Tanzania Safaris






Wildebeest Migration Tanzania Kenya

Wildebeest Migration.
Among the most things people want to see when they visit Serengeti is the wildebeest migration. This is one of the world’s wild wonders.
In this region, there are over 1.5 million wildebeest, gazelles are 400,000 and 200,000 zebra.

Migration.
The migration takes on from Eastern and Southern grazing plains to the dry season water areas in the North and back.
They move between fresh green grass patches while meandering in a clockwise direction, but not in straight line.
It really becomes unpredictable to the migrations destination since it depends on weather patterns entirely and can vary in almost 3 months.
So mobile camps work best during migration safaris because movements entirely depend on the weather.

This is how migration moves.
June-July         Western Corridor Season Camp.
August-November    Northern Serengeti Seasonal Camp.
December-March    Ndutu Seasonal Camp in Southern Serengeti.
April-May        Southern plains to Moru Kopjes.

Best places to see migration.
April-May        Moru Seasonal Camp in the Southwestern Serengeti.
June-July        Western Corridor Seasonal Camp.
December-March     Ndutu Seasonal camp in Southern Serengeti.
August-November    Northern Serengeti Seasonal Camp.

Details.
Within a space of 1 month, all the wildebeest cows give birth to calves in February or March. This takes place in Southern Serengeti and Eastern short grass plains.
Calves run in a few minutes after being born and a few hours, they are beyond the lion’s reach probably. However, the calves become victims of prey since they cannot run very fast and in short time, they become some one’s breakfast. This period particularly targets the calves by the lions.

The wildebeest wait on the plains all time. This is because the short grass cannot cover them up during ambush from the predators, with a 3% increase in calf mortality rate as a result until the migrating process has reached its toll.

The plains however have no permanent water sources and it takes a short time for the things to dry up. The water holes dry from evaporation since Serengeti has a high salt content.
So the remaining water becomes saltier and the animals have no other alternative but to move on. It was suggested that the focal point of moving is the water turning to its critical point of moving is the water turning to its critical point of these salt levels.

The  migration moves to the Southern plains by may or June through Moru Kopses towards central Serengeti and Western Corridor as the rains get underway. The bulls become more aggressive. They keep on running around in circles to defend their females from the bulls passing by. From a great distance, here you can find vast herds of wildebeest of cavorting males out the rocking shape.
There is plenty of fighting and great noise, with the herds surrounding almost like enormous group of bull frogs.

By July or August, the animals move through Central Serengeti from Moru to the Western Corridor. They cross Grumeti River from here and they encounter a number of crocodiles while crossing the river. The animals reach Mara River between August and October and start crossing with the river having plenty of monster crocodiles.

By localized rain showers, they start crossing forward and backward in and out of either Serengeti or Mara.
The arrival of short rains when things turn green in November, the animals move South again. And by this time of the year, large numbers of herds are found around Loliondo and Lobo. They move back on the Eastern and Southern plains within a month or 2 once again.

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