Serengeti Animals - Insights into Predators, Herbivores, Reptiles, and More

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Wildlife on the Serengeti National Park Plains

The Serengeti boasts not only the largest herds of migrating ungulates but also the highest concentrations of predators globally. Estimates suggest there are between 1.3 and 1.7 million wildebeests, 200,000 zebras, and around 500,000 Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles. These massive herds sustain approximately 7,500 hyenas, up to 4,000 lions, and 500 to 600 cheetahs.

Among these, the buffalo is considered one of Africa’s most dangerous animals, posing challenges when threatened due to their limited number of natural predators.

Long-distance migrants include wildebeests, zebras, Thomson’s gazelles, and elands. Grant’s gazelles also migrate, though their paths are less understood. During the wet season, these animals thrive on the Serengeti plains, while only a few Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles and ostriches remain during the dry season. Oryx can be found on the Salai plains, but they are rare, and their population is uncertain.

Wildlife in the Woodlands

The woodlands are home to several resident animal species. Topis are found throughout the woodlands, forming large herds on the wetter plains of the Western Corridor and the Serengeti Mara area, but the animals are absent in the east. Unlike their relatives, the kongoni prefer the eastern woodlands and long grass plains. Impalas, steinbucks, dik-diks, African elephants, and buffaloes are active throughout the woodlands, avoiding the plains. In the early 2000s, elephants were scarce, but a 2014 aerial survey revealed over 8,000 elephants in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, compared to around 2,000 in 1986. This increase is partly due to reduced persecution outside protected areas, making elephants more common, especially in the north. The same survey estimated the buffalo population at approximately 50,000.

The African elephants in the Serengeti thrive in their natural habitat, moving through the woodlands and interacting with their environment.

Giraffes are also found throughout the woodlands, occasionally seen crossing the plains to the Gol Mountains and Ndutu woodlands. Waterbucks are limited to larger rivers with grasslands, while Bahor reedbucks inhabit riverbanks and spread through long grass plains during the rainy season, being most active at night. Warthogs are widespread but scarce in woodlands and only a few are found on the plains. Oribis are prevalent in the northwest, south eastern plains, with some near Klein’s Camp in the northeast. Grey duikers are also in the northwest, with a few in the hills elsewhere. The majestic Roan antelope is found in two locations: the northwest (Ikorongo, Lamai, and Mara Triangle in Kenya) and the south near Maswa. Greater kudus are also sustained in the far south of Maswa.

Wildlife in Riverine Forests

While in the riverine forests, remember to observe both above and below. The rich diversity of insects and plants makes these forests an excellent place to observe animals and bird species, with the Serengeti being a birdwatcher’s paradise. Insects and seed eaters like banded mongoose, shrews, and large marsh mongoose thrive here. Plant eaters such as duikers and bushbucks hide in the dense cover. In the canopy above, you might spot tree hyraxes, which resemble large rodents but are actually more closely related to elephants! Black-and-white colobus monkeys inhabit woodlands along the Grumeti River. Olive baboons and vervet monkeys are found in woodlands near water, with baboons especially abundant along the Western Corridor.

In the rivers, shaded by forest trees, rest the giant crocodiles of the Grumeti and Mara rivers. Hippos spend their days submerged in the river or in greenish pools during the dry season. These two species coexist peacefully in the same confined pools.

Among the larger carnivores, cheetahs, hyenas, and lions are the big cats prevalent in nearly all Serengeti environments. Serengeti National Park rarely disappoints when it comes to big cats. The Tanzanian side of the Serengeti ecosystem supports about 3,000 to 4,000 lions, possibly the largest population remaining in Africa. Hundreds of resident lions wander the plains around Seronera and the Simba, Moru, and Gol koppies near the main Ngorongoro road. It’s not uncommon to see two or three prides during a single game drive. Lions are often seen lounging in the grass or basking on rocks, though many Serengeti prides increasingly rest in trees on hot days.

Leopard numbers are unknown due to their secretive nature, but they are common in the Serengeti, often spotted in the Seronera Valley. The estimated leopard population is around 1,000 individuals. Cheetahs are frequently sighted, with the park’s estimated population of 500 to 600 individuals being densest in the open grasslands around the Seronera river, and further east toward Ndutu.

Among other predators in Serengeti National Park, spotted hyenas are highly the common animals, possibly more so than lions. Hyenas form large groups in open areas like the plains but are solitary in much of the woodlands. Golden jackals and bat-eared foxes are the most abundant canid species on the plains around Seronera, while black-backed jackals are fairly common in the thicker vegetation towards Lobo.

Driving at dusk or dawn offers the best chance to spot nocturnal predators such as civets, African wildcats, and servals. A true rarity among predators is the African wild dog (or painted dog), once common until the 1970s but wiped out by disease in 1992. Fortunately, wild dogs are highly mobile and wide-ranging, with some traveling groups seen on the eastern plains. In recent years, wild dog populations have been re-establishing in the northeast of the park in Loliondo. Several other introductions of dangerous animals from elsewhere in Tanzania have occurred, and the Serengeti’s wild dog population is estimated to be as high as 250 individuals.

