Monday 12 December 2011

Dangerous Wildebeest animal Migration of Africa

The Great Animal Migration of Africa's Serengeti and Mara


Every year the vast plains of east Africa are always geared for the world's greatest wildlife spectacle of almost 1.5 million animal ungulate (wildebeest) migration. In this animal blessed Savannah region of Africa with abundant wildlife the amazing Kenya and Tanzania borders along the famous Kenya's Masai Mara over 1.4 million wildebeest and 200,000 zebra and gazelle, move in this area of bounty with all its natural predators for almost 1,800 miles each year in search of rain and greener pastures which the animals of the African Savannah depend on..

The wildebeest migration as strange as it looks is just part of the mysteries of nature for the wildebeest. as far as the migration of these animals is concerned, these beautiful beast have no real beginning or end of their migration or journey. In fact the wildebeest make this special journey for life  searching mainly for  for food and water. As far s the animal migration in terms of starting is concerned, the moment a wildebeest is born, whether during the wildebeest migration or while in grazing after crossing the Kenya Tanzania borders, that's just the beginning of the animal migration which has been there for as long as their forefathers have crossed these national boundaries for as long as time fan tell. During the annual animal migration you will be glad to know that about 400,000 wildebeest babies are born during a six week period early each year. Why is it a phenomenon is just because when the migrations tarts, these wild  animals will rumble across the plains between late January and mid-March when the spectacular migration begins .

Wildebeest Animal Migration in DECEMBER, JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH
For those who have been able to see the wildebeest migration during their annual African Safari, you will agree with me that when you are part of this animal migration, the Serengeti National Park / Ngorongoro Conservation Area has the biggest number of wild animals in the whole world or of any place you can ever think of. As the year almost comes to the end in December through March, this is the time when there are plenty of wildebeest and zebra in the region as it's is one of the perfect time to see the animal migration and to take good animal photographs and breath taking animal videos as well of the wildebeest migration. 


The animal migration predators
With such an abundant animals on the move, there are always the animals that are weak and animals that are too old to make the long journey. Some of the wildebeest are not in good shape during the tiresome journey and are left behind as well. This is also the calving season (late January through mid March) when the wildebeest  are found in plenty at the Ndutu and Salei plains (Southern Serengeti / Ngorongoro Conservation Area). With the smell of blood of the new born baby wildebeest and the death of the few wildebeest due to natural causes or diseases such a combination of predator and pray are just the perfect spot for attracting the attention of predators like lion, cheetah and hyena, many animal attacks take place during this period and with such a bounty, these carnivores just feast whenever they can day in day out.


For the fun loving animal safaris this is the perfect time to make that memorable wildebeest migration safari to areas of  Ndutu Safari Lodge, Kusini Camp or any of several private tented camps used by mobile safaris such as  "Classic Tanzanian Tented Safari". These include campsites in the Ndutu/Naabi area. For that good animal safari, its just what you make the best of which gives you all the breath taking moments of the safari.

Wildebeest Animal Migration in APRIL and MAY

The Wildebeest Migration in the months April and May you find that with the vast number of animals in one place, the natural habitat and  the wildebeest breeding ground is depleted of its natural vegetation and there is always little food for the millions of wildebeest to eat. 


For all those African safari loving people, its good to note that during the Wildebeest Migration for the months of April and may, the wildebeest starts to move west and north as they look for better feeding grounds from  southern Serengeti / Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the long grass plains and woodland of the Serengeti's western Corridor just around the biggest lake in Africa Lake Victoria. with the onset of the long rains, many roads become inaccessible hence many safaris which are done by road are always not available to to roads not being able to be accessed. Its this beautiful moment when some daring safari lovers would pitch tents and camp for as long as the prevailing rains would take them only to come up with amazing animal photographs of the wildebeest migration and outstanding video footage of the great animal migration depicting the migration from the sunny days to the rainy days and back again the sunny days when they migrate south. other areas where viewing of the wildebeest can be done in the vicinity in areas like the Ndutu Safari Lodge, Kusini Camp and the Serengeti Serena Lodge are fine for wildlife viewing during this time and some campsites in the Ndutu/Naabi area.

Wildebeest Animal Migration in JUNE 
By the end of May the wildebeest have exhausted the Western Corridor's best pastures and the herds must move further north. Entering the Lamai Wedge and the Mara Triangle breeding occurs May through June. This is a transitional period between the rains and the dry season. The Serengeti Serena is a central, easily accessible lodge for viewing the migration at this time. Grumeti River Camp, Migration Camp and Kirawira Camp are also options. Seronera and Moru area campsites are best.

