The Serengeti Reserve we are going to visit this time is just northwest of Ngorongoro Crater. The two reserves are next to each other. The Serengeti Reserve was established very early and has been protected since 1929. Designed as a hunting reserve, part of it became the Serengeti National Park in 1951 and was included in the World Heritage List.
The name Serengeti comes from the Maasai word "endless plain". In fact, it is not a flat plain. The entire Serengeti region can be roughly divided into three parts. The southern part is the Serengeti Plain, which has a very The striking feature is that the entire plain is covered with low grass plants, mainly crabgrass and sage millet, with absolutely no trees! This is also a unique landscape in the Serengeti Plain.
To the north of the plain is the North Serengeti, which is completely opposite to the Serengeti plain. It is full of acacia forests and the terrain is higher than in the south, with many gentle hills and highlands.
In addition to the two Serengeti in the north and south, there is also an elongated area in the west of the entire Serengeti Reserve towards Lake Victoria, which is the Western Corridor. In this Western Corridor area, there are large areas of The grasslands also have dense forests. In addition, the land here is all black clay. Since it is close to Lake Victoria and has many rivers passing through it, there are many swamp-like environments in the western corridor area.
It is because there are vast grasslands, dense forests, rolling hills, criss-crossing rivers, and interlaced swamps, covering almost all environments suitable for wild animals, that this grassland has become an ideal habitat for animals throughout East Africa.
There are more than 70 kinds of large mammals and more than 500 kinds of birds living here. There are also many rare species unique to this place. But what makes this grassland famous is not the animals that live here all year round. The animals that live here almost every six months Migration is the unique scenery here and even in the world.
After passing through Kenya and entering Tanzania, the famous East African Rift Valley suddenly divided into two deep ravines running parallel from north to south. These two deep ravines just happened to embrace the Serengeti grassland. Due to this terrain Special structure, so the trip in the Serengeti region has a special regional climate.
During the dry season, the Serengeti plains also enter a period of dry rain. The grass on the grasslands all turns yellow, and the ponds and rivers disappear. However, the northern plains at this time are indeed a lush scene. While the southern plains enter the dry season, the northern Serengeti enters the rainy season.
At this time, most of the herbivores that originally lived in the southern plains will begin to migrate. They will have to travel hundreds of kilometers or even further to the northern plains with abundant water and grass to escape the hot and water-deficient dry season. Waiting for Northern Serenge When the Serengeti region enters the dry season, they will return to the southern plains along the original route, because then the Serengeti Plain region enters the rainy season.
If the animals in the Serengeti region alone cannot form a spectacular animal migration, many places in the tropics have alternating dry seasons and rainy seasons. This is nothing new. What makes the Serengeti region the most The reason for the gathering of wild animals is still its western corridor.
There are grasslands, woods, rivers and swamps in the western corridor, but its biggest feature is that it has no obvious rainy season and dry season. Its annual precipitation always remains at a level of 700 to 1000 mm, with an average The temperature is only about 21 degrees, making it a natural resort for wild animals.
With this kind of natural environment, it is difficult not to attract wild animals. Since it is located roughly in the center of East Africa, this lush area has not only become the first choice for animal migration in several nature reserves in Tanzania, but also has many
Animals living in other countries also move here in droves when the seasons change, such as Kenya and Ethiopia in the north, Zambia, Mozambique in the south, and Congo in the west.
For wild animals, they don’t need to worry about passports and visas. They go where there is grass to eat, and where there is water to drink. The large herbivores are all gone, and those large herbivores that feed on herbivores are gone.
Carnivores lose their main food source, so a large number of carnivores will follow the migrating army and arrive in the Serengeti.
Therefore, from January to May every year, the Serengeti region becomes a world of wild animals. If you want to see the spectacular migration scenes, then you should either come in January or come in May. These migrations
All animals seem to have the same kind of timer in their bodies, and they all act in unison at this time every year, within a few days of each other.
Hong Tao and the others were lucky enough to choose January for their African safari this time. At first, they mainly considered the issue of the Chinese New Year. Who knew that an accident would lead to this adventure. Hong Tao is an atheist, but he has to
I lament the magic of fate. Sometimes, good luck is better than anything else. The only thing that makes Hong Tao depressed is that good luck is uncontrollable. God knows when it comes in a hurry and when it quietly leaves!
In fact, not only animals are migrating at this time, but a small group of humans are also migrating, but their migration route is in the sky. Dozens of huge hot air balloons are arranged in a straight line, starting from the crater of the volcano.
In the tent hotel in the middle, the four at the front were Hong Tao and his friends, and the hot air balloon at the back had not yet risen from the lawn of the hotel.
Faced with the sudden appearance of so many colorful monsters in the sky, the baboons living near the hotel also climbed to the treetops and tent roofs, looking up at the sky with their families. It is estimated that they are also used to the annual
Here we see two human migration activities, but they can't figure out where these "big baboons" who walk on two legs and always bring delicious food are going, what they are doing, and when they will come back!
Two hours later, Hong Tao and his four hot air balloons flew over the peaks on the northwest side of the crater. When they passed through the clouds from an altitude of 300 meters and slowly descended to 100 meters, a deep ravine appeared in front of them.
It's several kilometers long.
On the other side of this ravine is a green sea! The Dutch are right, there are really no trees here. Although it is all grassland, it looks broader, more boundless, and flatter! It is so flat.
People have some unreal illusions.
"We are here. This is the Serengeti plain. I am right. If you can find a tree here, I will drink a bottle of Chinese wine." Holland just talked to Hong Tao about the knowledge of this place for a long time.
But Hong Tao always argued with him, including the issue of growing trees on the grassland.
"Hey, don't brag. Empiricism can kill people! Look, what's over there? There must be at least two trees!" Hong Tao never shed tears until he saw the coffin. He lay on the edge of the hanging basket and worked hard.
Blinking my little eyes, I finally saw two tall tree trunks in front of me on the right.
"See it for yourself. Remember, if you lose, you will have to be my tour guide for free when you get to Beijing." Holland handed the telescope to Hong Tao, and Hong Tao lent his telescope to Tikov.
He only brought a telescope, but Tikov was reluctant to use it himself. He always let his wife hold it to look at the scenery. He seemed to be a little short-sighted himself, always squinting his eyes and looking around.
"X, damn, are you deliberately helping others to deceive me when you come out now? Why are there giraffes here? Don't they eat leaves!" Hong Tao took the binoculars and looked at them, and he was so angry that he started to curse in Chinese.
Oh, it's not two trees at all, but two giraffes taking long strides on their way.
"They are probably coming back from the Northern Serengeti, where it is the dry season. They may go to the Western Corridor, or they may go further south, who knows! But they helped me win a free tour guide, and I
I wish them a safe journey!" Holland was very happy and waved to the two giraffes.
"Unlucky thing! You two have to run into a lion on the way, grandma, and whoever makes me lose the bet will not end well!" Hong Tao is not that generous. Although on the surface he still has to pretend to be willing to admit defeat, but his words
He muttered and threw all kinds of curses at the two giraffes.
