Mara — THE Serengeti National Park (SENAPA) Chief Warden, Mr William Mwakilema, has said the ongoing high season has started positively and they anticipate many tourist arrivals.

"The high season has started well and the number of tourists visiting the park is huge," Mr Mwakilema said. "We are receiving many visitors from different corners of the world but Americans are many and I believe this high season will be very fruitful," Mr Mwakilema said, adding that there were sufficient hospitality facilities such as tented camps, camping sites and classic tourist hotels to accommodate the visiting tourists.

The SENAPA Chief Park Warden was speaking to the 'Daily News' in Tarime early this week after participating in the official handing over ceremony of 6,000 iron sheets donated by the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) to boost completion of education and health projects in Tarime.

Tarime is one of the districts with some villages bordering the park. Majority of the tourists are flocking into northern fringes of the world famous park to view the great migration of over 1.5 million wildebeest still following green pasture and water in the park.

The migration spend much time of their life in the park (SENAPA) before crossing to Masai Mara Game Reserve in the neighbouring Kenya via Mara River, which is shared between the two East African countries. Conservationists say about 250,000 new calves of wildebeest are born in the park every year. The calving season occurs in April on the southern grassland plains of the park.

A number of wildebeest calves are eaten by lions and hyenas, something which help to balance the population of wildebeest in the park, according to conservationists. It is estimated that the entire park covering 14,763 sq kms has 3,000 lions and 7,500 hyenas.

SENAPA is rated as one of the leading Tanzania major tourist destinations and one of the world's top amazing parks blessed with a variety of beautiful fauna and flora. The park receives an average of 350,000 tourists every year with majority of them coming from the United States of America and Europe.

Russia and Asians countries such as Korea, Singapore, China and India have become new good markets with many tourists visiting the park in the recent years, according to the park's tourism department. SENAPA was created in 1951 and it generates around 30bn/- every year.