THE GREAT WILDE-BEEST MIGRATION.

From the Serengeti National park in Tanzania, to the Masai Mara in Kenya, the Great Wildebeest Migration attracts thousands of nature enthusiasts, filmmakers and photographers who come from around the world to witness one of Africa’s most dazzling cycles of life.

The Great Wildebeest Migration refers to the huge annual movement of vast numbers of wildebeest accompanied by large numbers of zebras and gazelles searching for food and water especially between Tanzania and Kenya. The reason why zebra and wildebeest graze in harmony together is because they each eat different parts of the same type of grass. The wildebeests preferred habitats are grasslands and savanna vegetation because they are grazing herbivores that feed upon grass and succulent plants. Massive herds will migrate for hundreds of kilometers in search of fresh grass which only grows after the seasonal rainfalls.

This migration occurs in a cycle between Tanzania and Kenya and most of the movement takes place in Tanzania which covers Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Loliondo Game Controlled Area, and Grumeti Reserve. While in Kenya the migration stretches to the Masai Mara Game Reserve, bordering Serengeti National Park in the north. The Great Migration sees over 1.5 million wildebeest, 200,00 zebras and a host of other antelopes travelling cross country.

From late November to mid-March, the wildebeest and other animals are already in the southern Serengeti and Ndutu in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, mainly moving between the transitional borders of the two reserves as it’s a calving season for them. Having lots of calves born in the area, a mass of predators like lions, leopard, hyena and cheetahs are around as they take advantage of the easy prey. During the migration around 250,000 wildebeest and 30,000 zebras are killed off every year as a result of predation by carnivores, but also from thirst, hunger, and exhaustion.

The Great Migration is the largest overland migration in the world where animals travel almost a distance of 800km or more during each cycle because wildebeest have no natural leader, the migrating herd often splits up into smaller herds that circle the main, mega-herd, going in different directions. When considering these smaller, split herds the whole migration can cover over half of the whole Serengeti. Wildebeests are abundant and although numbers have increased in the Serengeti than other parts of the world due to competition with livestock. The destruction of crops has prompted farmers to kill wildebeests and also set up long fences to prevent the animals from migrating to wetlands when there are seasonal droughts. Continued survival is dependent on conservation efforts.

Everyone should experience the Great Wildebeest Migration at least once in their life. There is absolutely nothing like it on earth. And while there is a traditional high season, the migration never really stops, meaning you can get a chance to witness this natural wonder throughout the entire year.