Tarangire National Park was established in 1970 covering an area of 2850km2. Tarangire National Park is located in Manyara region and it’s the sixth largest park in the republic of Tanzania. Tarangire River crosses the park making it the primary source of water during the dry season for the animals. There are a number of wide swamps which dry into green plains during the dry season in the south of the park. Tarangire National Park is located in the larger Tarangire Ecosystem and home to the migratory animal species such as the wildebeests and zebras.
The park is also home to three endangered animals that can be found nowhere else in the country: the fringe-eared oryx with its graceful horns, the towering greater kudu, and the tiny Ashy Starling.
During the dry season around the months of June to October, the game goes back to the Tarangire swamps. This is also the best season to enjoy animal viewing during your safari at Tarangire. This is also the best period to see big numbers of elephants gather here as well as the zebras and wildebeests. Between the months of November and May many of the animals leave the park as this is part of the larger Tarangire Ecosystem.
Tarangire National Park is famous around the world for the large population of elephants it hosts. It has the largest population of elephants compared to any other park in Tanzania. The other herbivores in the park include cape buffalos, zebras, wildebeests, waterbucks, giraffes, dik dik, impalas and elands. On really some rare occasions, the common usual gerenuk and fringe-eared Oryx are also seen. A few black rhinos are also thought to be still present in this park. A white giraffe due to leucism, was spoted in the year 2015 and this is a rare spectacle.
Carnivores that roam the park include the lions, leopards, cheetahs, sported hyenas, black backed jackals and the rare African wild dogs.
Over 500 bird species have been identified in the park. Some of the species include the vultures, secretary bird and the Ashy starlings.