Day after day of clear skies seem to take all moisture from the landscape during Tarangire’s dry season, converting the waving grasses to a golden blonde, brittle as straw. The Tarangire River is a ghost of its former self, a trickle of water choked with wildlife. Hungry antelope and elephants have trekked hundreds of kilometers to Tarangire’s perennial water source. Around each decreasing lagoon, hundreds of elephants dig in the moist earth of the riverbank in search of hidden springs, while wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, and gazelle interact with uncommon species like eland and oryx. Pythons hide under the shadow of the trees that line Tarangire’s vast southern wetlands, hanging there like huge poisonous fruits.