The Great Wildebeest Migration

Wildebeest migration is one of the most spectacular and awe-inspiring wildlife events on the planet, where over million wildebeests, accompanied by the hundreds of thousands of zebras and antelopes make a treacherous and epic journey in search of greener pastures. This ancient and instinctual migration, which has been occurring for centuries, the migration is driven by the wildebeest’s innate desire to find food and water, as they move in a circular pattern between Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. The migration is an experience to the wildebeest’s resilience an adaptability, as they brave numerous challenges, including raging rivers, treacherous terrain, and predators such as the lions, leopards and crocodiles, in a bid to survive and thrive in their ever-changing environment. The wildebeest migration is not only an incredible spectacle, but also a vital component of the ecosystem, playing a crucial role in maintaining the health and diversity of the savannah, and supporting a vast variety of other wildlife species that depend on the wildebeest for survival.

January

The wildebeest migration is mostly driven by the rainfall, so on your safari exploring the experience though there are general pattern plays out each year. During January it’s the period of the first rains in the Southern Serengeti plains in Ndutu area, during the period of January specifically around the Naabi Hill and Lobo are the best spots to the wildebeests especially that’s when the females are heavily pregnant and mostly they move to the greener pastures.

Each year during January, most of the wildebeests are being born around the Serengeti plains, and that’s when there is a highest birthing rate that is watching over 8000 are born every year. On a safari, you can watch on the best spots like Lake Masek and Lake Ndutu as you witness the wildebeests giving birth. Most of the wildebeests be in southeast Ndutu area after the calves are born, before going back to the north in a close wise direction. Again this is the period when you watch the various over 3000 lions in the reserve preying over the young wildebeests.

June

During June the rains have started reducing and the herds do spread out, as the ones that run fast be around Mbalageti River around that period, as those bringing up the rear could be back as Lake Magadi or in Southernmost corner of the Simiti and Nyamuma Hills, as they are moving in different long lines while moving in the northern part of Serengeti.

July

July is majorly the mating season in Serengeti national park, in the Grumeti Reserve in the west of Serengeti while moving past Fort Ikoma. The river crossings at the Grumeti River have the spectacular views to the tourists on a safari, and the same time as the Mara River. During July the wildebeests head in the northward as they move towards Maasai Mara in Kenya as this is the gorgeous experience.

August

August offers the tourists a chance of spotting the wildebeests, coming from the northern part of Serengeti and they face their biggest challenge; at the Mara River as this is the fast moving river that flows through Maasai Mara into Serengeti, most of the wildebeests die through the Mara River crossing. Others drown as they are crushed by the high volume of water trying to cross the water, some of the ones that manage to cross can be consumed by the lions and their next meals but still the resilient ones do cross. On the side from the massive herds the river crossings also attract large volumes of tourists that congregate around to witness the wonderful spectacle that offers you the best safari memories.

September

September that’s when you will catch the end views of the Mara River ending, so the Mara River crossings will not be rewarding as during August. Some of the wildebeests staying in the Maasai Mara and others remaining in the north of the Serengeti with crossings between Kogatende and Lamai area, as they looking for the fresh grass.

November

November has the shortest rains, where the short-grass plains of the Serengeti and drawing the herd to graze, from the starting of November you will spot the herds to linger around the northern Serengeti region of Kogatende and Lamai before going to the southern part for the second big migration of the year, while passing the central Serengeti.

The great wildebeest migration is the largest and attractive natural phenomenon over the overland migration in the entire world, with the wildlife travelling over 800 km or more during each cyle, the stunning of the event lies in its magnitude, where over 1.5 to 2 million wildebeests, thousands of zebras, and various Thomson’s gazelles cross Tanzania’s Serengeti and Kenya’s Maasai Mara in search of the greener pastures, and this experience can be experienced in Tanzania and Kenya. The herds do move clockwise direction up from the south of Serengeti national park through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Loliondo Game Controlled Area and then the Grumeti Reserve, after that they leave Tanzania, to spend time Maasai Mara national reserve in Kenya that borders Serengeti national park to the north, before going back to the southern part of Serengeti national park to start the journey again. Therefore most of the migration takes place in the far larger Serengeti National Park than in Maasai Mara national reserve in Kenya.

This article brings you the follow of the wildebeest migration month by month in Serengeti national park in Tanzania and Maasai Mara national reserve in Kenya.

March

March offers the tourists with the perfect views of the wildebeests where you can find the herds’ in the Ndutu and Kusini Maswa region, in the southern part of the park, because of the new babies that means the wildebeests will be moving slower.

April

On your safari to Serengeti national park in April, the wildebeests do move in groups as they are moving from Ndutu region, past the Simba Kopje in the direction of Moru. The known Simba Kopje is where most of the predators like the lions are in various numbers, that offers you the stunning views of the lions, although it’s the rain season and the rainfall makes the landscape slippery this makes the vehicles to battle through the game drives to watch the wildebeests through the experience is rewarding.

May

During May that’s when the young wildebeests have started growing stronger, and this is the perfect time for the photographers to take the perfect shoots of these wildebeests in the areas between Moru and Mokoma as they are moving towards Lake Magadi

Wildebeest Monthly Locator

October

October offers the tourists with the casual grazing in Maasai Mara National Reserve. Before the short rains gets finished, the wildebeests are easy to find.  This is a wonderful time to be on safari in the reserve, as the rains begin in October, as the lions and the hyenas are still preying on the wildebeests.

December

During December the wildebeests are back in the South of Serengeti, that’s when the pastures again in Serengeti are green again. As the bulk of the hear arrives back in the Serengeti for the rainy season. The wildebeests may be on the a South-east of the central Serengeti region of Seronera, but some may have already made it as far as the Ndutu plains in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where they will be preparing for the calving season and again for the cycle to being again.

The wildebeest migration takes place in response to the seasonal changes in the availability of the food and water, as the wildebeest seek to increase their chances of survival and then reproduction.

The migration is triggered by the onset of the rainy season in Serengeti, which brings the growth of the grass hence providing a rich source of nutrition for the wildebeests. As the rains cease, and vegetation begins to dry out, the wildebeest are forced to move in search of the greener pastures, driven by their instinctual need to find water and food. This ancient and primal argue to migrate is ingrained in the wildebeest, and is influenced by a combination of factors, including the pastures, and the presence of the predators and competitors, all of which play a role in shaping the wildebeest’s migratory patterns.