Big Five African wilderness: Ngorongoro Crater Lodge lies within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area at the eastern edge of the Serengeti. There are four distinct habitats which are home to
25 000 animals – boasting excellent year-round game viewing.

Big Five, including black-maned lion Tanzania’s best locality for viewing black rhino Resident bull elephants with spectacular tusks Abundance of lion prides and spotted hyena clans Thousands of lesser and greater flamingo in the soda lake Excellent montane forest birdwatching on Crater rim Excursions to annual breeding grounds of over one million wildebeest (January to February) Excursions to famous Olduvai Gorge (world-famous hominid fossil site)

Ngorongoro Crater Habitats:  The Crater floor’s open grassland habitat supports resident herds of grazing herbivores and their attendant predators. Pillarwood, nuxia, mountain bersama, hagenia and ficus trees, all draped with lichens and epiphytic orchids, dominate cloud forest on the Crater rim. Lerai fever tree forest is home to elephant and nesting raptors. The soda-rich Lake Magadi on the Crater floor attracts flamingos and other wading birds, while ducks and other waterfowl favour freshwater ponds. West of the Crater, the ‘short grass plains’ are the traditional calving grounds (January - February) of the Serengeti’s huge wildebeest herds.
Mammals at Ngorongoro Crater:  A population of around 15 endangered black rhino exists on the Crater floor. Powerful spotted hyena clans regularly clash with lion prides. Huge-tusked elephant bulls occupy the Lerai forest. Golden and black-backed jackal compete with six species of vultures at carrion sites. Buffalo herds number up to 300. Resident wildebeest and zebra do not join the migratory herds of the adjacent Serengeti. Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles are the prey of nomadic cheetah. Buffalo, bushpig, blue monkey and Peters’ duiker occupy the forest on the Crater rim. Kirk’s dik-dik are abundant at nearby Olduvai Gorge, where rare striped hyena have been recorded. Abundant hippos reside in various hippo pools.
Birds at Ngorogoro Crater:  There are 371 species recorded at Ngorongoro. Ostrich, kori bustard and grey crowned crane are regularly encountered in the grassland on the Crater floor where superb starling, rufous-tailed weaver and rosy-breasted longclaw are abundant. Five sunbird species (malachite, tacazze, bronze, eastern double-collared and golden-winged) visit flowering shrubs on the Crater rim and around the Lodge. Cinnamon-chested bee-eater, white-eyed slaty flycatcher, hunter’s cisticola and Montane nightjar are common around the Lodge. Augur buzzard, forest buzzard, long-crested eagle and Egyptian vulture are among resident birds of prey.
Other African Wildlife:  High-casqued chameleon can be seen at the forest edge close to the Lodge. Large gatherings of reed and grass frogs occur in freshwater pools after rain on the Crater floor. Attractive epiphytic orchids cloak large trees on the Crater rim.