Tarangire is one of the more seasonal parks in northern Tanzania, with a lot of migratory movement within the greater Tarangire ecosystem. In the Dry season, between June and October, large herds of animals are attracted to the Tarangire River. At this time, the elephant numbers are spectacular and the park should be part of any safari in northern Tanzania. Herds of up to 300 elephant can be found, looking for underground streams in the dry riverbeds, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons. Abandoned termite mounds often house mongoose colonies. All the main predators are present, but because of thick vegetation, not spotted as often as in some of the other parks in northern Tanzania. The park’s dominant feature is the Tarangire River. Although it gets very dry, the park is relatively thickly vegetated with acacia shrubs and mixed woodland. Most memorable are the huge baobab trees dotted around in big numbers. The south and east of the park has a big seasonal swamp network, which is an important water catchment area.
Tarangire is outstanding seasonally for wildlife. In the Dry season, the Tarangire River is a magnet for migratory animals such as wildebeest, zebra, common eland, hartebeest, gazelle, buffalo and elephant – of which there are more than you can imagine. Lion are quite easily spotted at this time, as well. Tarangire is home to some dry-country antelope, such as the rare fringe-eared oryx and peculiar, long-necked gerenuk. The swampy areas in the south of the park offer some interesting wildlife viewing opportunities including wallowing elephants and buffalo, the Silale Swamp lion pride and sometimes wild dog. Big pythons can sometimes be found in trees when the swamps are drying up.
Tarangire is a great bird-watching site with more than 500 species recorded. The park harbors several dry-country bird species at the extremity of their range, such as the northern pied babbler and vulturine guineafowl. Serious bird-lovers should also keep an eye open for flocks of the dazzlingly colorful yellow-collared lovebird, and the somewhat drabber rufous-tailed weaver and ashy starling – all restricted to the dry savannah of north-central Tanzania. Migratory birds are present from November to April.
