The two hundred and sixty square kilometre Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania is not only a wonder of nature but also home to some fascinating wildlife. The dense area of the Lerai Forest in the southern part of the crater is a world itself within Ngorongoro. The vegetation provides a habitat for many hungry plant eaters among which is the elephant. This rainy, elevated location is eighteen hundred metres above sea level. The crater is the stomping ground of the Massai who have lived here for several centuries. However, they were forced to move their settlements from the crater to an area outside Ngorongoro as their herds were a threat to the protected indigenous wildlife. Some of the most striking animals in the large crater area of Ngorongoro are the zebra that live in small families of up to twenty members. From a distance their stripes provide a natural camouflage. Today around four thousand zebra live in the nature reserve. Because it is a crater and there are so many animals living within it the Ngorongoro Crater is often thought of, quite rightly, as a gigantic zoo.

• published: 16 Jun 2014
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