THE CURRENT JOURNEY
Vast Grasslands
The Tanzanian grasslands spread out in front of me as I gazed out over the savannah with my camera under the canopy of the Land Rover. The grass went on forever as we marveled over the exotic animals that made this grassland their home. Gigantic termite mounds sculpted the otherwise flat landscape leaving artifact mounds where their homes once were. Wildebeest roamed and grazed in never ending herds, joined by zebras and the occasional elephant. The environment was exotic and familiar at the same time.
The name Serengeti comes from the Maasai word “siringet” which means "the place where the land runs on forever". This interesting tidbit brought another quote to mind from Meriwether Lewis, part of the Lewis and Clark team that were the first to explore the prairies and grasslands in North America. “The plains of this country are so immense that one might almost say, the eye is lost in their vastness.”
Similar but a World Apart
The Serengeti and the American prairies, though separated by continents and oceans, share a remarkable similarity in their ecological roles. Historically, North America's prairies were once rich with diverse grasslands, much like the Serengeti, but today they are largely lost to agriculture and development.
Grazers of the Past and Present
Majestic creatures like wildebeest, cape buffalo, zebras, gazelles, and elephants graze the tall grasses in the Serengeti. In contrast, before European settlement, North American prairies were browsed by bison, pronghorns, mule deer, elk, and prairie dogs. Today, these once-abundant grazers have been replaced by domestic cattle, diminishing the diversity that once characterized our grasslands.
The Predators’ Role
Many charismatic predators—lions, cheetahs, leopards, jackals, and hyenas—play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of this ecosystem of the Serengeti grasslands. Similarly, North American prairies once hosted predators like grizzly bears, mountain lions, wolves, coyotes, and foxes. In fact the coyote played the same role on the plains that the jackal does in the Serengeti and the grizzly bear was the king of the prairie much like the lions are in Tanzania. However, the plains predators have been significantly reduced or have moved into the mountains.
Indigenous Ties
Culturally the Tanzanian grasslands are intertwined with the Maasai people and other indigenous groups of the region. This is not unlike our native americans and their connections with the grasslands and the bison. The Maasai were displaced from the grasslands of the serengeti when the national park was created. Likewise indigenous tribes of the plains were moved to reservations to make way for agriculture and development in North America.
Challenges
The Serengeti has faced many challenges over the years including poaching, agriculture, invasive plants, deforestation and human settlement, threatening its wildlife and ecosystems. Similarly our prairies face extreme pressure from agriculture, development and invasive species.
There are many groups in North America working to restore and rewild grasslands. Groups like the Southern Plains Land Trust, Kansas Land Trust the American Prairie preserve buy land to restore and rewild. The Chippewa Cree Tribal Buffalo Pasture is an example of indiginous efforts to bring the bison back to the prairie and the tribes.
Want to learn more?
The American Serengeti by Dan Flores
I love the comparison here, and such beautiful photographs! Thank you for sharing your work!
Very interesting and insightful Heather! Hope all is well! Sue