The Serengeti National Park is the world's last great wildlife refuge, covering an enormous area of nearly 15,000 sq km. Its temperatures range from 15-26 degrees (the coldest being from June to October) and it contains an estimated 5 million animals.
Research shows there are 3,000 lions, 1.7 million wildebeest, 500,000 zebras, 1,500 elephants and 8,000 spotted hyenas. The name Serengeti comes from the Maasai word 'Siringet', meaning endless plains...and given the numbers above, it truly is the last place on earth where there are still large herds roaming the plains.
The Central Serengeti offers superb game viewing all year round due to its abundance of resident animals. The Seronera River Valley in central Serengeti especially is a ‘must see’ on every safari, regardless of the month of travel. Resident herbivores include impala, buffalo, hippo, warthog, topi, hartebeest and giraffe. Resident carnivores include lion, cheetah and leopard
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There are several documented resident lion prides within a one-hour game drive radius from Seronera. During the dry season, resident prides begin to shift west and north in their territories and concentrate in the central region of the park. The dry season is a particularly good time for lion viewing in the Central Serengeti. The Central Serengeti is also one of the best areas in Africa to spot the elusive leopard. You may be lucky enough to encounter this majestic cat in the branches of the sausage trees, which dot the banks of the Seronera River.
The endless plains of the Serengeti are the setting for the world’s greatest wildlife spectacle - the 1.7 million wildebeest migration in search of greener pastures. Each year, this huge herd of wildebeest (along with over 500,000 zebra and gazelle) migrate in a clockwise direction around the Serengeti, up to the Masai Mara in Kenya (via the crocodile infested waters of the Mara and Grumeti rivers which kill thousands), and then back down to the Southern Serengeti plains again to have their young (where over 8,000 wildebeest are born each day between mid February and mid March). Each year the herd treks over 2,500km and it is constantly threatened and followed by Africa’s greatest predators. Consequently, an estimated 250,000 wildebeest won’t make it due to predators and fatigue. Depending on the time of year, our driver guides will be able to share where the herd is currently located.
