saw the green trees by the river, walked another two miles and ended up in paradise. ”So he found the Serengeti.

The colonialists learned about this land at the beginning of the 20th century, and the indigenous people - the Masai tribes for thousands of years grazed cattle and hunted on the plains. It was they who called the land Siringitu. which in translation means "a place where the earth is endless."

Hunters began to come to the Serengeti and nearby places from all over the world. ivory and rhino horn, just safari lovers.

Bernhard Grzimek founded the Serengeti Research Institute with a base in a park where scientists studied the local nature. Grzimek believed “Africa belongs to those who believe that there are still wild animals and virgin territories ". His television series has been seen by 35 million Europeans, which has helped raise large sums of money for the institute and international conservation organizations. The zoologist who has done so much to preserve the nature of East Africa is buried near the Serengeti, in the protected area of ​​Ngorongor under a small pyramid of stone.

Fauna of the Serengeti National Park. The Serengeti surpasses other parks in Africa in terms of the number of species and the total animals that inhabit it. Huge herds of migrating ungulates - more than 1.3 million wildebeest, 900 thousand Thomson's gazelles, 300 thousand zebras - constantly move within the park. In addition to these most numerous inhabitants, 7 thousand eland antelopes, 70 thousand buffaloes, 4 thousand giraffes, 15 thousand warthogs, 1.5 thousand elephants, 500 hippos, 200 black rhinos, more than ten species of antelopes and seven species of primates live in the park. The richest fauna of ungulates provides food for at least five species of predators, including 3 thousand lions, 1 thousand leopards, 225 cheetahs, 3.5 thousand hyenas. There are at least 17 species of smaller predators in the park, including jackals and foxes. Among the 350 registered bird species, there are 34 species of carnivores, six species of vultures, lesser flamingos, and weavers. In these places live a secretary bird, a red buzzard, a black-winged kite that feeds on small predators and birds, a buffoon eagle and a Cape Owl, as well as a crested eagle, vultures, ostriches.

The nature of the Serengeti is one of the most ancient on Earth. It has changed little over the last million years, having survived from the Pleistocene - a period that lasted 150 thousand years on the planet and ended about 8 thousand years ago. This was the era of the absolute domination of mammals, including herbivores.

Often, herds of wildebeests stretch across the savanna for tens of kilometers. The ground hums, shuddering under the blows of millions of hooves.

The path to the north is not easy - ungulates have to overcome rivers, where they can be carried away by the current, or they risk being eaten by crocodiles. Moving forward, wildebeests enter the territory lion prides, and they are already waiting for them in ambush. Leopards, cheetahs and hyenas attack animals that have strayed from the herd. Vultures flock to the remains. They quarrel and fight over prey, so that in the end, only bones remain of the carcass, whitening in the savannah in the hot African sun.

The park is the center scientific research already I have been for several decades. The main research topics include long-term observations of the state of ecosystems, behavioral ecology of lion, leopard, ungulates, population dynamics and reproduction of mongooses, ecology of scarabs and termites.

About 30 thousand feral domestic dogs now live in the Serengeti. These animals are the source of the spread of diseases among wild predators. Since 1996, mass vaccinations of domestic dogs have been carried out at the borders of the park to create a buffer zone around the park free from diseases.

The climate in Serengeti National Park is usually dry and hot. Average annual temperature is about +21 С, but it changes during the year from +15 to +25 С. 2 mm. It would seem that a rather impressive value, but at high temperatures evaporation is much faster. In addition, the amount of rain varies from year to year: dry years give way to wet ones, and vice versa. During the year, it also rains irregularly from May - June to October - November, there are almost no rains, the soil dries up, and the plants wither. Peak rains are in December and March - April

In such a variable-humid climate, savannas become the main type of vegetation. There are a lot of herbs in them, which dry up in the dry season and make the savannah look like a desert. In the wet season, on the contrary, everything turns green, the grasses reach their usual height - in the west, closer to Lake Victoria, 3 - 4 m. Although there are few plant species in the savannas, they are very productive. For a year, per 1 hectare, they produce almost as much organic matter as forests. The abundance of feed determines the diversity of ungulates, and therefore a large number of predators. Thus, the grasses form the bottom link of the pyramid of life in the savannahs.

