Wildebeest
Migration
Wildebeest
Migration is one of the “Seven New Wonders of the World”.
Nowhere
in the world is there a movement of animals as immense as the wildebeest migration;
over two million animals migrate from the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania
to the greener pastures of the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya during
July through to October.
The
migration has to cross the Mara River in the Maasai Mara where crocodiles will
prey on them. This is one of the highlights as the animals try and cross the
Mara River alive.
About
The Migration
The
stage on which this show is set is loosely termed the Serengeti Ecosystem,
about 40, 000 square kilometres pretty much defined by the dominant migration
routes of the white bearded wildebeest (Connochaetes tuarinus mearnsi) and
comprises parts of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the south; the Serengeti
National Park and the adjacent Maswa Game Reserve and other ‘controlled’ areas
in the centre, east
and west; and the Maasai Mara Game Reserve to the north.
The principle players are the wildebeest, whose numbers appear to have settled
at just under 1.5 million, with supporting roles from some 350,000 Thomson’s
gazelle, 200,000 zebra and 12,000 eland. These are the main migrators and they
cross the ranges of over a quarter of a million other resident herbivores and,
of course, carnivores. The lions, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs and lesser
predators await the annual coming of the migration with eager anticipation.
In
reality there is no such single entity as ‘the migration’. The wildebeest are
the migration – there is neither start nor finish to their endless search for
food and water, as they circle the Serengeti- Mara ecosystem in a relentless
sequence of life and death. ‘The only beginning is the moment of birth,’ notes
acclaimed East African author and photographer Jonathan Scott, who has spent
the better part of the last 30 years chronicling the events of the Serengeti
and Maasai Mara. Similarly the only ending is death.
There is little predictability about the migration, and questions as to which is the best month to view it are likely to get different answers from different people. According to Scott, ‘You could spend a lifetime in the Serengeti-Mara waiting for the typical migration. The finer details of the herds’ movements are always different. It is a dynamic process which defies predictions: no two years are ever quite the same.’
Probably
the most important element of the environment to its inhabitants is the weather
and the cycle of four seasons per year undoubtedly has the defining influence
on the migration. The seasons are reasonably defined: the ‘short dry season’ is
typically December to February/March; the ‘long rains’ fall over a six week
period from March through April and into May; and the ‘long dry season’ is from
June to September, with the two-week ‘short rains’ falling any time from
October into November. There are however, no guarantees about these dates.
Serengeti
wildebeest migration
The
great Serengeti wildebeest migration is the movement of vast numbers of the
Serengeti's wildebeest, accompanied by large numbers of zebra, and smaller
numbers of Grant's gazelle, Thompson's gazelle, eland and impala. These move in
an annual pattern which is fairly predictable. They migrating throughout the
year, constantly seeking fresh grazing and, it's now thought, better quality
water. The precise timing of the Serengeti wildebeest migration is entirely dependent
upon the rainfall patterns each year – here we explain how the broad pattern
works.
Month by month wildebeest migration
Month by month wildebeest migration
The short rains begin around early
November. A little after this, in late November and December, the herds
of the wildebeest migration arrive on the short-grass plains of the Serengeti.
These are south and east of Seronera, around Ndutu and include the north of the
Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Dispersed across these plains, wildebeest and
zebra are everywhere – feeding on the fresh, nutritious grasses. They stay here
through January, February and March, with most wildebeest calves born in
a short window around February. Gradually they spread west across these plains,
then around April they start their great migration north.
By May the Serengeti's wildebeest all seem to be moving north, migrating to seek fresh grazing and water. The area around Moru Kopjes and west of Seronera is then hectic with a series of moving columns, often containing hundreds of thousands of animals – joined by many zebra, and a scattering of Thompson's and Grant's gazelles.
Some of the migration then head due north of Seronera, but most are usually further west. Around June the wildebeest migration is often halted on the south side of the Grumeti River, which has some channels which block or slow their migration north. The wildebeest then congregate there, in the Western Corridor, often building up to a high density before crossing the river. The river here is normally a series of pools and channels, but it's not continuous – and so whilst they always represent an annual feast for the Grumeti River's large crocodiles, these aren't usually quite as spectacular as the crossings of the Mara River, further north.
The wildebeest migration continues moving northwards during July and August, often spreading out across a broad front: some heading through Grumeti Reserve and Ikorongo, others north through the heart of the Serengeti National Park.
September sees the herds spread out across the northern Serengeti, where the Mara River provides the migration with its most serious obstacle. This river gushes through the northern Serengeti from Kenya's adjacent Maasai Mara Game Reserve. Watching the frantic herds of the wildebeest migration crossing the Mara River can be very spectacular; there are often scenes of great panic and confusion. It's common to see herds cross the Mara River north on one day, and then back south a few days later.
By October the wildebeest herds are migrating again with more accord: all are heading south, through western Loliondo and the Serengeti National Park's Lobo area, returning to the green shoots which follow the rains on the short-grass plains of the southern Serengeti in November.
By May the Serengeti's wildebeest all seem to be moving north, migrating to seek fresh grazing and water. The area around Moru Kopjes and west of Seronera is then hectic with a series of moving columns, often containing hundreds of thousands of animals – joined by many zebra, and a scattering of Thompson's and Grant's gazelles.
Some of the migration then head due north of Seronera, but most are usually further west. Around June the wildebeest migration is often halted on the south side of the Grumeti River, which has some channels which block or slow their migration north. The wildebeest then congregate there, in the Western Corridor, often building up to a high density before crossing the river. The river here is normally a series of pools and channels, but it's not continuous – and so whilst they always represent an annual feast for the Grumeti River's large crocodiles, these aren't usually quite as spectacular as the crossings of the Mara River, further north.
The wildebeest migration continues moving northwards during July and August, often spreading out across a broad front: some heading through Grumeti Reserve and Ikorongo, others north through the heart of the Serengeti National Park.
September sees the herds spread out across the northern Serengeti, where the Mara River provides the migration with its most serious obstacle. This river gushes through the northern Serengeti from Kenya's adjacent Maasai Mara Game Reserve. Watching the frantic herds of the wildebeest migration crossing the Mara River can be very spectacular; there are often scenes of great panic and confusion. It's common to see herds cross the Mara River north on one day, and then back south a few days later.
By October the wildebeest herds are migrating again with more accord: all are heading south, through western Loliondo and the Serengeti National Park's Lobo area, returning to the green shoots which follow the rains on the short-grass plains of the southern Serengeti in November.
The
Predators
Once
on the grasslands of the Maasai 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
wanderings is their ability to repeatedly find areas of good grazing, no matter
how far apart. The physiology of the wildebeest is such that it ahs been
designed by evolution to travel large distances very quickly and economically,
apparently requiring no more energy to run a certain distance than to trudge
along at walking pace. Every facet of its life and behavior is designed to save
time – wildebeest even mate on the move, and newborns are, as we have seen, up
and running in minutes.
While
the wildebeest 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
outmarch large numbers of predators. The predators are unable to follow the
moving herds very far, for many are territorial and can neither abandon their
territories nor invade those of others. Moreover, the young of most predators
are highly dependent upon their mothers, who can’t move very far from them.
Closing
The Circle
By
late October, when the first of the short rains are falling on the Serengeti’s
short-grass plains, filling seasonal waterholes and bringing new flushes of
growth, the wildebeest start heading south again. The herds trek down through
the eastern woodlands of the Serengeti, some 90 per cent of the cows heavy with
the new season’s young. Tightly grouped as they pass through the wooded country
the wildebeest scatter and spread out again once they reach the open plains.