Reptiles, Amphibians, Fish & African Wild Dog

Serengeti National Park is home to a vast variety and number bird species of creeping and crawling creatures. Many of these lizards, skinks, and serpents feed on the abundant insects and rodents in the grass, while others specialize in bird eggs. Pythons can even consume animals as large as gazelles. Some crawlers are herbivores themselves, like the leopard tortoise. Not all crawlers are small: monitor lizards live in reeds and bushes and can grow up to 1.5 meters long. The master of all crawlers, weighing over 800 kilograms and sometimes exceeding five meters in length, is the massive freshwater crocodile of the Serengeti. These ancient creatures can live for over a century and will happily feast on a whole wildebeest.

The fish in Serengeti National Park are adapted to low-oxygen, muddy conditions and can sometimes survive without water. This adaptation is particularly useful during the dry season. The catfish of the Mara and Grumeti Rivers sometimes pull themselves through the mud from pool to pool and can weigh up to 20 kilograms. Others, like the lungfish, bury themselves completely during the dry season, living in a cocoon beneath the cracked mud. Some smaller fish complete their entire life cycle in the few months of the rainy season. As the pools dry, they breed and lay their eggs in the mud. These eggs miraculously survive the hot, dry winds of August and September, hatching into the next generation when the rains return in December.

Surveys have identified around 20 different frog species, many of which live in trees, grasslands, ponds, and watering holes. The night sounds of the wet season are filled with the chorus of frogs, intent on being heard above the symphony of crickets and cicadas and other predators. This is the soundtrack of the African bush during the wet season.

Insects

One of the first things many Serengeti National Park visitors notice is the apparent low number of insects. In reality, while the number of stinging insects is lower compared to North America or Europe, the diversity of insects is much higher. Insect diversity in Serengeti National Park includes ants, beetles, weevils, and termites on the forest floor, clouds of flies, wasps, and bees, and high-flying swallow-tailed butterflies and giant rhinoceros beetles. Five of the more common insect groups crucial to the park’s ecology are dung beetles, grasshoppers, termites, butterflies, and ants.

Dung Beetles

Beetles are the most diverse and successful group of animals on Earth, with over 400,000 known species. In the Serengeti, over 100 different species of dung beetles have been identified in just a small area of the plains. Each of these species specializes in a distinct type of dung in different seasons. Without dung beetles, the Serengeti would become uninhabitable. These incredible creatures roll away and bury up to 75 percent of all dung dropped in the Serengeti, amounting to several hundred tons per day. Their carefully crafted dung balls are buried and become homes for beetle larvae, which consume the leftover nutrients inside, leaving behind a hollow ball of earth. When soil researchers dug pits on the Serengeti plains, they found that 15 to 20 percent of the soil comprised buried dung balls. The colossal amount of dung and soil moved by dung beetles serves to fertilize and loosen the soil, playing a major role in maintaining the productivity of the entire Serengeti ecosystem.

Grasshoppers

Grasshoppers are a diverse group of insects. Their physical shape and color change as they grow, making different species challenging to identify. Although they primarily eat fresh green grasses, some consume flowers, seeds, and even prey on other grasshoppers and tiny insects. Population size estimates suggest that at certain times of the year, grasshoppers consume more grass than any other group of animals in Serengeti National Park, including all wildebeests. Grasshopper diversity in the Serengeti is very high, with researchers identifying over 60 species in just a few collection points. After the seasonal rains, grasshopper numbers increase, attracting enormous flocks of migratory birds to the Serengeti to feast on them.

Termites

Termites play a crucial role in nutrient turnover in the Serengeti. Most termite species are nocturnal, harvesting dead wood and grass. They use dead plant material to support fungus forms in underground chambers, which they cultivate and consume. The soil used to build these chambers is mixed with saliva and used to construct their distinctive mounds. Some termite mounds reach up to 3 meters high with turret-like chimneys. The shafts of the mounds provide homes for various animals, such as snakes, mongoose, and mice. Cheetahs, lions, and wildebeests often stand atop termite mounds to survey the area. On the flat plains, even a rise of just one meter provides an impressive view, making it worth the effort to find food.

Butterflies and Moths

Flying low over the grass or flitting from tree branch top to branch in the woodlands, butterflies feed on nectar from flowers, fulfilling their role as pollinators. A wide range of animals feed on butterflies and moths, leading to the evolution of impressive tactics against predation. These include camouflage coloring, hiding, radar detection, toxic hairs, and large ‘eye’ patterns on their wings, which they flash to scare predators.

Ants

Biting red ants are the most noticeable ants in Serengeti National Park. These ants live in massive colonies. Unlike most ants, they do not have a permanent home. Instead, they hide in hollow tree trunks or underground holes during the day, becoming voraciously marching predators at night. Enormous armies of ants have been known to drive lions away from a kill, consuming what remains. However, they typically target easier prey such as insects, nesting birds, rodents, lizards, and geckos. During the rainy season, you may occasionally see highways of red ants crossing the road in the early morning as they return from their nightly escapades.

Why Does the Serengeti Have So Many Animals, Including Migratory Birds?

The Serengeti is exceptional because it is a transition zone. There is a distinct change from the rich, flat soils of the southern plains to the much poorer, hilly soils in the north. Due to a rainfall gradient, the south receives significantly less rain than other areas. The Serengeti is also home to remnants of riverine forests, a reminder of a time when the landscape was covered by dense lowland forests. This results in a diversity of vegetation types and habitats across Serengeti National Park. It is precisely this diversity (and their dynamics) that supports the multitude of species we observe today.