Serengeti

The Serengeti is a vast and complex ecosystem located in Africa.

It spans the Mara and Arusha Regions of Tanzania. This region includes the Serengeti National Park and several other game reserves. The area is recognized as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa. This title comes from the incredible scale of its wildlife. The Serengeti hosts one of the largest land animal migrations on Earth. This movement is measured by the massive total body weight of the animals. The name may come from the Maa word "seringit," meaning "endless plains." However, this specific meaning is not found in Maa dictionaries.

Nature in the Serengeti works through a delicate balance of habitats.

The landscape includes riverine forests, swamps, and grasslands. You can also find kopjes, which are rocky outcroppings, and woodlands. This variety of environments supports about 70 species of large mammals. There are also approximately 500 species of birds living there. Even animals that look similar can coexist by eating different things. For example, wildebeests prefer short grasses. Zebras choose to eat taller grasses. This division allows many different grazers to share the same land.

One of the most famous processes is the Great Migration. This is a massive, circular movement of animals driven by food availability.

The cycle begins in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the southern Serengeti. From January to March, the first phase focuses on calving. During this time, 260,000 zebras arrive to eat rain-ripened grass. They are followed by 1.7 million wildebeest and 470,000 gazelles. In February, the wildebeest gather on short grass plains to give birth. They produce about 500,000 calves within a two to three week period. Most calves are born on time to help them survive.

The migration continues in a clockwise loop through the ecosystem.

As the rains end in May, animals move northwest toward the Grumeti River. They usually stay in that area until late June. In July or August, the herds move toward the Mara River in Kenya. These river crossings are dangerous because crocodiles wait in the water. The animals stay in Kenya for the rest of the dry season. In November, the short rains trigger the move back south. The animals must arrive in the southeast by December to prepare for February calving. This journey is difficult, and about 250,000 wildebeest die during the trip. They die from hunger, thirst, exhaustion, or predators like big cats.

The history of the Serengeti has seen many significant changes. For eons, wildlife roamed these plains with very few humans around. In the early 1800s, Maasai pastoralists began migrating to the area. However, they faced extreme challenges from drought and disease. A cholera epidemic killed thousands in the 1880s. In 1892, smallpox also caused many deaths. Their cattle were also lost to Rinderpest, a bovine viral disease. Later, the Tanzanian government resettled the Maasai near the Ngorongoro Crater. These shifts changed how the land and animals lived together.

Today, the Serengeti is a center for many large predators.

The ecosystem supports over 3,000 lions and 1,000 African leopards. There are also between 7,700 and 8,700 spotted hyenas. The East African cheetah also lives here. However, some species like the African wild dog are quite rare. In Serengeti National Park, wild dogs once went extinct in 1992. This happened partly because lions and hyenas steal their kills. Modern efforts, like rabies vaccinations for domestic dogs, now help protect endangered wildlife. These programs have also prevented hundreds of human deaths.

The physical environment of the Serengeti is also quite diverse.

Altitudes range from 500 to 1,850 meters. The mean temperatures vary, and the climate is mostly warm and dry. There are two distinct rainy seasons. One occurs from March to May, and a shorter one happens in October and November. Rainfall amounts change depending on the location. It can be as low as 500 mm or as high as 1,200 mm. While the Serengeti is beautiful, it is now only 60 percent of its original size. This reduction is caused by human encroachment into the ecosystem.