Serengeti National Park
Introduction to Serengeti National Park
The Serengeti National Park covers a very large area : 13,000 square kilometres of country stretching from the edge of the Ngorongoro Conservation Unit in the south to the Kenya border in the north, and from the shores of Lake Victoria in the west to the Loliondo Game Controlled Area in the east. The name "Serengeti" is derived from the Maasai language
but has undergone various changes. In Maasai the name would be "Siringet" meaning "an extended area" but English has replaced the i's with e's and Swahili has added a final i. For all its size, the Serengeti is not, of itself, a complete ecological unit, despite efforts of
conservationists to make it so. Much of the wildlife· which inhabits the area moves freely across the Park boundaries at certain seasons of the year in search of food and water, and knows no other restrictions than those imposed by its own inherited behaviour patterns.
When entering the Park from the north or south there will be little or no apparent change in the environment as you cross the boundary. The interests of wildlife do not always have priority in a man-orientated world, and the conservationist can only add his voice, with no guarantee of success, to the general cry for improved amenities of all sorts. Nonetheless·, it is greatly to the credit of the government of Tanzania that, weighing all possibilities in the balance, it has adopted, in set ting aside the Serengeti as a National Park, such a far sighted wildlife conservation policy. Having heard much of the world-famous Serengeti, you
may be surprised, at certain times of year, to find large areas of the Park virtually devoid of animals. This is especially true if you enter from the south during the dry season. It is
hoped that this booklet will, among other things, help to explain why this is so. It will also help to increase your enjoy men of a visit to the Serengeti by bringing to your notice some
interesting information about the area and the animals which inhabit it. Knowing more about the Park will, we are sure, add to your pleasure and allow you to speak with more authority of what you have seen. We wish you a rewarding visit.
👉 1981: Inscribed on the World Heritage List under Natural Criteria vii and x
INTERNATIONAL DESIGNATION
👉 1981: Serengeti-Ngorongoro recognised as a Biosphere Reserve under the UNESCO Man &
Biosphere Programme (2,305,100 ha, 1,476,300 ha being in Serengeti National Park)
BIOGEOGRAPHICAL PROVINCE
👉 East African Woodland/Savanna (3.05.04)
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
👉 In the far north of Tanzania 200 km west of Arusha, adjoining the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, between 1° 30' to 3° 20'S and 34° 00' to 35°15'E.
DATES AND HISTORY OF ESTABLISHMENT
👉 1929: Serengeti Game Reserve declared (228,600 ha) to preserve lions, previously seen as vermin;
👉 1940: Declared a Protected Area;
👉 1951: Serengeti National Park created, including Ngorongoro; boundaries were modified in 1959;
👉 1981: Recognised as part of the Serengeti-Ngorongoro UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
LAND TENURE
State, in Mara, Arusha and Shinyanga provinces. Administered by the Tanzanian National Parks
Authority.
AREA
1,476,300ha. It is contiguous in the southeast with Ngorongoro Conservation Area (809,440ha), in the southwest with Maswa Game Reserve (220,000ha), in the west with the Ikorongo-Grumeti Game Reserves (500,000ha), in the north with the Maasai-Mara National Reserve (151,000ha) in Kenya and in the northeast with the Loliondo Game Controlled Area (400,000ha). The total area is larger than the island of Taiwan.
Animal Populations
Estimates of the number of various species of animal are given below. In many cases it ie extremely difficult, if not impossible, to make accurate counts, so the information given
here should be considered as approximate only. There are 1! million large mammals in the Serengeti.
Buffalo 60,000 Hyena 2,000 Eland 20,000 Impala 1o,ooo Elephant 2,200
Leopard 800 Gazelle Thomson's 600,000 Lion 1,500 Gazelle Grant's 50,000
Rhino 1,000 Giraffe 20,000 To pi 40,000 Hartebeest 20,000
Wildebeest (gnu) 500,000 Hippo 1,500 Zebra 200,000 Hunting dog 200
In the case of species not mentioned, such as cheetah, it has been found impossible to make even a tentative guess.
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