The Ngorongoro Crater, a large volcanic caldera, lies within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a conservation area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site situated 180 km west of Arusha in the Crater Highlands area of Tanzania. The conservation area is administered by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, an arm of the Tanzanian government, and its boundaries follow the boundary of the Ngorongoro Division of Ngorongoro District.
The Ngorongoro Crater is thought of as “a natural enclosure” for a very wide variety of wildlife, up to 20% or more of the wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) and half the zebra (Equus burchelli) populations vacate the Crater in the wet season. Due to the effects of this enclosure, some of the animals show variances from tha same species elsewhere, the Ngorngoro Lions have quite a limited gene pool and are so well fed and large that the easily oust any migrating male. Aside from herds of zebra, gazelle, and wildebeest, the crater is home to the Big Five of Rhinoceros, Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo. The crater plays host to almost every individual species of wildlife in East Africa, with an estimated 25000 animals within the crater.
A major water source in the crater is the Ngoitokitok Spring, near the eastern crater wall. There is a picnic site here open to tourists and a huge swamp fed by the spring, and the area is inhabited by hippopotamus, elephants, lions, and many others. Such springs are also important to the local Masai and their cattle
Maasai are now permitted to graze their cattle within the crater, but must enter and exit daily.
