he endless plains of
east Africa are the setting for the world’s greatest wildlife
spectacle - the 1.5 million animal ungulate (wildebeest) migration.
From the vast Serengeti plains to Masai Mara (Kenya). Over
1.4 million wildebeest and 200,000 zebra and gazelle, relentlessly
tracked by Africa’s great predators, migrate in a clockwise fashion
over 1,800 miles each year in search of rain ripened grass.
There is no real
beginning or end to a wildebeest's journey. Its life is an
endless pilgrimage, a constant search for food and water. The only
beginning is at the moment of birth. An estimated 400,000 wildebeest
calves are born during a six week period early each year -
usually between late January and mid-March. This spectacle
takes place in Serengeti National Park / Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Even discounting the migration the
Serengeti is superb. But the migration puts the park in a league of
its own. It is, quite simply, the greatest wildlife show on Earth. Two
million animals at times, mostly wildebeest and zebras, moving around
an ecosystem 25,000 sq. km. in area, almost as big as the state of Massachusetts.
But a lot wilder.
At its most spectacular the Serengeti migration is one of the few experiences that really justify the word “awesome”, but to see it you have to know where and when to go, and it isn’t as predictable as some people might think, though over a period it does follow a fairly regular pattern. We will assume on this web-site that we are talking of a typical year – but just remember that wildebeests and zebras don’t use the Internet... There is no beginning or end to the migration but we’ll imagine it all starts with the onset of the “rainy season” (don’t be put off by this expression as the “green season”, as it is now often called, is a lovely time of year and usually nowhere near as wet or dismal as it sounds). The rains tend to begin around mid-November, when the big herds start to file into the south-eastern short-grass plains, around Naabi Hill, Lake Ndutu, the Gol Kopjes, Oldupai Gorge and all other parts of the short-grass plains. |
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Between late January and mid-March the wildebeest
calving season takes place. At its peak about 80% of the pregnant
females give birth within three weeks, collectively producing
something like 8,000 babies each day. The large predators, of course,
are on hand to take advantage of this glut.
Between mid-May and the month’s end, as the
plains dry out, the whole menagerie, as if at the wave of a magic
wand, streams off in columns which are sometimes 40 km. long, heading
via the Moru Kopjes for the Western Corridor. On the way, the
wildebeest rut takes place, for a period of about three weeks, from
around mid-June to early July. Dr. Richard Estes, the greatest
authority on the Serengeti wildebeest, has described the event as
“unbelievably spectacular”. It is certainly chaotic, as something
like 250,000 males strive to mate with as many of the 750,000-or-so
females as they can.
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| Between June and
August the migrating animals drink from and eventually cross the
Grumeti River, but for many it will be their last drink or their last
river crossing. For here in the Grumeti are crocodiles that grow to
over five metres in length and weigh more than three-quarters of a
tonne. They have jaws so thickset and powerful that they can crush a wildebeest's
head like a melon, then tear the body into bloody rags. Usually after
yanking the victim into the water.
The
great majority of wildebeest survive, to cross the Ikoma Controlled
Area outside the park then pass through the Serengeti’s Northern
Extension, crossing the next challenging river, the Mara, in July or
August. Most but not all of the wildebeest and zebras also cross the
Kenyan border a little way beyond, to remain in the Maasai Mara
Reserve until about mid-October, when they begin the return journey.
This takes them down the eastern boundary of the Northern Extension,
in and out of the park, and eventually back to the short-grass plains.
The 1000 km. trek – for those which make it - is complete.
Things to remember if you want
to see the migration:
1) Decide which time of year you want to go to the Serengeti and choose a lodge or camp that will (hopefully!) put you within easy reach of the migration at that time. A few hints are given in the appropriate sector on hotels and lodges (Northern Circuit). 2) Don’t be put off by the term “rainy season”. It is one of the best times of year in which to see the migration. 3) Remember that you can almost always reach the migration from any lodge or camp within the Serengeti at almost any time, if you are prepared, in some cases, for a long drive. 4) Don’t make the mistake of thinking that if you don’t see the migration your trip to the Serengeti will be pointless. All parts of the Serengeti are interesting at all times, though the south-eastern plains, from about June to mid-November, are relatively empty (this doesn’t rule out the Lake Ndutu or Seronera localities, which have resident game even when the migration is absent).
*Note
- the migration is a natural event and the timing varies month by month;
year by year.
I hope the above information will help you realize that witnessing
Migration will entirely depend on weather and their location at any
given time can never be guaranteed as they can move approximately 100
miles overnight !!!
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