Safari in the Serengeti National Park. The huge variety of animals attracts crowds of tourists to the Serengeti - at least 40 thousand people come annually to take part in the safari. From the Swahili language, the word "safari" is translated as "travel". However, in English language where this word migrated, it means not just a journey, but also an adventure related to observing wild animals in African savannah... This is the meaning of "safari" in other languages. At the beginning of the 20th century, Theodore Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway, Winston Churchill and other famous hunting enthusiasts came to East Africa on safari.

On modern safaris, hunting is strictly prohibited, animals are only allowed to be observed and photographed. Serengeti - beautiful place for a safari, the park is so huge that nature lovers do not collide with each other, you can travel either by jeep or on foot, accompanied by a guide. Comfortable hotel houses were built for tourists in Seronera and Lobo, in the north of the park. There are also campgrounds with very primitive amenities.

There is no permanent population on the territory of the park, but the Masai live on its eastern borders, and the lands to the west of it are densely populated. Population growth in these areas in recent decades is very high and reaches 4% per year. Due to the growing population of wild animals and livestock, there is not enough land for grazing, especially since pastures are quickly turning into arable lands.

Serengeti National Park is located in the area of ​​the Great African Rift. It is included in the list of the most famous national parks in the world. The park is located in Tanzania and Kenya. Savannah stretches from the north of Tanzania, east of Lake Victoria, to the south of Kenya and covers an area of ​​about 30 thousand km. square. The name comes from the Masai word "siringet", meaning "stretched area".

Unique climatic conditions determine the lifestyle of the representatives of the local fauna. Landscapes vary from grasslands in the south and savannas in the center to forested hills in the north. Real forests are located in the western part of the park. Endless plains, savannas, rivers and lakes are inhabited by more than 35 species of animals, including more than a million large mammals: lions (about 3000 individuals), wildebeests, elephants, rhinos, leopards, buffaloes, crocodiles, hyenas, giraffes, jackals , baboons, big-eared foxes and many others. More than 350 species of reptiles, an endless variety of insects also represent the nature of the Serengeti. Bird watchers count about 500 bird species in the park. The most the best place on Earth to observe the life of lions, cheetahs and giraffes.

Tanzania is famous for its national parks. Perhaps the most famous of these is the Serengeti National Park. "Serenegeti" in the Masai language means "endless plains". For the first time, Europeans learned about these places only in 1913. Unfortunately, like all the territories of the British colonies in East Africa, the Serengeti Plains quickly became a place of mass pilgrimage for hunters from Europe. In 1929, part of the Serengeti plains was declared a hunting reserve. In 1940, the plains became a protected area. However, due to material difficulties, the Serengeti plains remained a protected area only on paper. In 1951, the territory was given the status of a national park. But, international status the park received only in 1981. At the same time, it was recognized as a UNESCO World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site.

The Serengeti National Park is undoubtedly the most famous treasure of wildlife in the world, unmatched in beauty and scientific value. Serengeti is the oldest and most famous park Tanzania - Known for its annual migrations: about 6 million hooves trample the plain as 200,000 zebras and 300,000 Thomson's gazelles seek fresh food with wildebeests. But even outside the migration period, the Serengeti is the brightest safari in Africa: huge herds of buffaloes, smaller groups of elephants and giraffes, thousands and thousands of eland, swamps, kongoni, impala and Grant's gazelles.

