A savanna grassland ecosystem spanning northern Tanzania and southwestern Kenya, famous for hosting the largest overland animal migration on Earth: more than a million wildebeest, accompanied by hundreds of thousands of zebra and gazelle, follow an annual clockwise circuit driven by seasonal rainfall and fresh grazing, crossing crocodile-filled rivers along the way. This concentration of grazing herds in turn supports one of the densest large-predator populations in Africa, including lion, cheetah, leopard and hyena, and the African elephant ranges across the ecosystem's woodlands and grasslands alongside them. Most of the ecosystem lies within Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and the adjoining Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, together forming one continuous protected landscape across the international border.
Facts
Classification
Biogeographic Realm Protected Status Area (sq km) Connections
Demonstrated By
Source Animal Migration (Wikipedia)
Demonstrates
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Serengeti grassland is a fire-adapted ecosystem: regular natural and human-set fires clear dead grass, recycle nutrients into the soil and maintain the open savanna structure the ecosystem grazing herds depend on.
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Hosts
The Serengeti's own entity record names lion among the dense large-predator population its migration herds support.
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Source African Wild Dog (Wikipedia)
Source Black Mamba (Wikipedia)
Source Black Rhinoceros (Wikipedia)
Source World Wildlife Fund
Source World Wildlife Fund
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Litocranius walleri
Source Impala (Wikipedia)
Source Leopard (Wikipedia)
Source Plains Zebra (Wikipedia)
Source Spotted Hyena (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Striped hyena
Source Thomson's Gazelle (Wikipedia)
Source Wikidata: Tsetse Fly
Additional Source Serengeti (Wikipedia)Article text
In Biome
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.britannica.com/place/Serengeti-National-Park, opening definition sentence
Serengeti National Park, national park and wildlife refuge on the Serengeti Plain in north-central Tanzania.
- Biogeographic realm: afrotropic (derived from location stated in entity description)
Protected status (stated plainly in the entity own recorded description)
Most of the ecosystem lies within Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and the adjoining Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, together forming one continuous protected landscape across the international border.
- Demonstrates: Nitrogen Cycle
- Demonstrates: Decomposition
- Demonstrates: Wildfire
- In Biome: Savanna
- Hosts: African Lion
View the Source World Wildlife Fund
Animal Migration (Wikipedia)
Demonstrated By: Migration, Mammals passage, Serengeti great migration sentenceQuote, Demonstrated By: Migration, Mammals passage, Serengeti great migration sentence
Mass migration occurs in mammals such as the Serengeti 'great migration', an annual circular pattern of movement with some 1.7 million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of other large game animals, including gazelles and zebra.
Leopard (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Leopard, Social spacingQuote, Hosts: Leopard, Social spacing
In the Serengeti, males have home ranges of 33-38 km2 (13-15 sq mi) and females of 14-16 km2 (5.4-6.2 sq mi); but males in northeastern Namibia of 451 km2 (174 sq mi) and females of 188 km2 (73 sq mi).
Impala (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Impala, Ecology and behaviourQuote, Hosts: Impala, Ecology and behaviour
A study of impala in the Serengeti National Park showed that in 94% of the males, territoriality was observed for less than four months.
Spotted Hyena (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Spotted Hyena, DimensionsQuote, Hosts: Spotted Hyena, Dimensions
Adult male spotted hyenas in the Serengeti weigh 40.5-55.0 kg (89.3-121.3 lb), while females weigh 44.5-63.9 kg (98-141 lb).
Thomson's Gazelle (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Thomson's Gazelle, Taxonomy and etymologyQuote, Hosts: Thomson's Gazelle, Taxonomy and etymology
Two subspecies are identified: E. t. nasalis (Lönnberg, 1908), Serengeti Thomson's gazelle ranges from the Serengeti to the Kenya Rift Valley.
Plains Zebra (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Plains Zebra, ConservationQuote, Hosts: Plains Zebra, Conservation
The zebra can be found in numerous protected areas across its range, including the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, Tsavo and Masai Mara in Kenya, Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, Etosha National Park in Namibia, and Kruger National Park in South Africa.
Black Mamba (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Black Mamba, VenomQuote, Hosts: Black Mamba, Venom
The black mamba is the most feared snake in Africa because of its size, aggression, venom toxicity and speed of onset of symptoms following envenomation, and is classified as a snake of medical importance by the World Health Organization.
African Wild Dog (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: African Wild Dog, Hunting and dietQuote, Hosts: African Wild Dog, Hunting and diet
However, certain packs in the Serengeti specialized in hunting adult plains zebras weighing up to 240 kg (530 lb) quite frequently.
Wikipedia: Striped hyena
WikipediaHosts: Striped Hyena, Social and territorial behaviourQuote, Hosts: Striped Hyena, Social and territorial behaviour
Home ranges in the Serengeti have been recorded to be 44-72 km2 (17-28 sq mi), while one in the Negev was calculated at 61 km2 (24 sq mi).
Lion (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Lion, Group organisationQuote, Hosts: Lion, Group organisation
A study undertaken in the Serengeti National Park revealed that nomadic coalitions gain residency at between 3.5 and 7.3 years of age.
Serengeti (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Tsetse Fly, Article textQuote, Hosts: Tsetse Fly, Article text
Tsetse fly populations now prevented any significant human settlement in the area.
Black Rhinoceros (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Black Rhinoceros, Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: Black Rhinoceros, Distribution and habitat
In the Serengeti home ranges are around 70 to 100 km2 (27 to 39 sq mi), while in the Ngorongoro it is between 2.6 to 58.0 km2 (1.0 to 22.4 sq mi).
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Litocranius walleri
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHosts: Gerenuk, Geographic RangeQuote, Hosts: Gerenuk, Geographic Range
Litocranius walleri inhabits the dry brushy region of east Africa from the Serengeti plain of Tanzania north along the coast through Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and into southern Somalia.
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