The Great Serengeti Migration Every year, around December, approximately 500 000 Wildebeest calves are born on the plains of the Serengeti of Tanzania. In three months time they’ll be part of one of the largest migrations of living creatures on earth and a spectacle beyond compare - the Great Serengeti Migration. From March to May, up to 2-million wildebeest embark on an epic 1 800-mile journey of survival from Tanzania towards the lush, life-giving green grasses of the Masai Mara in Kenya.
On its way to Kenya, the herd leaves a swathe of destruction in its wake. Every inch of grass is depleted, leaving the once lush Serengeti as smooth as a cricket pitch. However, the grasses grow rapidly after the wildebeest have moved on.
After four long and unimaginable hard months on the hoof, those wildebeest that didn’t succumb to exhaustion and thirst or weren’t taken by lion, leopard and hyena, mass along the swollen Mara River.
Desperate for food and water, their goal in sight – Kenya’s Masai Mara, the surviving herds face two more life-threatening tests:- Currents, strong enough to rip a 250-kilogram (550-pound) wildebeest off its feet.
- Crocodiles. Weighing up to a ton, with a bite pressure of up to 3 000 pounds of pressure per square inch (compared to 350 psi for a large shark), this prehistoric killing machine has no equal when it comes to ambushing prey in or near water.
Depending on the recent rainfall, sometimes, the chosen crossing place is shallow, which allows the majority of the herds to cross safely. But often the river is deep and fast flowing, with steep banks on either side, turning it into a kill zone – drowning and crocodiles.
Each year, more than 250 000 sick, lame and young wildebeest die trying to get to the Masai Mara.
Between July and October the wildebeest graze on the lush, green grasses of the Masai Mara. More than 2-million animals cover the savannah and grasslands as far as the eye can see. This becomes a time of orgy for the Serengeti predators. Lion, leopard and hyena gorge themselves to a standstill.
October to November is when the short rains begin to fall in the south and east Serengeti, so the herds start to leave the Masai Mara, crossing the Mara River yet again, bringing all the same perils as before. They slowly head back to the Serengeti's eastern plains. By the time they arrive, it is February and the cycle is complete. Arrival at the calving grounds marks the end of the migration, and the start of next year’s migration. |
