Ngorongoro Craters & Wildlife

There are nine craters within the boundaries of the NCA and one on the North-Eastern corner (Kermasi Crater). The names of the craters from East to West are Kerimasi, Empakaai, Lolmalasin, Losirua, Olmoti, Ngorongoro, Oldean, Loroklukunya, Sadiman and Makarot. The highest crater is Lolmalasin at 3700m above sea level.

The jewel in Ngorongoro‘s crown is a deep volcanic crater: The Ngorongoro Crater is nestled in a range of extinct volcanoes which rise to heights of more than 3,500m. It is the largest un flooded and unbroken caldera in the world – 19.2 km in diameter, 610m deep and 304 sq km in area. The rich pasture and permanent water of the Crater floor supports a large resident population of wildlife of up to 25,000 – predominantly grazing animals. These include wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, buffalo, eland, kongoni and warthogs.

The swamps and forest provide additional resources for hippo, elephant, waterbuck, reedbuck and bushbuck, baboons and vervet monkeys. Predatory animals – lion, leopard, cheetah, several cats live off the abundant wildlife and average packs of hyena roam the Crater, making their own kill and scavenging from others. Only bull elephants descend regularly to the Crater floor. The large breeding herds wander throughout the forest rim where they find the most suitable food. The black rhinoceros in the Crater are relatively safe and the number is approaching twenty-four.

Before it collapsed, the Ngorongoro Crater was said to have been 4587m above sea level. Some of the craters, such as Ngorongoro, Empakaai and Olmoti are not true craters but are actually calderas. A caldera is formed when a circular fault in the wall of the volcano causes it to collapse into itself to form a crater floor.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority carries out wildlife census twice a year; the first one is during the dry season and the second one is during the wet season. The research and Planning Unit is responsible for planning, organizing and analysis of all the data collected. Total counts of Ngorongoro Crater herbivores and carnivores are conducted using six blocks on the crater floor. All the blocks are censused at the same time and within one day. The results for the last year wildlife census are shown in the tables below:

(A) Dry season wildlife population estimates for the year 2006

BLOCKS	WL	ZB	BF	KG	TG	GG	LN	WH	HY	SJ	HP	CC	RH	KB	EL	SB	OS	WB	VM	ED
1	315	269	543	10	280	92	11	15	11	10	76	14	1	1	9	2	12	16	3	-
2	2	978	652	11	423	61	10	14	10	-	63	61	-	-	7	3	13	2	-	-
3	437	242	212	-	4	24	-	7	-	-	-	31	-	7	-	-	9	-	-	-
4	1621	193	149	1	10	35	18	5	5	8	28	4	-	5	82	3	11	-	-	2
5	546	432	309	-	76	107	10	12	12	21	-	-	3	3	-	-	10	-	-	-
6	1767	1672	180	21	-	102	-	10	8	10	-	14	-	-	-	-	13	-	-	23
TOTAL	4688	3786	2045	43	793	421	49	63	46	49	167	124	4	16	98	8	68	18	3	25

(B) Wet season wildlife population estimates for the year 2006

BLOCKS	WL	ZB	BF	KG	EL	HP	GG	TG	RH	LN	WH	HY	GJ	SJ	OS	KB	LP	CC	ED	WB	BN	CH	BX	SB
1	233	90	810	22	9	-	423	1045	9	-	10	14	-	4	35	9	-	10	4	20	31	1	5	2
2	-	-	69	21	4	77	14	12	-	3	1	-	-	-	-	3	-	27	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	64	203	713	3	52	5	14	-	2	6	5	3	3	-	-	5	-	-	-	3	-	-	10	-
4	557	103	22	-	13	11	31	148	2	-	64	19	2	2	10	2	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	17	-	1270	66	255	-	182	265	-	-	10	3	3	3	69	6	-	24	-	-	-	-	-	-
TOTAL	3385	3484	3106	112	333	93	764	1549	13	13	92	47	9	9	114	31	-	82	59	23	31	1	15	2

N: B
The figures above refer to the number of animals sighted on the day of census, and do not indicate the actual total population of wildlife in Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Wildlife move freely in and out of the crater.

KEY:

SB	Secretary Bird		WB	Waterbuck
ED	Eland		RB	Reedbuck
SSJ	Stripped Silvery Jackal		BF	Buffalo
TG	Thomson Gazelle		HP	Hippo
GG	Grant Gazelle		BN	Baboon
BX	Bat Eared Fox		BB	Bushbuck
ZB	Zebra		EL	Elephant
OS	Ostrich		KG	Kongoni
SC	Serval Cat		HY	Hyena
CH	Cheetah		CC	Crown Crane
WL	Wildebeest		SJ	Silver Backed Jackal
KB	Kori Bustard		GJ	Golden Backed Jackal
RH	Rhino		LN	Lion
VM	Vervet Monkey		LP	Leopard
WH	Warthog		DD	Dikdik

Olmoti and Empakaai

Although smaller than Ngorongoro Crater, Olmoti and Empakaai to the north-east are noted for their beauty and solitude. The floors of both craters are easily accessible on foot, but visitors should be accompanied by a local guide.

The rim of Olmoti Crater is at 3,700 meters but the crater itself is relatively shallow. The caldera is home to eland, bushbuck and sometimes buffalo, along with the Maasai and their livestock. Water flows across the crater to the south side where it pours out through a cleft in a small but spectacular waterfall known as Munge stream.

The 300 meter deep, six kilometer-wide Empakaai Crater is dominated by a very deep soda lake which occupies nearly half the floor. Waterbirds such as the black-winged stilt, Cape teal and Flamingo inhabit its shore. Much of the 32km crater rim of Empakaai can be walked and provides spectacular views. Wildlife is often seen around the lake.