Aerial wildlife census of the Serengeti (Grzimek)
Censo aéreo de fauna del Serengueti (Grzimek)
- Date
- 1957-1959 · confidence medium
- Place
- Serengeti National Park, Mara, Tanzania
- Credited to
- Bernhard and Michael Grzimek
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
The Grzimeks flew over the plains in a zebra-striped aircraft to count wildlife and chart the wildebeest and zebra migration routes. The figures justified extending the park along its migration routes.
It was not the first use of aircraft to count animals, but its scope and influence on Serengeti conservation policy was decisive. Michael Grzimek died in a plane crash in January 1959.
What it led to
- aerial wildlife counts as a standard method in Africa and worldwide
- the documentary and book 'Serengeti Shall Not Die'
- revision of the national park boundaries in 1959