Well-known for its herds of elephant and its rugged terrain, Tarangire (pronounced with a hard "g") National Park should also be known for its spectacular baobab trees, its seasonal concentrations of zebra and wildebeest, its rocky hills, and its swampy "black cotton" volcanic soil.  The stunning variety of Tarangire's wildlife surpasses that of any other place in Tanzania, at least during the dry season, and with the possible exception of Ngorongoro Crater, as thousands of animals hunt and flee through an ecosystem rich with contour, color, and natural drama.  Located south of the plains of Maasailand and east of Lake Manyara, a three-hour drive from the town of Arusha, Tarangire is the fourth-largest national park in Tanzania. 

The Dry Season
During the dry season, which corresponds to summer and early fall in the United States (July-October), the Tarangire River serves water to elephant herds up to 300 members strong, big cats like lions, cheetahs and leopards, hoofed beasts from zebra to klipspringer to dikdik, seldom-seen creatures like kudus and oryx, tough characters like warthogs, hyenas, and African wild dogs, and the gentle giraffe, harems of baboons, hippos -- the list could go on.  Water levels remain high enough to make the river a permanent source of water.  Animals typically gather twice daily along its winding banks, where the smaller ones hide in tall reeds and elephant grass. 

Baobab Trees
Away from the river, wildlife may rely on baobab trees that become hollow and fill with rainwater.  Baobabs are truly hardy trees.  They can survive having their bark peeled, which is why they constitute a renewable source of material for people who use woody fibers to weave mats and make ropes.  They can also survive elephant gorings, in moderation, which occur when  food becomes scarce and elephants resort to eating woody pulp.  The massive, compound trunk of  the baobab tree, wrapped in silvery bark, rises to form a tangle of branches that curve and taper until they are reduced to mere squiggles of wood. 

The Green Season
The Tarangire landscape transforms when the rains begin to fall.  During the "green season" from November through March, and the "long rains" during April and May, greenery abounds.  The baobabs grow leaves, giraffes forage for acacia, leopards hide in the cool foliage, and rock pythons glide up leafy trees near the swamps. A scene that looks vibrant and green in February will have turned ochre, yellow, and brown by August.

Stunning Bird Life
Stunning birds concentrate in Tarangire.  The massive martial eagle may swoop down to pluck a hyrax from a rocky kopje (pronounced "copy").  The clump of feathers tumbling through the air, black, white, and chestnut, is a Bateleur eagle.  A Vereaux eagle owl blinks from its perch in an acacia tree.  The Kori Bustard, the heaviest bird that can fly, takes to the air near its ground-bound compatriot, the ostrich.  Flamingos and pelicans can sometimes be seen flying to or from Lakes Burungi and Manyara beyond the park's boundaries.

Black Cotton Soil
East of the river, swamps form in the rainy season.  "Black cotton" soil, so named because cotton grows well in it, absorbs huge amounts of water, gets slippery, and makes some roads impassable.  When the soil dries again, it may split into cracks up to10 feet deep.  West of the river, near the center of the park, stands Kitibong Hill.  Herds of Cape buffalo favor the surrounding acacia parkland.

At dusk, elephants wade into the river, fill their trunks with the saline water of the Tarangire River, spray and drink to form a classic silhouette against the orange sunset on the horizon.  Birds soar.  Deep in their cool lairs, two nocturnal cats, the civet and the genet, begin to stir.