Kenya wildlife safaris is famous for
the Great Wildebeest Migration,it is one of the “Seven New Wonders of the
World” that makes Kenya to be in a competitive edge apart from authentic cultures,
beaches and natural feature among other attractions.
This phenomenon of movement of animals as
immense as the wildebeest migration, over two million animals migrate from the
Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the greener pastures of the Maasai Mara
National Reserve in Kenya during July through to October attracting huge number
of tourists in Kenya safaris. The migration has to cross the Mara River in the
Maasai Mara where crocodiles will enjoy hunting on the zebras
trying to cross the Mara River.
It is this park where
guests enjoy various game activities as one witness crocodiles try hunt, stalked
and run down by the larger carnivores.
It also has one of the largest densities
of lions in the world and is no wonder this is the home of the BBC wildlife channels Big Cat Diary recorded ever. The stage
on which this show is set is loosely termed the Serengeti Ecosystem, about 40,
000 square kilometer pretty much defined by the dominant migration routes of wildebeest
and comprises parts of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the south, the
Serengeti National Park and the adjacent Maswa Game Reserve and other
‘controlled’ areas in the centre, east and west and the Maasai Mara Game
Reserve to the north. The key players
are the wildebeest, whose numbers appear to have settled at just under 1.5
million, with supporting roles from some 350,000 Thomson’s gazelle, 200,000
zebra and 12,000 eland. These are the main migratory and they cross the ranges
of over a quarter of a million other resident herbivores and like the
carnivores. The lions, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs and lesser predators await
the annual coming of the migration with eager anticipation as these are their
celebrities’ time for them to hunt easily.
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| Wildebeest crossing Mara River |
In the real sense, this
phenomenon is an endless issue where wildebeest search for food and water, as
they circle the Serengeti-
Mara ecosystem in a relentless sequence of life and
death scenario. There is little predictability about the migration. The finer
details of the herds movements are always different. It is a dynamic process
which defies predictions with no two years is ever quite the same as this
depends on the fallen pattern of the rains.
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| Kenya Maasai Mara crossing |
The seasons are
reasonably defined: the short dry season is typically December to
February/March though might vary as a result of climate change and global
warming and the long rains fall over a six week period from March through April
and into May which is good rain for the growth of pastures for these animals and
the long dry season is from June to September, with the two-week ‘short rains’
falling any time from October into November. However with all these seasons are
known to be the best for tourists’ travelers in Kenya Tanzania safaris.
Witness the beginning of
the migration. It start on January and
February, where wildebeest are calving down birthing approximately 300,000 to 400,000 calves born within two to
three weeks of one another, eight and a half months after the rut. The birthing
occurs on the short-grass plains that, at the southernmost extent of the
wildebeests’ range, spread over the lower northern slopes of the Ngorongoro
Crater highlands and are scattered around Olduvai Gorge.
The annual period of
birthing provides feast for predators like the lions, cheetah among others are
celebrating.
May seem that the wildebeest are doing the predators a favor by
dropping their young all for these predators but wildebeest are taking the privilege
of the short grasses that are suitable for the young ones and predators easily
spotted. The predators thus have only a limited impact on the population of
newborn calves; any calves born outside the peak are far more likely to perish.
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| Wonders of Maasai Mara crossing |
However, towards the
end of the short dry season around March, the short-grass plains of the
southernmost Serengeti begin to dry out and the wildebeest begin their journey,
heading towards the western woodlands. They have two entry points according to
behaviorists and ecologist Harvey Croze, co-author of The Great Migration. The
wildebeest’s journey is dictated primarily by their response to the weather;
they follow the rains and the growth of new grass. And, although there is no
scientific proof that this is true, it seems that they, and other animals,
react to lightning and thunderstorms in the distance. It would be surprising if
even the wildebeest could overlook such prominent portents of change, writes
Croze and the phenomenon starts its circle once again!!Creating Kenya holidays
the best safari to experience this wonders!
Sharon C
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