THE GREAT WILDEBEEST MIGRATION MAP-SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK,TANZANIA

Which route do they follow?

Early Wet Season (December- April)

During this time the animals are mainly on the Short Grass Plains (from the Gol Mountains in the south-east to Seronera into the north-east, including Lake Ndutu and Moru Kopjes). If there is a dry spell in between, they move west into the Masai Mara Game Reserve and to the Mbalageti Valley. At the first signs of rain, they move back onto the serengeti plains because of the instant availability of new growth.

Late Wet Season (April- June)

During this time there is a general movement to the northwest of the plains, to Maswa Game Reserve, Moru Kopjes and along the Simiyu, Mbalageti, Seronera and Nyabogati Rivers to the Western Corridor. They reach the western corridor in about the mid-June. Part of population moves directly north through Seronera and smaller section moves north on the eastern side of the Serengeti, through the Loliondo Area. From June to July one can see the death-defying crossing of the crocodiles-infested Grumeti River.

Early dry season (July- October)

This is when the bulk of the migratory herds find itself in the Western Corridor and to the area north-east outside the serengeti. A part from the herds reaches the Mara Rivers already in early August- another dangerous obstacle to cross. During September and October a large portion of the herds spills into the Masai Mara Game Reserve.

Late Dry to Early Wet (October- December)

In the late dry season the bulk of the migratory herd starts its trek south through the Lobo area and a long the eastern boundary. Some move straight through Seronera and some move through the Western Corridor. Most of the herd will have reached the Short Grass Plains by the middle of January where they have their young. They follow local rainstorm on the plains to benefit from newly sprout grasses. When the surface water dries up they repeat the cycle again, as they have done for over a million years.

At Tanzania’s Grumeti River

By June the herds reach the Western Corridor, crossing first the Seronera River, then the Grumeti rivers, where they congregate on the plains. The migrating herbivores dominate but there plenty of other animals like warthog, giraffe, impala and buffalo. The rut is in full swing among the wildebeest. The herds build up at the edge of the river where crocodiles lurk, waiting to pounce on any unsuspecting animals.

Mara River in Kenya

The final obstacle is the Mara River at the border with Kenya. Where the crossings are deep and the current swift, the weak and feeble will be swept away into the jaws of the waiting crocodiles. By September through to November, the Maasai Mara plains in Kenya are filled with these large herds and their accompanying predators.

The Journey Back

Then when the rains clouds gather in the south, the herds begin their long track back to their breeding grounds in the serengeti plains. It is a tough journey of 600km and every year an estimated 250,000 wildebeest don’t make it.