The Ngorongoro is one of the attractions you will see while on the safari in Tanzania. The Ngorongoro conservation area is a UNESCO world heritage site. It was included on this list in the year 1979. The area is home to the famous Ngorongoro Crater. . This crater is the largest in the world. It’s still intact. The crater was formed about 3 million years ago. The crater is also among the seven wonders of Africa since 2015.
Here are Big five in the Ngorongoro conservation area.
Leopard
The Leopards in Ngorongoro conservation area are mostly found in the Northern highland forest reserve. This area is also good for those searching for the big five. There is a large population of leopards in the Ngorongoro conservation area. The northern highland forest reserve is located in the southern sector of the Ngorongoro conservation area. The forst covers an area of about 893 square Kilometers. This is about 20 percent of the total area of the Ngorongoro conservation area.
Leopard are carnivores and they feed mostly on fish, antelopes, warthogs, monkeys, rodents, zebras, wildebeests and many other animals.
Night Hunts: They are usually shy animals and most of their hunting is during the night. Most of their night preys are owls, porcupines, bats and hyenas.
Day Time Hunts: They usually hide in the caves or on top of trees or huge rocks. They prefer to spend the day time resting.
African lion
In the 1960s, the population of lions in the Ngorongoro had declined a lot fur to the floods the happened then. It is said that about 9 female lions and one male survived this ordeal. By the end of 1965, there were other 7 males that had come to the Ngorongoro conservation area. This boosted the efforts to improve the population of these animals. By the year 1975, there were over 100 lions that live only inside the Ngorongoro crater. There about 60 lions in the crater today. The decrease in number is due to the steep slopes of the crater that deter the lions come here and boost reproduction. Lions are also killed by the locals that graze their animals here. There have been several conflicts between the two.
African buffalo
They are usually in groups and will form a great defense again predators. The males and females will all have horns. The buffalos in Ngorongoro are really heavy animals and if attacked by a lion then it’s at risk of losing its life. Buffalo can be aggressive, and frequently come into conflict with humans outside of protected areas.
African elephant
The numbers of elephants in the Ngorongoro crater are probably the largest will ever come along on any safari. They are very giant animals with ivory tusks that they flaunt around. The elephants were killed a lot before the pre ivory ban of the 1980 and since then the population has grown a lot. The crater doesn’t have elephants since it’s too steep for them to go down and climb out. The Lerai forest is one of the best places where you can view these African giants.
Baby elephants are about 80 centimeters tall at birth but they grow into very large adults. Elephants use their trunks to pick up objects, bathing and drinking. They use the trumpet sound to warn others. Due to their size, they intimidate the predators and they only trouble the young elephants. Elephants can use their trunks to dig and find water in periods of drought. An adult elephant will drink about 90 to 140 liters of water a day.
Rhinoceroses
There are two species the black rhinoceros and the white rhinoceros. The Ngorongoro conservation area has the black Rhinos.
These black rhinos in Ngorongoro are an endangered species. They have been killed a lot for their tusks to near extinction. The Ngorongoro conservation area is among the few places in Tanzania where you will be able to view these Black Rhinos. By the year 1965 there were about 100 black rhinos in the Ngorongoro crater alone. By the year 2004, the number of these rhinos had grown to 17. The Moru Kopjes is the other place where you can see these rhinos and its home to about 12 rhinos by 2004 census.
Black Rhinos are highly endangered and have been poached to near extinction. The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the last places in Tanzania where you can still reliably see wild black rhinos. The Lerai forest is the best spot to see these rhinos in the Ngorongoro conservation area. They are very hard to miss here.
Visit Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania with these reputable Tanzania safari companies or reach out to us below to book your Tanzania safari holiday directly through this Ngorongoro website.
