Close to Arusha, 118 km away, Tarangire National Park gets its name from the river that threads its way through the length of the reserve. It is famous for its dense wildlife population which is most spectacular between June and September, the dry period. During this time thousands of animals - elephant, buffalo, giraffe, eland, hartebeest, kudu, wildebeest and the rarely seen oryx – migrate from the dry Masai steppe to the Tarangire River looking for water. Lion, leopard and other predators follow the herds. Tarangire has the largest population of elephant of any park in the northern circuit and is also home to 550 varieties of bird.