Serengeti National Park

Serengeti National Park is a huge area of grassland in northern Tanzania, covering about 14,763 square kilometres. It was made a national park in 1940, and it is famous for wide plains dotted with rocky hills and umbrella-shaped acacia trees.

Every year, more than 1.5 million wildebeest, 250,000 zebras and hundreds of thousands of gazelles travel across the plains in the largest animal migration on Earth. The park also holds the biggest lion population in Africa. The wildlife is under threat from poaching, farming and population growth. Its name is often said to mean 'endless plains' in the Maasai language, and the park stands among the most famous wildlife areas in Africa.

The Great Migration

The herds move in a great loop, following the rains and fresh grass between the Serengeti and Kenya's Maasai Mara. The wildebeest are the main travellers, joined by Grant's zebra, Thomson's gazelle and smaller herds of eland. On the way they face rivers with crocodiles, as well as lions and other hunters. Because the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara form one Lion Conservation Unit, more than 3,000 lions live in this ecosystem.

People and protection

The name Serengeti is often said to come from a Maasai word meaning 'endless plains', although the word is not found in dictionaries. The Maasai herded cattle here for generations. After the park was set up, their movements were restricted, and in 1959 a large area to the east became the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The German scientist Bernhard Grzimek and his son Michael made the film Serengeti Shall Not Die in 1959, which helped the world notice this place.

On the globe

The model shows open savanna with granite kopjes (rocky hills) and umbrella acacia trees. Look for the herds.