Large herds of various antelopes: elanda Patterson, klipspringer, dik-dik, impala, zebra, gazelles, water and marsh goat, bushback, marsh, congoni, oribi, Tanzanian duiker, black horse antelope, buffalo. Lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, hyena dogs, jackals. Small mammals: strider, porcupine, warthog, baboon, hyrax, green monkey, colobus, hussar monkey, mongoose. Large mammals: giraffe, rhino, elephant and hippo. Almost 500 species of birds, including: vultures, storks, flamingos, war eagle, screamer eagle, ostrich era. Reptiles: crocodiles, several types of snakes and lizards.

The most interesting sight in largest park Tanzania - hunting predators. Prides of golden-maned lions feast on the vast plains pastures. Among the acacias that grow along the Seronera River, single leopards roam, and many cheetahs roam the southeastern plains in search of prey. An almost unique case: all three species of African jackals are found here, along with spotted hyenas and a host of less visible small predators, from the aardwolf insects to the red serval.

Endless, like the pleasure of watching the animals, the sensation of space in the Serengeti plains, stretching across the sun-scorched savannah to the shimmering golden horizon, seems endless. But after the rainy season, this golden grassy expanse transforms into a seemingly endless green carpet, on which wildflowers are scattered. There are also wooded hills, tall termite mounds, and along the river banks there are fig trees and acacia plantings, orange with dust. And, despite all the immense popularity of the Serengeti, the park is so vast that you may be the only spectator when the pride of lions starts chasing their prey, relentlessly chasing their food.

Serengeti National Park located in the area of ​​the Great African Rift, in the north of Tanzania. It is quite simple to find it on the map of Africa: it is located between the largest African lake Victoria and the highest peak of the mainland - the Kilimanjaro volcano. In the west, the park forms a narrow corridor 8 km long, which almost reaches the shores of Lake Victoria, and in the north it extends to the border with Kenya.

Serengeti - a unique world reserve

The Serengeti is a pearl among the national parks of Tanzania (14% of the territory of this country is protected). It is included in the list of the most famous national parks in the world. The abundance of animal species (the entire “African Big Five” are represented here: lion, leopard, buffalo, giraffe and elephant), as well as their total number and the repeated migrations of thousands of ungulates every year make the Serengeti one of the unique places on Earth.

In 1929, a part of the Serengeti plains was declared a hunting reserve - here the shooting of wild animals was limited. Since 1940, the Serengeti plains have become a protected area. However, the protection status gave this land very little - there were no means of protection from violators, no transport, no uniforms for employees. The territory received the status of a national park in 1951. Initially, the border ran east and south of the present and included the Ngorongoro Upland.

In 1954, the territory of the park was divided into a single part: the current Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Protected Area. The functions of the national park included the protection of fauna and other resources of the territory and tourism, and the access of people to the Serengeti was strictly limited. But even after that, the Serengeti was still more of a park on paper. The number of animals continues to decline. It became apparent that with this state of affairs, paradise in East Africa would soon cease to exist.

Extraordinary measures were required to protect the Serengeti. They were suggested by a German zoologist Bernhard Grzimek... Grzimek hoped to be able to attract international interest and an influx of funds to East Africa to the park. Travels of a father with his son, their book " Serengeti Shouldn't Die», Their films, the tragic death of Michael Grzimek in a plane crash on January 10, 1939 made the Serengeti famous all over the world.

However, the territory received international conservation status more than 20 years later, in 1981. Then, along with the adjacent and located in Kenya reserve Ngorongoro, as well as the Masaua reserve in Tanzania, the national park entered the list of participants in the program "Man and the Biosphere" and in the same year was recognized as a monument

Serengeti National Park landscape

In the open eastern savannahs, hundreds of thousands of wildebeests and zebras gather during the rainy season from November to May. It is from here that the annual migration of the Serengeti starts. At the end of May, when the grasses become dry and stunted, the wildebeest hit the road to the never-ending water sources in the north of the park. A huge avalanche of rushing animals, moving like the sea, raises clouds of red dust and leaves behind heaps of grass. Thin-legged antelopes rush to the full support along the hilly plains and hillocks "across the expanses of the low-grass savanna, overcoming rivers and streams on their way. This huge roaring flock of frightened blue wildebeests is one of the most magnificent sightings to be seen in the wild, called the Great Animal Migration. Zebras follow the antelopes. Predators run after them. In November, when the long northern trek ends, the pastures in the south turn green again and the herds start their way back. ”

In the central part of the park, the landscape is more varied. In addition to savannahs, there are woodlands here, where long slender acacias coexist with the curved trunks of the commiphores. It is in this part that the town of Seronera is located, which houses the headquarters of the park and the Serengeti Research Institute.