Wildebeest Animal Migration in JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER 
By July you will be surprised to see thousand ow wildebeest along the swollen Mara River - a final barrier from the short sweet grasses of the Masai Mara. Sometimes the wildebeest Animal Migration crossing place is shallow allowing the majority of animals to pass safely. In other areas the waters boil with drowning wildebeest and slashing crocodiles.

Between July and October the wildebeest Animal Migration  resides in the Mara. We recommend Governor's Il Moran Tented Camp as the leading safari camp in the Masai Mara. Other tented camps include Governor's Main Camp, Little Governor's Camp, Bataluer Camp, and Mara River Camp. Tanzanian lodges recommended during this time include Kirawira Tented, Migration Camp, and Grumeti River Camp. Kirawira and Moru area campsites are best.

Wildebeest Animal Migration in NOVEMBER 
The arrival of the short rains call the migration southward. During the short rains of November the wildebeest migration is best viewed from either Lobo Wildlife Lodge or Klein's Camp. Campsites in the Lobo area are best. As November ends the wildebeest Animal migration is making its way back to the southern Serengeti and early in the year they once again give birth. The wildebeest Animal Migration circle of life is complete.



To get the most out of a wildebeest migration safari you need to know where the best places along the migration route are, the times you need to be in certain areas and who the top safari companies are. 


The Best Spots On the wildebeest Animal Migration Route 


Have you ever seen those wildlife documentaries that show masses of wildebeest swimming across a river being shadowed and sometimes dragged under by huge crocodiles or drowning because of the crush and fatigue? 


During the wildebeest Animal Migration the wildebeest that do make it across safely sometimes fail at the last hurdle because the bank is too steep and slippery with mud for them to reach the top even though they make a huge effort to do so. 


This all forms part of the incredible wildebeest migration that takes part every year in the Serengeti and Masai Mara game reserves in East Africa. 


The best spots for the wildebeest Animal Migration to see spectacles like the ones described above are at the Grumeti river in the western corridor of the Serengeti because this is the first major river the hordes of wildebeest need to cross in their quest for sweeter grazing in the north. 





The second and last major river during the wildebeest Animal Migration they need to cross before they get to the Masai Mara reserve is the Mara and this is also an excellent vantage point from which to watch the drama play out. 


But something that few people know is that there is another part of the wildebeest migration that is just as incredible as the actual trek north. And this is the annual foaling of about 400 000 wildebeest calves all in about a three week period early in the year. 


This is also an awesome spectacle and the best spot to experience this is the southern Serengeti in February. You are also bound to see a lot of the predators like lion, hyena, leopard and cheetah take advantage of this food bonanza. 


Timing Is Everything With the Wildebeest Migration 


So how is it possible for a million wildebeest to just disappear? 


This is a question that gets asked reasonably often by people who go to the Serengeti to see the migration but get the timing wrong and then they fail to find the huge herds. 


The answer is that the million wildebeest are still there but they are spread out across a wide area on the Serengeti plains so it just seems like there are fewer of them because they aren't ready to mass for the trip up north yet. 


So how can you make sure you get the timing right? 


It's extremely difficult to predict when the migration will occur because it's all dependant on the rain. And the rain comes at different times each year but it is possible to make a rough estimate based on past occurrences so if you are in the Central Serengeti in April-May you should start to see them move northwest towards the Grumeti controlled area. 



Wildebeest animal migration in June.
These beautiful animals while making or performing their nomadic ritual of moving from one location to another location looking for greener pastures and water have to put their lives to the test. The lucky wildebeest who manage to cross the Grumeti River will have to wade through dangerous Nile crocodile infested rivers a spectacular sight during the great animal migration which leaves many crocodiles with a feast of wildebeest and zebras who succumb to their deaths by drowning or due to the powerful jaws of the Nile crocodiles along the Mara River. This is just one area which is always flocked by many African safari tourists ready to see these beautiful animals migrate to the fresh green Savannah grassland of the Masai Mara National Park in Kenya




Wildebeest animal migration in November-December.
The wildebeest- zebra great animal migration starts to move southwards in Tanzania towards the Serengeti plains again to feast on the bounty of the fresh grasses that have grown on this part of the Savannah land which offers once again the opportunity for great animal or wildebeest pictures and great animal videos as well


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3 comments:

  1. Your website is very beautiful or Articles. I love it thank you for sharing for everyone. Tanzania luxury safari‎

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    1. Thanks for your comment about animal safaris and dropping by.

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  2. I really like this post and this is amazing information about wildlife. Yes, these two Mara and Serengeti are best places to see migration. Book with us serengeti migration safaris

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