November: moving south through Loliondo, on the east side of the Serengeti National Park. December: arriving on the east side of the short-grass plains, in time for the rains. We've made this video, with moving maps and real footage, to help you to understand the great wildebeest migration.
The maps of the Tanzanian migration on this page are originals. They have been commissioned by and drawn up for Expert Africa. They are protected under our copyright. They must not be copied or reproduced without our written permission.
If you wish to use them, please contact us. We generally look favourably on requests for educational or charity use, provided that clear acknowledgements and credits are given. To deter unauthorised use, these maps have been digitally watermarked and can be traced. We'll always tailor-make your Safari for you. Here are some of our favourites to inspire you.
With a range of land and water-based activities available throughout, decidedly comfortable accommodation and applicable long-stay discounts, this adventurous safari is excellent value.
Stay in three unique camps as you safari across the Ngorongoro Crater and the iconic Serengeti Plains with your private guide and 4WD vehicle: a trip of comfort and autonomy, with excellent wildlife.
Enjoy a combination of privately guided and shared game drives during this good-value exploration of Northern Tanzania. Explore game-dense regions from three comfortable bases where there are a variety of activities on offer. Enjoy a range of activities during this ultra-luxurious fly-in safari. Explore the remoter regions of Ruaha National Park and Selous Game Reserve with phenomenal guides during stays at two impressively comfortable camps that remain perfectly in keeping with their surroundings.
Combining two of the remotest parks in Tanzania, this safari can deliver extraordinary wildlife viewing in Katavi, and East Africa's best chimp treks, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. The herds form in huge numbers along the pools and channels of the river, which they have to cross in order to continue on their journey. This may not be as spectacular as the famous Mara crossings, but there are still enough wildebeest to provide the Grumeti crocs with a veritable feast.
It is worth noting that May is low season at Ubuntu. Safaris at this time offer great value since there are relatively low numbers of tourists in the Serengeti, yet the wildlife viewings remain excellent.
During June, the dry season starts with large concentrations of wildebeest in the Western Serengeti and on the southern banks of the Grumeti River. Each migrating animal must face the challenge of crossing the crocodile-infested river — the first of many daunting and tense river encounters. As June moves into July, the hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and zebra continue to head north along the western edge of the park toward an even riskier barrier: the Mara River in the north of the Serengeti.
These river crossings are arguably one of the most exciting wildlife events on Earth. They usually begin at the onset of high season in July, but timing all depends on nature. The herds will typically be found in the Northern Serengeti in the month of July, where access is provided by Asilia's mobile migration camps as well as Sayari Camp for those looking to indulge just a little bit more.
Later in July, those animals that have successfully made it across the Mara River will also be found in the Masai Mara , where guests of Rekero Camp can watch river crossings right from the main deck of the camp on their Kenyan safari.
At this time, daily river crossings can be seen at the Mara and Talek rivers, both often central to incredible scenes. By August, the herds have faced the challenge of crossing the Mara River and are spread throughout the Masai Mara's northern region, with many remaining in the northern Serengeti. In years when the river is in full flow, the panic and confusion at the crossings — combined with waiting predators and surging currents — can cause massive loss of life.
But, even in years of relatively gently flowing water, the crocs take their toll, not to mention the lions and other large predators that patrol the banks, ready to ambush any wildebeest that make it to the other side. There is no single crossing: at some spots, there are just a few individuals, while others see a mass of animals moving without break for hours. By September to October, the main chaos has ended and the migrating columns have gradually moved eastward.
However, they wildebeest will face the heavy waters of the Mara River once more as they prepare to cross once again for their return journey southward. After the East African short rains in late October and early November, the wildebeest move down from Kenya and into the eastern limits of the Serengeti past Namiri Plains , an area known for outstanding cheetah sightings. By December, they are spread throughout the eastern and southern reaches. In the early months of the new year, the grasses in the deep south of the Serengeti are lush with rain.