In the northern part of the park, the landscape becomes hilly and wooded. Marks on tree trunks indicate the appearance of elephants here. There are almost no antelopes, giraffes and zebras. On the way to the west, in the forests of the Grumeti river valley, there are many black and white colobus monkeys; Nile crocodiles jump out of the water.

Problems of the Serengeti National Park

Although the main source of income for indigenous people is agriculture, they are attracted to the park by wild animals, which meet the growing demand for meat, as well as the income opportunities associated with tourism. If earlier poaching was rather isolated, then at the end of the 20th century it became large-scale and turned into a business. About 200 thousand animals are annually destroyed in the Serengeti region, which leads to a significant reduction in the number of some species.

A whole range of other problems arose as well. In the Serengeti, the number of elephants that have abandoned their original habitats due to human intervention has increased. This entailed damage to the park's vegetation: elephants damage tree trunks and large branches, trample down grasses. The canine plague epidemic in 1994 caused the deaths of about a third of all Serengeti lions, and the widespread distribution of domestic dogs sparked an epidemic of rabies. As a result, wild dogs disappeared.

Since the late 1980s, the concept of a protected area has undergone significant changes. If earlier local residents were excluded from the development and management of the park, now the need to develop the population of the territory is also taken into account when protecting resources. Wildlife has been officially recognized as an important economic resource for local residents in the vicinity of the park. It is expected that the adoption of such schemes, under which the local population has legal rights to use wildlife resources and in the immediate vicinity of the place of residence, will reduce the current high level of poaching in the park. Currently, the areas in the vicinity of the park are an intermediate (buffer) zone where the local population can use the resources of the park, and the village wildlife committees oversee nature conservation activities.

History of the Serengeti National Park

The history of the creation of a national park on the Serengeti plains is dramatic and triumphant at the same time. For the first time, Europeans and Americans learned about these places in 1913. Spaces of Africa were then still unknown to the white man. However, the lands of the British colonies in East Africa have already turned into places of mass pilgrimage for hunters from the United States and European countries. Lions, leopards, elephants and other animals became hunting trophies, stuffed animals in museums. One of these hunters, Stuart Edward White, went south with guides from Nairobi. After several days of travel, he wrote in his diary: “We moved further and further south along the savannah scorched by the sun. Then I saw the green trees by the river, walked another two miles and ended up in paradise. ”So he found the Serengeti.

The colonialists learned about this land at the beginning of the 20th century, and the indigenous people - the Masai tribes for thousands of years grazed cattle and hunted on the plains. It was they who called the land Siringitu. which in translation means "a place where the earth is endless."

Ivory and rhino horn hunters, just safari lovers, began to come to the Serengeti and nearby places from all over the world.

Bernhard Grzimek founded the Serengeti Research Institute with a base in a park where scientists studied the local nature. Grzimek believed "Africa belongs to those who believe that there are still wild animals and virgin territories on Earth." His television series has been seen by 35 million Europeans, which has helped raise large sums of money for the institute and international conservation organizations. The zoologist who has done so much to preserve the nature of East Africa is buried near the Serengeti, in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area under a small pyramid of stone.

