Wildebeest Migration in Serengeti National Park
When planning a migration safari to Serengeti, it is highly important to understand the best place to be based at any point of time during Serengeti safari. The Wildebeest and Zebra basically move in a huge anti-clockwise direction.
While June is a good time to around the Grumeti River, July/August/September/ sometimes even October is better to be in the Masai Mara.
What is Wildebeest Migration?
Wildebeest migration is a term for circular journey of approx. two million wildlife like wildebeests, zebras, antelopes, topis, who migrate from the Serengeti plains towards Kenya’s Masai Mara and back to the Serengeti, because they are constantly searching for new food and water.
The wildebeest migration is not limited to the confines of the Serengeti National Park and Masai Mara National Park. Instead, the migration actually covers a vast area known as the Serengeti Eco-system and Masai Mara as well. This Eco-system includes a number of private reserves and concession areas, including The Grumeti Game Reserve, Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Loliondo Game Controlled Area. These together form a huge area for the migration.
The Annual Migration Pattern in Serengeti
The exact timing of the Serengeti wildebeest migration is completely dependent upon the rainfall patterns each year and its not possible to entirely predict movements. However an oriental wildebeest migration calendar in Serengeti usually follows this monthly path.
December – March
The Southern Plains of the Serengeti are where it all begins. Here is where the wildebeest would like to call home and it’s where, each year in late February or March, life begins for half a million wildebeest.
April – May
As the southern plains dry out and the rut begins, so the wildebeest herds begin to move following rain. In April and May they are possible to be found them flocking slowly through Moru Kopjes in the South Central Serengeti as they begin the journey north.
Jun – July
As the wildebeest migration gathers peak, the herds enter the Serengeti Western Corridor. It’s here that the wildebeest and their newborn calves meet their first serious barrier in the form of the Grumeti River as well as hungry crocodiles waiting for animals to cross the river.
Aug – November
Between August and November, the migration reaches its northern range: the grasslands on either bank of the crocodile-infested Mara River which the herds must cross not once, but twice, as they complete their migration circle. Many animals drawn while crossing the river.