Serengeti is Tanzania's oldest national park and one of the oldest ecosystems on earth. Its vegetation, climate and fauna have hardly changed in the past million years. About 3.6 million years ago, two or three of the earliest men trekked Serengeti's Olduvai Gorge, leaving behind footprints that were later eyed and named by archaeologist Mary Leakey as Australopithecines. Two-million-year-old remains of the homo habilis and 1.8-million-year-old bones and axes of homo erectus were also found in and around that same area.
Around 200 years ago, the Maasai tribe started to settle and grow livestock in the area, which they called "Serengeti" or "endless plain." German geographer and explorer Dr. Oscar Baumann was the first recorded European to arrive in the park, claiming to have killed three rhinos during his stay.
In 1913, Stewart Edward White became Serengeti's first British visitor, camping near Seronera for three months. His exploration records say he and his company shot 50 lions. Since hunting made lions scarce, the Britons decided to make a partial game reserve of the area in 1921 and a full one in 1951. These led to the establishment of Serengeti National Park in 1951. The park gained more prominence in the ‘50s when father and son Bernhard and Michael Grzimek made a documentary on the park to advocate its conservation. Discovery Channel continues to make documentary specials about the park.
As part of the park's creation and to preserve more wildlife, the Maasais were moved to the nearby Ngorongoro highlands. Deceit and coercion, however, were suspected for moving the tribe.
Today, Serengeti remains Tanzania's flagship tourist destination and an undisputed leader in the northern safari circuit.