On Saturday, March 19th people around the globe will unite to celebrate East Africa’s Serengeti with the firstInternational Serengeti Day. This precious landscape encompasses the Serengeti National Park and the Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya, and is home to the world’s largest herds of grazing animals. The migration patterns in May and June across the central plains have been called “one of the most impressive natural events in the world.”  The Serengeti is also home to large numbers of wildebeest, gazelle, antelope, zebra, lion, and cheetah, to name but a few. It is where the endangered African elephant and black rhinoceros reside, along with 500 species of birds. The Serengeti was inscribed as a site of outstanding universal value by UNESCO and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981 for its unmatched concentration of wildlife.

The Serengeti is an enormous part of Tanzania’s natural heritage and has become a symbol of Africa’s remarkable and diverse environment. However, as poaching and increased interest in Tanzania’s natural resources rise, the Serengeti is facing great risk. Possibly the greatest risk of all is the proposed highway that will cut across the Serengeti National Park, interrupting ancient wildlife migration routes.

What can you do to help? To celebrate International Serengeti Day, people in countries around the world are already raising money, hosting awareness parties, speaking to local zoos and museums, and developing environmental curriculum in schools. ARC even received a letter from a fifth grader in Colorado that emphatically expresses a love for this treasured part of Tanzania! To find out how you can get involved, visit Serengeti Watch’s official Serengeti Day page. From recycling old cell phones to sending postcards, you can be a part of this vital cause!

Leave a comment on this blog to tell us what the Serengeti means to you and what you are doing to raise awareness for this precious landscape.