Wildlife in Serengeti National Park
With no doubt, Serengeti National Park is the earth’s greatest wildlife spectacle, hosting over 60 mammal species including the Big 5, the Great Migration and other wildlife species inhabiting the great plain, its riverine forests and bustling kopjes.
Wildlife is the main reason why millions of people from all over the globe travel to Serengeti National Park, a vast unspoilt environment. There is so much to see and discover in Serengeti, from Africa’s iconic Big 5, endless large columns of wildebeests and zebras, hundreds of bird species, to smaller creatures such as the ever-charming dung beetle.
In this blog, we summarize Wildlife in Serengeti National Park highlights.
The Big Five in Serengeti
Coined the hardest animals to hunt in the wild by big game hunters, the Big Five now are hunt by cameras and a pair of binoculars. These famous wildlife species are all present in Serengeti National Park, which is why it is listed among the Best Big Five Destinations in Africa. Seeing these impressive animals – lion, rhino, leopard, elephants and buffaloes roaming freely in their own habitat is a surreal experience you will never forget.
Your Serengeti Safari Guide and tracker will help you check the Big Five off your list. In addition to the Big Five, you will also see other wildlife species including zebras, wildebeests, giraffes, gazelles among others.
Meet the Big Five
Lion – The King of the African Savannah
Thriving in groups called prides, seeing a pride of lion in their own habitat will leave you with a forever lasting memory and in Serengeti, a sight of lions is almost guaranteed.
Serengeti is home to some incredible large prides of lions and they are fairly easy to spot. Lions are social animals living in groups. In groups, females hunt more than the males, nut most will happily scavenge if they get the chance, because their favorite activity is snoozing under a tree.
Lions are the largest and most imposing African carnivore, and the most sought-after member of the African Big 5. These animals are the most sociable of large cats, living in loosely structured prides of typically five to fifteen animals.
Cape Buffalo
Cape Buffalo is one of Africa’s most dangerous animals with very few predators, not quite the lazy bush cow you might imagine. Although lions and leopards are the predators of the Big Five, neither is as deadly as the cape buffalo, which is considered the most dangerous of the Big Five by far, due to its nervous and unpredictable nature.
Buffaloes need to drink every day, so they are often at a waterhole. Although they can be notoriously bad tempered, especially when injured, their wise gaze as once described by a novelist.
Leopard – The Prince of Darkness
The leopard is the most elusive and smallest of Africa’s Big Five animals, they are sneaky and harder to spot. Naturally shy and exclusively nocturnal, leopards spend the daylight hours hidden from view, they have a tendency of hauling large kills, such as zebra or antelope, into a tree to eat alone in peace.
Leopards are excellent at playing hide and seek and they can be perfectly camouflaged. In the Serengeti, you will be most likely to spot a leopard resting on a tree branch. The large branches of the sausage tree are their favorite spot.
While on a Serengeti Safari, do not forget to look up, a leopard might be enjoying his lunch high up in a tree, so lions and other predators don’t bother them.
Rhinos – A pre-historic heavyweight
Weighing at 2,500 kilos, rhinos are the most endangered species in the Big Five family. There are two types of rhinos in Africa, the black and white rhinos and as you might expect, the white rhinos is not white, but grey like the others. The name white was misinterpreted after early Dutch settlers used the word ‘wijid” (wide), referring to its broad lips. Unfortunately, the rhino has a horn that is worth more than its weight.
Over several decades, the rhino population in Serengeti Ecosystem has great declined due to poaching, the numbers decreased from 1,000 to less than 70 individuals. Spotting rhinos in Serengeti National Park is the most challenging, but with an experienced guide with you, you might be lucky.
Elephants – The World’s largest land animal
Seeing the world’s largest land animals in its natural habitat is simply thrilling, these grey giant roam the savannah plains of Serengeti and then disappear in the woodlands.
Weighing up to 12,000 pounds, elephants are amazingly fast for their size and the shrieking charge of a threatened elephant is not something that one will ever forget.
Female elephants live in close-knit clans and family bonds can last for 50 years. Often, males leave the clan after 12 years to roam singly or form bachelor herds. In Serengeti, elephants frequently visit waterholes close to lodges, they are peaceful when left alone.
Other Wildlife in Serengeti National Park
Because it is a unique transition areas, Serengeti National Park hosts a great variety of animals. The distinct changeover from rich flat soils in the south, to the poor hilly soils in the north, leads to a great diversity of vegetation and habitats across the park.
A unique habitat is the riverine forests, a favorite spot for hippos and crocodiles. Other wildlife species in Serengeti are long-neck giraffes, ungulates such as elands, zebra, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle present all year-round.
The three big cats are easily seen in Serengeti; lions are everywhere and are often found in a kill, cheetahs are very common on the south-eastern plains and leopards are typically found lazing in one of the big trees along the Seronera River.
Hyenas are common and wild dogs are rare.
Birdlife in Serengeti National Park
Serengeti National Park is a birder’s paradise with more than 500 bird species recorded. The Serengeti – Mara ecosystems is one of Africa’s Endemic Bird Species (land important for habitat-based bird conservation), and also hosts five bird species found nowhere else, half of which are confined to the Tanzanian portion of the ecosystem.
Birds in Serengeti range from the tiny beautiful sunbird that often can be seen hovering around bright Aloe flowers. These birds include special species to Serengeti including the grey throated spurfowl, Schalow’s wheatear, red throated tit, rufous-tailed weaver, grey-crested helmet shrike, and Schalow’s turaco.
Other birds in Serengeti include the secretary bird, African fish eagle, Fischer’s lovebird, Viteline Masked Wear, Swahili Sparrow, Grey-headed Social Weaver, Red-billed, black bishop, Yello-Bishop, Red-headed weaver among others.