One might ask why Serengeti. Serengeti National Park is a famous world-known National Park found in the united republic of Tanzania, East Africa. The park covers an area of about 14700 sq km. It is famous for the Great Wildlife Migration, commonly called the Wildebeest Migration. Large herds of wildebeests in the proximity of 1.5 million move annually between the Serengeti Mara ecosystem and wander in their natural habitat. There are four main species of animals that migrate in large herds. Known as the four main migrants, the zebra, eland, gazelle and wildebeests, the main migrants in the proximity of 1.5 million wildebeests, 700,000 zebras, 500,000 gazelle, and 200,000 elands migrate annually in the Serengeti Mara ecosystem. In Tanzania, there are 22 National Parks at present. In Serengeti National Park, one can sight the big five.
It can be reached by road or air, with lots of landing airstrips in all its locations, Central, North, South and West corridors.
It is good to have a basic understanding of the causes and reasons for the migration. There are many reasons, but the main reason is the lust and the search for foraging grounds and water. Serengeti has two rainy seasons a year, April/May and October/November, driven by the North Eastern monsoon and South-Eastern monsoon. Most rivers in the Serengeti are seasonal rivers depending on water from the rain. Having only one permanent river, the Mara river, hence in the dry season, grazing animals are forced to migrate up north to the Mara River and its wetlands. Most seasonal rivers dry up in the dry season or have less and highly salinized waters. The main hope being the Mara River and Lake Victoria in the dry season. Animals spend much time migrating to different parts of the Serengeti ecosystem. They move north in large herds and small groups, migrating west to Lake Victoria in the dry season.
They move in circular migration, covering proximity of 500 to 800 km round trip, moving from December to March in the south, from march to May in the central moving westwards, from June to August moving up northwards, in September/October crossings the river and going to the Mara and the Lamai Wedge ending in November in areas of the North Serengeti. Usually, the pattern depends much on the rain, meaning early rains means early migration, and late rains reflect a late migration. The Mara river has water all year round, being the only permanent river in the Serengeti Mara ecosystem.
The park is famous for its great pride of lions. In 2000, Tanzania had proximity of 21000 lions, of which 3000 were found in the Serengeti according to TAWIRI--Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute data. Large prides can be sighted in most parts of Serengeti, with a large concentration in the Seronera Valley. If lucky, one can sight the black rhino and even leopards in the Serengeti National Park.
Personally, Serengeti is my favourite park. It has many wonders and fascinating landscapes, not to mention the kopjes—large granites found in most parts of Serengeti. One should, time permitting, visit the Serengeti National Park to experience its natural beauty once, twice or more times. Welcome, all, to visit the Serengeti National Park. It has facilities to cater for all travellers, be it budget travellers and high-end luxury clientele.