Fauna of the Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti surpasses other parks in Africa in terms of the number of species and the total number of animals inhabiting it. Huge herds of migrating ungulates - more than 1.3 million wildebeest, 900 thousand Thomson's gazelles, 300 thousand zebras - constantly move within the park. In addition to these most numerous inhabitants, 7 thousand eland antelopes, 70 thousand buffaloes, 4 thousand giraffes, 15 thousand warthogs, 1.5 thousand elephants, 500 hippos, 200 black rhinos, more than ten species of antelopes and seven species of primates live in the park. The richest fauna of ungulates provides food for at least five species of predators, including 3 thousand lions, 1 thousand leopards, 225 cheetahs, 3.5 thousand hyenas. There are at least 17 species of smaller predators in the park, including jackals and foxes. Among the 350 registered bird species, there are 34 species of carnivores, six species of vultures, lesser flamingos, and weavers. In these places live a secretary bird, a red buzzard, a black-winged kite that feeds on small predators and birds, a buffoon eagle and a Cape Owl, as well as a crested eagle, vultures, ostriches.

The nature of the Serengeti is one of the most ancient on Earth. It has changed little over the last million years, having survived from the Pleistocene - a period that lasted 150 thousand years on the planet and ended about 8 thousand years ago. This was the era of the absolute domination of mammals, including herbivores.

Often, herds of wildebeests stretch across the savanna for tens of kilometers. The ground hums, shuddering under the blows of millions of hooves.

The path to the north is not easy - ungulates have to overcome rivers, where they can be carried away by the current, or they risk being eaten by crocodiles. Moving forward, wildebeests enter the territory of lion prides, and they are already waiting for them in ambush. Leopards, cheetahs and hyenas attack animals that have strayed from the herd. Vultures flock to the remains. They quarrel and fight over prey, so that in the end, only bones remain of the carcass, whitening in the savannah in the hot African sun.

The park has been a center of scientific research for several decades. The main research topics include long-term observations of the state of ecosystems, behavioral ecology of lion, leopard, ungulates, population dynamics and reproduction of mongooses, ecology of scarabs and termites.

About 30 thousand feral domestic dogs now live in the Serengeti. These animals are the source of the spread of diseases among wild predators. Since 1996, mass vaccinations of domestic dogs have been carried out at the borders of the park to create a buffer zone around the park free from diseases.

Serengeti National Park climate

The climate in Serengeti National Park is usually dry and hot. The average annual temperature is about +21 С, but it changes during the year from +15 to +25 С. 1.2 mm. It would seem quite an impressive value, but at high temperatures evaporation is much faster. In addition, the amount of rain varies from year to year: dry years give way to wet ones, and vice versa. During the year, it also rains irregularly from May - June to October - November, there are almost no rains, the soil dries up, and the plants wither. Peak rains are in December and March - April

In such a variable-humid climate, savannas become the main type of vegetation. There are a lot of herbs in them, which dry up in the dry season and make the savannah look like a desert. In the wet season, on the contrary, everything turns green, the grasses reach their usual height - in the west, closer to Lake Victoria, 3 - 4 m. Although there are few plant species in the savannas, they are very productive. For a year, per 1 hectare, they produce almost as much organic matter as forests. The abundance of food determines the diversity of ungulates, and hence the large number of predators. Thus, the grasses form the bottom link of the pyramid of life in the savannahs.

Safari in Serengeti National Park

The huge variety of animals attracts crowds of tourists to the Serengeti - at least 40 thousand people come annually to take part in the safari. From the Swahili language, the word "safari" is translated as "travel". However, in the English language, where this word has migrated, it means not just a journey, but also an adventure related to observing wild animals in the African savannah. This is the meaning of "safari" in other languages. At the beginning of the 20th century, Theodore Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway, Winston Churchill and other famous hunting enthusiasts came to East Africa on safari.

On modern safaris, hunting is strictly prohibited, animals are only allowed to be observed and photographed. Serengeti is a great place for a safari. The park is so huge that nature lovers do not collide with each other, you can travel either by jeep or on foot, accompanied by a guide. Comfortable hotel houses were built for tourists in Seronera and Lobo, in the north of the park. There are also campgrounds with very primitive amenities.

