The Greatest Show on Earth

I will never forget the biggest spectacle I have ever witnessed. It was an overcast December day and we drove down from Ngorongoro onto the Serengeti Plains. First we saw a few animals here, a bit more there and suddenly we were driving into and amongst a herd of 300 000 blue wildebeest! Can you try to imagine a sea of animals spread out from horizon to horizon. Whether you can or can't, nothing can compare it with reality - being there, seeing them, smelling them, hearing them. At the heart of the Serengeti ecosystem lies an ancient phenomenon that is the largest movement of wildlife on earth. In pursuit of food and water, over one and a half million wildebeest and half a million zebra and antelope migrate north from the Serengeti to the adjoining Masai Mara reserve in Kenya every year.

Very important

Don't worry if you can't go in a period that coincides with the Great Migration. You will still see plenty of animals and different species in the Mara, as well as those wildebeest and zebra which choose not to join the migration. Most species do not migrate and so there is always great opportunities to observe antelop, lions, elephant, leopards, giraffes and cheetah. Remember too that it is not so expensive outside of the migration season, and you also greater availability of accommodation.

December - March

Vast herds of wildebeest spend the rainy season in the volcanic open plains below the Ngorongoro Crater and in the Southern Serengeti, where the grass growth is most productive with a high nutrient content. This area is the starting point for one of the great wonders of the world.

As the sea of grass provides little cover and the young are easy pickings for a variety of preditors, wildebeest have evolved synchronized birthing. This means about 90% of calves are born within a three week period. With such a sudden and massive surge of available food, predators do not make any significant dent in the newborn calf population. Wildebeest calves can run minutes after they are born and within three days the calves are strong enough to keep up with the herd.

April - May

As the grass becomes depleted in the Southern Serengeti the herds move towards the plains and woodlands of the Serengeti's Western Corridor. For the migrants there is a high mortality rate, due mainly to injury and fatigue, which brings in large numbers of griffon vultures. Northwest from the short grass plains is the Grumeti River, which is their first real obstacle. They also have to contend with the gigantic Nile crocodiles (growing up to 6 meters in length) that lie in wait for any hesitant wildebeest. These crocodiles are inextricably linked with the great migration, moving with surprising stealth and speed as they prey upon the thirsty herds, pausing for a drink on the banks of the river.

June

Following the rainfalls, the migration moves north before crossing the Kenyan border into the Masai Mara. Nothing hinders the progress of the stampeding herds, until they must cross the Mara river, again with its flotillas of hungry crocodiles. All is far from peaceful, for it is the rutting season and each male tries to establish a stamping ground. After moving westwards, the migration divides by some uncanny instinct, one group turning northeast and the other due north.

July - August - September - October

The mass of grunting wildebeests remain on the productive Mara grasslands until October or November, until a point where the ecosystem is simply too dry to support them. And then, just as the storm clouds gather in the south, the vast herds return to their breeding grounds, which are once again green and lush.

November

In November, the army of animals returning southward to the replenished grasslands of the southern Serengeti, completes the migratory cycle.

The migration is never precisely the same in terms of timing and direction, as local conditions influence grass growth. So the wildebeest may move off the open plains earlier in some years, and remain in the northern woodlands for longer, in others. Often the animals split into two groups as they move, resulting in one group moving on the western side and another group moving on the eastern side of the Serengeti, finally meeting up at Ndutu or in the Mara. Viewing of the migration therefore can't be guaranteed.