The Wildebeest Migration is one of the “Seven New Wonders of the World.” It is the largest animal migration in the world. Every year, more than 1.5 million wildebeest and zebra migrate across the ecosystems of the Serengeti, Tanzania and the Masai Mara Kenya. These animals migrate from the Serengeti National Park to the greener pastures of the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya through mid June, in July through Sand river, and in September and October they migrate through the Mara river where crocodiles will prey on them.
The Mara ecosystem is a non-stop sequence of life and death. The only beginning is the moment of birth in Serengeti and the only ending is death in Mara. By late October, when the first of the short rains are falling on the Serengeti’s short-grass plains, the wildebeest start heading south again of the Serengeti. The wildebeest and zebras stay in the Serengeti to calve their young, before starting the journey north again back to the Masai Mara. The wildebeest may be seen in long lines as they trot in single file making their familiar noises. Then, once happy they have reached a grazing area, they spread out and settle for as long as the grass supports the herds.
THE CROSSING
Tens of thousands of wildebeest arrive at the Mara River and gather waiting to cross. For days their numbers can be building up and anticipation grows, but many times for no apparent reason, they turn and wander away from the water’s edge. Eventually they will choose a crossing point, something that can vary from year to year and cannot be predicted with any accuracy. Usually the chosen point will be a stretch of water without too much predator-concealing vegetation on the far side, although occasionally they will choose places that look suicidal and drown while the crocodiles are waiting for them.
Once on the grasslands of the Masai Mara, the wildebeest spend several months feeding and fattening once more, taking advantage of the scattered distribution of green pastures and isolated rainstorms. A remarkable feature of their wandering is their ability to repeatedly find areas of good grazing, no matter how far apart. They are drawn into migrating by the needs of their stomachs, the fact that they’re constantly on the move has the added benefit that they outmatch large numbers of predators.
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