There is no permanent population on the territory of the park, but the Masai live on its eastern borders, and the lands to the west of it are densely populated. Population growth in these areas in recent decades is very high and reaches 4% per year. Due to the growing population of wild animals and livestock, there is not enough land for grazing, especially since pastures are quickly turning into arable lands.

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Serengeti National Park is one of the most famous reserves wildlife in the world. It has the highest concentration of wildlife in Africa: more than two million wildebeest, half a million Thompson's gazelles, a quarter of a million zebras. Thanks to these artiodactyls, every year a unique show is played out in the open spaces of the park every summer - the big migration.

The name "Serenghetti" in the Masai language means "elongated land". The Greater Serengeti includes the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Maswa Reservation, the Masai Maara (in Kenya), the Loliondo, Grumeti, Ikorongo Reserves, and the Serengeti Reserve of the same name in Tanzania. The territory of the "big" Serengeti covers 12,950 square kilometers, and is located between Lake Victoria in the west, Lake Eyazi in the south and the Great Reef Valley in the east. Serengeti National Park is located at an altitude of 910 m to 1890 m above sea level. The climate in the park is tropical. Daytime temperature - 25 - 30 ° C.

The plains remained uninhabited for centuries until the arrival of the Maasai tribe. The first European to set foot on this territory was the German explorer Dr. Oscar Abuman, who was followed by many hunters who heard about the number of valuable animals walking on the African plains. Hunting became a fashion, a huge number of wild animals were destroyed, an entire ecosystem was in danger. In order to solve this problem, the Serengeti Park was created in 1951. The Serengeti is considered the most interesting and largest park in East Africa.

Serengeti National Park: Fauna.

In fact, all African animals can be found here. The Serengeti surpasses other national parks in Africa in the number of species (about 35 species of lowland animals) and the total number of animals inhabiting it. There are about 3000 lions here.

Present and Big five- elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and buffalo. Along the rivers and streams you can observe leopards, on the plains - jackals, hyenas, as well as elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, giraffes, baboons, hippos, crocodiles and numerous herbivores, represented by the eland and impala antelopes, waterbirds, redunks, bubals, Thompson's gazelles and Grant.

The park is home to over 500 species of birds: ostriches, bustards, secretary birds and many small birds.

The most amazing sight is the migration of hoofed animals that spend most years (8-9 months) against the backdrop of amazingly beautiful nature in the changeable illumination of the large African sun. Herds of wildebeest and zebras (they are the main migrants), followed by predators, and those already scavengers - the natural cycle.

Migration is a unique and dramatic natural phenomenon of the few remaining on Earth. Migration can be observed from February to June, when the animals along the eastern edge ascend to the north, or from September to December, when they descend again to the south, through western part parka.

During the rainy season, which lasts from November to May, herds of wildebeests, zebras and other herbivores migrate in search of fresh pasture to the Masai Mara reserve, a kind of continuation of the Serengeti, which is located in southwestern Kenya. During the dry season, the northern low-grass plains become almost semi-desert, and this causes a massive migration of herbivores to the high-grass steppes, where the succulent grass is preserved. In search of food, animals travel about 1000 kilometers, exposing their lives to considerable danger. And after the rains start again, the herds go back.

No one knows for sure what causes the non-stop movement of 1.5 million wildebeests, 600 thousand zebras and about 300 thousand gazelles, huddling in huge herds and covering many kilometers, crossing water obstacles, where predators lie in wait for them. This movement takes place according to a single schedule and route every year with minor time shifts, but the spectacle and grandeur of this unique natural phenomenon is difficult to describe in words ..

Forests in the Serengeti mainly consist of acacias and ficuses, and ebony is also found. Another feature of the park is the granite outlier mountains "kopje", similar to stone islands, towering among the endless sea of ​​grass. Small stone mounds, "age" of which - up to 3 million years, often surround the places where hotels, lodges or campsites of the park are located.