This draws the herds of wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebra and other plains animals. The cycle continues as the calving season starts once again. With our camps positioned all along the migration route, our guests have a high chance of seeing the migration at any time of year. Three of these are mobile camps that move around the Serengeti throughout the year to ensure guests are in the best possible position to witness the Great Migration in all its glory.
When the migration is in Kenya, guests can experience this spectacle at Rekero in the Masai Mara, or at Naboisho or Encounter Mara, both of which are nearby in the Mara-Naboisho Conservancy. The kilometer trek of the immense wildebeest herd is the largest mammal migration on earth. The timing of the migration coincides with greening of nutritious grasses on the short-grass plains during the wet season.
These areas are safer because predators can be easily spotted making it an ideal place for calving. However, the plains dry and the wildebeest are forced to move in search of greener pastures in the western corridor. The northern extension of the ecosystem has the highest rainfall, but the grasses are least nutritious.
This is the dry season retreat for the wildebeest, at least until the south becomes green again. The result is a clockwise movement from the south, west, north, and back to the south. A better representation of the circle of life probably cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The journey starts in Southern Serengeti when wildebeest calves are being born. Predators like lions and hyenas are constantly hunting for babies, and thousands and thousands of calves are born within a couple weeks of each other — a feast for the eyes of true wildlife enthusiasts.
When the drought comes in May, the herd moves north, towards the Masai Mara in Kenya, chomping down the high green grass, quickly followed by the gazelles and zebras. The migration is not without risk: crossing rivers means facing about 3, crocodiles, patiently waiting for a kill.
Not to mention the famous Serengeti lion population: by far the largest in Africa. Despite the abundance of hoofed meat in this area, life is not easy for these big cats in this unforgiving landscape. But seeing a group of lions collaborating to hunt down a wildebeest is an unforgettable sight. Then, with the beginning of the short rains in late October, the migration makes its way back into the Serengeti.
When planning your Serengeti safari you probably want to include seeing the Great Migration. So how do you ensure to be there when it happens?
This is why it is best to have as much time on safari as possible if you hope to see a river crossing. The popular river crossings usually coincide with safari's high season June to October , hence the perception that this is the only time of the year that the wildebeest are on the move or can be seen. Because the Great Migration is a fluid, year-round movement of about two million animals across the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, there are no defined start or end points.
They move after the rains and the growth of new grass, essentially following a natural instinct to find food to stay alive. Some experts believe that the wildebeest are triggered by distant lightning and thunderstorms, but there is no scientific proof of it.
With climate change, the long and short rainy seasons in Tanzania and Kenya are no longer as regular or predictable as they once were. The rains can be late or early, which will throw the whole wildebeest calendar out of synch. This is a very general guideline for where the herds are during the year — bearing in mind that the entire Gnu Migration is triggered by rain, which can be early, late or on time:. The Serengeti is not fenced, so the herds are free to move where they can find grazing.
Remember that although up to two million wildebeest, zebra and antelope form the Serengeti Migration, they are not all in a single herd. The animals break up into mega-herds of thousands or hundreds of individuals at time. It is calving season over 8 wildebeest babies are born each day! If the short rainy season Nov—Dec produced good grazing, the herds feed frenziedly and remain in the Serengeti's southern plains until they slowly start moving west in March. The action-packed rutting breeding season is in full swing, featuring testosterone-fuelled jousts between males competing for the right to mate with receptive females.
Wagons roll! The massed herds are on the go, huge columns of up to 40 kilometres 25 miles in length can sometimes be seen as the wildebeest funnel up into the central Serengeti. The wildebeest are usually in the central Serengeti and getting ready for the toughest part of their odyssey. The herds may have split up, with some already crossing the Grumeti River.
The Great Migration have reached the Grumeti region and northern parts of the Serengeti and are peering closely at the treacherous waters of the Mara River they have to cross into Kenya. Huge Nile crocodiles, that's why!
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