We don’t expect to see herds of mammals assemble and make their way across the continent, but they do so every year in East Africa. The phenomenon is known as The Great Migration and involves the movement of around 2 million animals—about 1.5 million of them are wildebeest.
The East African Wildebeest Migration is one of the continent’s greatest spectacles. It’s a sight you won’t get to see anywhere else in the world.
Each year thousands of tourists make their way to Tanzania (where the migration begins) to view the millions of animals on the move.
Here’s everything you need to know about the wildebeest migration:
1. THE MILLIONS OF WILDEBEEST
In the early months of the year, around 1.5 million wildebeest are born in Tanzania from January to March. Calving is at its peak in February, when around 8000 wildebeest are birthed every day in the Serengeti.
Tourists who want to see wildebeests in action can book hot air balloon rides over the Serengeti to view the animals up close.
2. ALL HERDS BECOME ONE
It’s tough to imagine humans walk for a few miles, never mind 475 miles, but hundreds of herds of wildebeest do it every year.
Wildebeest have what scientists call “swarm intelligence”; this allows them to systemically explore and evaluate their surroundings before coming up with solutions to overcome hurdles they may face during the journey.
3. HARMONY BETWEEN ZEBRAS AND WILDEBEEST
We don’t really see animals in the wild get along; that’s why seeing wildebeest and zebras walk side by side is so special.
We’d expect any sort of mass migration to be chaotic; but the Great Wildebeest Migration is surprisingly orderly.
Zebras and wildebeest graze together during the migration since they eat different portions of the same kind of grass.
4. PREDATORS’ DELIGHT
ou can expect hundreds of herds of mammals to make their way across the land without gaining some unwanted attention.
Every year around 30,000 zebras and 250,000 wildebeest lose their lives during the Great Migration due to lions, cheetah, crocodiles, and other predators lurking around wanting a bite.
They also die from exhaustion, hunger, and thirst.
NAKUJA EXPEDITIONS’ SAFARIS DURING THE WILDEBEEST MIGRATION
Nakuja Expeditions allows tourists to get up close with the mammals during the migration. It arranges exclusive serengeti wildebeest migration safaris and the Mara River, which runs through Tanzania and Kenya.
The Mara River is an integral component of the great migration. It’s an unforgiving river that the mammals are forced to cross, while vicious crocodiles silently wait in the water to make their move.
If you want to see Africa at its rawest, you’ve got to book a trip to the Mara River with Nakuja Expeditions.
Nakuja Expeditions gives tourists three options for this Safari.
Option 1:
This begins in Arusha and goes to regions in Northern Serengeti. Tourists are picked from the Kogatende Airstrip and then taken directly to the game drive. We suggest clients spend at least 3 nights in the Serengeti to get the complete experience.
We then head to Central Serengeti for a night or two before making our way to the Ngorongoro Crater, then to either Tarangire National Park or Lake Manyara National Park. We eventually head back to the Arusha road.
The best time for this option is during July, August and September.
Option 2:
In this option, our clients start the journey by road and then hop on to a plane.
Option 3:
Clients complete the entire trip by road.
Clients can book luxury lodges and tents for camps for the trip.
Clients can also include other parks on their trips, as long as they tell us in advance, so that we can plan accordingly.
Contact us +255-713-658-555 or +255-787-658-555 by phone. You can even drop us an email at info@nakujaexpeditions.com for more information about Serengeti wildebeest migration tour
