The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is located 180 km west of Arusha in Tanzania. The area is named after Ngorongoro Crater, a large volcanic caldera.

Approximately 25,000 large animals live in the crater including the black rhinoceros, African buffalo or Cape buffalo, hippopotamus, blue wildebeest, Grant’s zebra,  common eland, and Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles, waterbucks. Cheetah, East African wild dog, serval, and African leopard are rarely seen. 

 The crater has one of the densest known populations of lions.