The great wildebeest migration
The Great Wildebeest Migration is an epic journey worth experiencing…
Each year Tanzania’s Serengeti and Kenya’s Masai Mara play host to the world’s greatest natural spectacle, the Great Wildebeest Migration. Between the open plains of the Serengeti and the Masai Mara, massive herds of wildebeest and zebra migrate to greener pastures as the season’s change and the circle of life and death continues. Predators follow the Wildebeest Migration closely, waiting for an opportunity to strike as the great herds traverse across their different territories.
There is no real beginning or end to a Wildebeest’s journey, life is an endless pilgrimage, a constant search for food and water.
The Serengeti ecosystem is one of the oldest on earth. The essential features of climate, vegetation and fauna have barely changed in the past million years. However, it is the migration for which Serengeti is perhaps most famous.
Over a million wildebeest and about 200,000 zebra migrate south from the northern hills to the southern plains following the short rains every October and November, and then move west and north after the long rains in April, May, and June. So strong is the ancient instinct to move that no drought, gorge or crocodile infested river can hold them back. The Wildebeest travel through a variety of parks, reserves and protected areas and through a variety of habitat – witnessing this is truly a spectacle.
When is the best time to see the great wildebeest migration?
To answer the question of when is the best time to see the wildebeest migration, we need to first understand that the animals move in the continuous cycle in search of water and fresh nutritious grasses.
Up to two million wildebeest and half a million zebra roam the Serengeti – Masai Mara corridor along with thousands of gazelles, impala, and other antelope in what is referred to as the Migration. This epic journey is known to influence the location of predators in pursuit for a successful hunt making this the most dramatic wildlife encounter, especially for photography.
Learn more – and decide when to go
