It is Tanzania's most famous park and one of the most famous in the world.
The Serengeti ecosystem is home to more than 1,500,000 wildebeests, about 300,000 zebras, 500,000 Thompson's gazelles, more than 2,700 lions, 1,000 leopards, 500 cheetahs, huge herds of elephants, eland, impala, water antelopes, giraffes, ostriches, genets, and the waterways are populated by crocodiles and hippos; there are more than 400 species of birds.
The 15,000 sq. km of Serengeti National Park is only the largest portion of a larger ecosystem, which also includes the Ngorongoro Plains (the flat region northeast of Ngorongoro Crater, which plays a very important role in the famous migration and is administered by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area) and the Maasai Mara (located further north in Kenya).
Here the orography, soil composition and, consequently, the type of vegetation, allow for animal sightings unparalleled in Africa.
The subsoil, consisting (especially in the southern part) of volcanic rocks, prevents the growth of tall plants in most of the Serengeti and grasslands prevail, so the open environment favors sightings.
The Great Serengeti Migration.
The wildebeest and zebra of the Serengeti, always in search of new pasture and water, are the actors in the largest migratory movement of wild animals in the world: it is the famous Great Serengeti Migration.
