Wildebeest Migration in Masai Mara and Serengeti

Masai Mara is Kenya’s most famous and most visited game reserve. Open savannahs, rolling grasslands and undulating hills sets the scene for the splendor of the Mara. The Serengeti is the start and finish line for one of the worlds’ migrations. Every year, wildebeests, zebras and gazelles roam pushing ever forward in a clockwise rotation covering the Masai Mara and Serengeti in Tanzania encountering friends and foes alike. Wildebeests have fro millions of  years been trekking, coping with disease, drought and predators. SampWildebeests Crossing Mara River le movie During the wet season the Serengeti is a nice place to live in. Grass abounds in the Southern plains and in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where from late January to mid-march, along a six week period, 400,000 newborn wildebeests see their first light. Many are grabbed by jackals and hyena early at birth, and never have a chance to experience the hiking fate. Survivors have scarce time to strengthen their legs, since the trek starts in April. By the by then the rains are over in Southern Serengeti and the plains have dried up. The great herds then gather and face the long march Norhtwards and Westwards. You will get to see more than one million wildebeests, half a million gazelles, and 200,000 zebras constantly on the move – All in search of fresh grass and water. May & June In late May, the herds leave the Western Corridor for the northern Serengeti plains and woodlands. The fresh, tender and mineral-rich pastures on the other side of the humans' border, in Masai Mara, are the irresistible bait for the animals to finally invade the Kenyan reserve, an event which usually starts in late June to early July. The troops coming from the south meet here another migratory contingent: the resident wildebeest herds of the Mara region. These animals together reside in the Loita Plains and Hills, northeast of the Mara, until the dry season brings the tougher days and it is time to seek the evergreen Mara basin. July to October From July to October, the image of the wildebeests columns traversing the plains is one of the beautiful spectacle a visitor can watch. By October the rains are heading back to Serengeti. This is when the pace of the march reverses, bringing the herds to face once more the quest for Southern grasslands. In the last days of October, the migration is on the vast plains of the Serengeti, where a new generation of calves will be born to start the cycle of life all over again. They are all tracked by elusive predators: black-manned lions, leopards, cheetahs, and hyenas, and circled by vultures as their journey unfolds. Tourists often find themselves amazed at the reality that unfolds as the herds cross the rivers. Other wildlife includes elephants, topi, impala, giraffe, gazelle, baboons, jackals, water buffalo, ostriches, antelope and more. The river banks and water-holes sees hippo, crocodile and abundant birdlife including herons, kestrels, corncrakes, bee-eaters, hornbills, shrikes, sunbirds and over 53 different types of birds of prey.

Masai Mara is Kenya’s most famous and most visited game reserve. Open savannahs, rolling grasslands and undulating hills sets the scene for the splendor of the Mara. The Serengeti is the start and finish line for one of the worlds’ migrations. Every year, wildebeests, zebras and gazelles roam pushing ever forward in a clockwise rotation covering the Masai Mara and Serengeti in Tanzania encountering friends and foes alike. Wildebeests have fro millions of  years been trekking, coping with disease, drought and predators.

During the wet season the Serengeti is a nice place to live in. Grass abounds in the Southern plains and in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where from late January to mid-march, along a six week period, 400,000 newborn wildebeests see their first light. Many are grabbed by jackals and hyena early at birth, and never have a chance to experience the hiking fate. Survivors have scarce time to strengthen their legs, since the trek starts in April. By the by then the rains are over in Southern Serengeti and the plains have dried up. The great herds then gather and face the long march Norhtwards and Westwards.

You will get to see more than one million wildebeests, half a million gazelles, and 200,000 zebras constantly on the move – All in search of fresh grass and water.

May & June

In late May, the herds leave the Western Corridor for the northern Serengeti plains and woodlands. The fresh, tender and mineral-rich pastures on the other side of the humans' border, in Masai Mara, are the irresistible bait for the animals to finally invade the Kenyan reserve, an event which usually starts in late June to early July. The troops coming from the south meet here another migratory contingent: the resident wildebeest herds of the Mara region. These animals together reside in the Loita Plains and Hills, northeast of the Mara, until the dry season brings the tougher days and it is time to seek the evergreen Mara basin.

July to October

From July to October, the image of the wildebeests columns traversing the plains is one of the beautiful spectacle a visitor can watch. By October the rains are heading back to Serengeti. This is when the pace of the march reverses, bringing the herds to face once more the quest for Southern grasslands. In the last days of October, the migration is on the vast plains of the Serengeti, where a new generation of calves will be born to start the cycle of life all over again.

They are all tracked by elusive predators: black-manned lions, leopards, cheetahs, and hyenas, and circled by vultures as their journey unfolds. Tourists often find themselves amazed at the reality that unfolds as the herds cross the rivers. Other wildlife includes elephants, topi, impala, giraffe, gazelle, baboons, jackals, water buffalo, ostriches, antelope and more. The river banks and water-holes sees hippo, crocodile and abundant birdlife including herons, kestrels, corncrakes, bee-eaters, hornbills, shrikes, sunbirds and over 53 different types of birds of prey.