Places > Tanzania, United Republic of > Arusha > Ngorongoro Natural Feature
Ngorongoro Crater
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Although thought of as a natural enclosure for a very wide variety of wildlife, up to 20 or more of the wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus and half the zebra Equus burchelli populations vacate the Crater in the wet season. However, a side effect of this enclosure is that the population of Ngorongoro lions is significantly inbred, with many genetic problems passed from generation to generation. This is due to the very small amount of new bloodlines that enter the local gene pool, as very few migrating male lions enter the crater from the outside. Those who do enter the crater are often prevented from contributing to the gene pool by the craters male lions, who, because of their large size the result of an abundant and constant food source, easily expel any outside competitors. Animal populations in the crater include most of the species found in East Africa, but there are no impalas Aepyceros melampus, topis Damaliscus lunatus, oribis Ourebia oribi, giraffes Giraffa camelopardalis, or crocodiles Crocodylus niloticus.
The crater highlands on the side facing the easterly trade winds receives 8001200 mm of rain a year and is covered largely in montane forest, while the less-steep west wall receives only 400600 mm this side is grassland and bushland dotted with Euphorbia bussei trees. The crater floor is mostly open grassland with two small wooded areas dominated by Acacia xanthophloea.
The Munge Stream drains Olmoti Crater to the north, and is the main water source draining into the seasonal salt lake in the center of the crater. This lake is known by two names Makat as the Maasai called it, meaning salt and Magadi. The Lerai Stream drains the humid forests to the south of the Crater, and it feeds the Lerai Forest on the crater floor - when there is enough rain, the Lerai drains into Lake Magadi as well. Extraction of water by lodges and NCA headquarters reduces the amount of water entering Lerai by around 25.
The other major water source in the crater is the Ngoitokitok Spring, near the eastern crater wall. There is a picnic site here open to tourists and a huge swamp fed by the spring, and the area is inhabited by hippopotamus, elephants, lions, and many others. Many other small springs can be found around the craters floor, and these are important water supplies for the animals and local Masaai, especially during times of drought.nAside from herds of zebra, gazelle, and wildebeest, the crater is home to the big five of rhinoceros, lion, leopard, elephant, and buffalo. The crater plays host to almost every individual species of wildlife in East Africa, with an estimated 258,201,000 animals within the crater.
Following the recommendations of the ad hoc committee of scientists convened after the 2000 drought, an ecological burning program was implemented in the crater, which entails annual or biannual controlled burns of up to 20 of the grasslands. Maasai are now permitted to graze their cattle within the crater, but must enter and exit daily.
Description from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
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