- Serengeti National Park
:"This article is about a National Park; for the geographic location see
Serengeti " Infobox World Heritage Site
WHS = Serengeti National Park
State Party =
Type = Natural
Criteria = vii, x
ID =
Region = Africa
Year = 1981
Session = 5th
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/156The Serengeti National Park (coord|2|19|58|S|34|34|00|E|) is a largenational park inSerengeti area,Tanzania . It is most famous for its annual migration of over one million white bearded (or brindled)wildebeest and 200,000zebra .History
The
Maasai people had been grazing their livestock in the open plains which they knew as “endless plain” for over 200 years when the first European explorers visited the area. The name "Serengeti" is an approximation of the word used by theMaasai to describe the area. German geographer and explorer Dr. Oscar Baumann entered the area in 1892. [ [http://www.ntz.info/gen/n00051.html Dr. Oscar Baumann ] ] Baumann killed three rhinos during a stay in the Ngorongoro crater.The first Briton to enter the Serengeti, Stewart Edward White, recorded his explorations in the northern Serengeti in 1913. Stewart returned to the Serengeti in the 1920s, and camped in the area around Seronera for three months. During this time he and his companions shot 50 lions. [ [http://www.ntz.info/gen/n00683.html Stewart Edward White ] ]
Because the hunting of lions made them so scarce, the British decided to make a partial Game Reserve of convert|800|acre|km2 in the area in 1921 and a full one in 1929. These actions became the basis for Serengeti National Park, [ [http://www.glcom.com/hassan/serengeti.html Serengeti ] ] [ [http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0602/feature1/text4.html Serengeti, Heartbreak on the Serengeti - National Geographic Magazine ] ] which was established in 1951. The Serengeti gained more fame after the initial work of
Bernhard Grzimek and his son Michael in the 1950s. Together they produced the book and film "Serengeti Shall Not Die ", widely recognized as one of the most important early pieces of nature conservation documentary.As part of the creation of the park, and in order to preserve wildlife, the resident Maasai were moved to the Ngorongoro highlands. There is still considerable controversy surrounding this move, with claims made of coercion and deceit on the part of the colonial authorities.
The Serengeti is Tanzania's oldest national park and remains the flagship of the country’s tourism industry, providing a major draw to the “Northern Safari Circuit”, encompassing Lake Manyara, Tarangire and Arusha national parks, as well as
Ngorongoro Conservation Area Geography and Wildlife
The park covers 14,763 km² (5,700 square miles) of grassland plains and
savanna as well as riverine forest and woodlands. The park lies in the north of the country, bordered to the north by the nationalTanzania andKenya n border, where it is contiguous with the Masai Mara National Reserve. To the south-east of the park isNgorongoro Conservation Area , to the south-west lies Maswa Game Reserve, and to the western borders are Ikorongo and Grumeti Game Reserves, finally to the north-east lies Loliondo Game Control Area.Human habitation is forbidden in the National Park with the exception of staff for TANAPA, researchers and staff of Frankfurt Zoological Society, and staff of the various lodges and hotels. The main settlement is
Seronera which houses the majority of research staff and the park’s main headquarters, including its primary airstrip.As well as the migration of
ungulate s, the park is well known for its healthy stock of other resident wildlife, particularly the "Big Five", named for the five most prized trophies taken by hunters: thelion ,leopard ,elephant ,rhinoceros and buffalo. These species remain the key attractions to tourists, but the park also supports many further species, including thecheetah ,gazelle andgiraffe , as well as a large and varied bird population.Administration and Protection
As a result of the biodiversity and ecological significance of the area, the park has been listed by
UNESCO as one of theWorld Heritage Site s The administrative body for all parks in Tanzania is Tanzania National Parks or TANAPA.Myles Turner was one of the Park's first game wardens and is credited with establishing anti-poaching defenses. His autobiography, "My Serengeti Years: the Memoirs of an African Game Warden" provides a detailed history of Serengeti National Park's early years.
References
*Homewood, K.W. and Rodgers, W.A., "Maasailand Ecology: Pastoralist Development and Wildlife Conservation in Ngorongoro, Tanzania", New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991 ISBN 0521400023
*Turner, Myles, "My Serengeti Years: the Memoirs of an African Games Warden", New York: W. W. Norton & Co Inc, 1988 ISBN 0393025764External links
* [http://www.serengeti.org/ Serengeti Official Site]
* [http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/serengeti.html TANAPA - Serengeti]
* [http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/ TANAPA - official site of Tanzania's national parks]
* [http://www.wcmc.org.uk/protected_areas/data/wh/serenget.html/ World Heritage Sites Protected Areas - Serengeti]
* [http://www.safarimappers.com/area.aspx?lngareaid=27 Map of Serengeti National Park]
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