A zoologist paradise, the Serengeti Ecosystem is exceptionally rich in African wildlife. Its 30,000 square kilometres encompass a wide variety of different ecosystems, from open plain savanna to woodlands and riverine forests, and include some of the most notable natural parks and wildlife reserves in Africa, in particular the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, in Tanzania, and the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

Wildlife numbers are impressive, both for quantity and variety. A 1990 study estimated wildebeest population at a sheer 1.6 million, Thomson’s gazelle at 440,000, zebra at 250,000, lion at 2,800, hyena at 9,000, leopard at 1,000, and cheetah at 500, only to mention the most popular species. With a few exceptions, almost every great African animal can be found here.

Furthermore, the massive population of hoofed animals, the world’s largest in the wild, gives place to one of nature’s most imposing events, the Great Wildebeest Migration. Every year the herbivores are forced to follow the rains in their search for water and grazing grassland, a 500km round trip from the Southern Serengeti to the northern edge of the Masai Mara National Reserve. Ngorongoro, often described as one of the great natural wonders of the world, is home to the densest population of mammalian predators in Africa.

Some 25,000 large mammals, mainly ungulate, inhabit the crater, including most East African animals. Most renowned are probably the endangered black rhino and the magnificent black-maned lions. Lake Manyara National Park, though not as rich as the 2 previous areas, is well-known for its elephants, baboons (one of the highest concentrations in Africa), and birds. The park is also home to lions, leopards, hippos, impalas, wildebeest, buffalo, warthogs and giraffe.