The Wildebeest Migration in Tanzania

Don’t be fooled into thinking the Wildebeest Migration is a one-time annual event in the safari calendar. It is, in fact, a year-round continual movement of over 1.5 million wildebeest, zebra, eland and gazelle across the great plains of the Serengeti and Masai Mara as they chase the rains in search of food. Dramatic scenes of animals chancing their lives among the Mara River crocodiles, made famous by almost every BBC wildlife documentary ever made, is just one, admittedly iconic, moment in the Great Migration story.

Governed by the seasonal rains, the relentless march is both unstoppable and unpredictable. The herds move at roughly the same time each year, but exactly what they will be doing during your two-week vacation is impossible to say. Happily, a Great Migration safari will take you through some of Tanzania’s best wildlife areas – so you’ll still enjoy excellent opportunities to spot big game while you search out the herds. With patience and flexibility, the Migration itself is the cherry on top of an already delicious safari cake.

While the wildebeest follow the same general migratory pattern, there’s no set schedule and timings and maps of their movements are estimates at best. Dictated by the seasonal rains and with millions of animals on the move, the herds split up and meander, following the call of the fresh grasslands. Some will head north through the Serengeti’s Western Corridor towards the Grumeti River crossing, others via the Loliondo area, or the central Serengeti and the Seronera Valley. Whatever the direction, there’s no avoiding the Serengeti’s 3,000 lions, or its hyenas, cheetahs and elusive leopards. Even the river crossings aren’t simple. Herds will cross and re-cross multiple times as they seek out fresh pastures. Here huge Nile crocodiles, which only eat during the migration times, lie in wait. During October and November the wildebeest leave the Masai Mara and begin the long and perilous journey south to start the cycle once again.

Responsible Travel’s Tom Gibson shares his experience of the Great Migration:
“We caught up with some of the wildebeest herds grazing on a hillside across the valley from us; they stretched to the horizon and as far left and right as we could make out. There were so many of them that it was difficult to actually process what we were seeing. Truly breathtaking.”

Great Migration safaris in the Serengeti are typically combined with game drives in the Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara National Park and northern Tanzania’s other reserves. Additionally, a few days of relaxation on a powder-white Indian Ocean beach, the perfect antidote to those early morning safari starts, is only a short, light aircraft flight away.

Huge Nile crocodiles lie in wait for the migration in the Mara River, separating the Serengeti from Kenya’s Masai Mara. In July to September the sight of thousands of wildebeest risking their lives to cross is one of nature’s most raw and powerful spectacles, but be prepared for swathes of other safari trucks. Herds reach the more western Grumeti River slightly earlier in the year, at the very start of high season.