Trifter

Image via Wikipedia

Serengeti National Park , the name conjures up images of vast plains of grass, with an occasional accacia tree here and there and the teeming wild life.

Serengeti National Park , the pride of Tanzania , is huge grassland merging into Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya. The park came into existence in the year 1951, because the Government realised that their forest wealth is being slowly depleted by the poachers. The ‘Big Five’ or the big animals like the lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos and wild buffaloes are becoming regular targets of human greed.

The plains of Serengeti used to be the home of the masai herders of Africa. They had been grazing their cattle in the grassland. for centuries . These people were shifted to the nearby Ngorongoro , a habitation on an extinct volcanoe., where they have their settlement. If one looks down the slope the masais are seen with their traditional red shawl covering their back and with a long iron spear in their hand. Masais are not friendly towards outsiders. They are probably wary of confronting newcomers , where they are displayed as human specimens with tribal characteristics.

In Serengeti , in the vast plain one comes across all the animals lions, leopard, elephhants, giraffe, wild buffaloes . Crocodiles abound in River Mara and Hippos are found in the HIppo pool.

Hundreds of gazelles and wildebeast graze on the grassland , sometimes under the watchful eyes of a predator. Birds of different breed with their myriads of lovely colours fly from one tree to another.

A family of merakat stand on their hind legs and watch the sunset before retiring for the night.

Serengeti is green and inviting in the wetter months from March – May. There is some rainfall in September and October. But the drier months make the animals move in search of pasture and water. The famous serengeti migration of wildebeasts and zebras start. They move in thousands towards masai Mara. The trampling of their hoofs make the sky take on a rusty look. They move in desperation without looking back. Many drown while crossing the river. Only the healthy and fit ones will survive the journey. They will again move back, when Serengeti gets back its green cover. 

Government Of Tanzania knows the importance of Serengeti in the tourist map of the world and tries to do everything to keep the industry alive and thriving.