Migration

Migration of Wildebeests in Tanzania and Kenya

A comprehensive manual on Tanzania’s and Kenya’s huge wildebeest migration
Millions of wildebeests traverse hundreds of kilometers each year through Tanzania’s and Kenya’s wilderness areas and savannah plains. The greatest demonstration of animal migration behavior that has ever taken place is the wildebeest migration in Kenya and Tanzania.

Researchers, photographers, and travelers have long been drawn to the enchanted plains of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park and Kenya’s Masai Mara National Park. There are many fascinating tales and firsthand accounts of the great wildebeest migration. Due of their social nature, wildebeests travel and live in herds.

Safaris to see the wildebeest migration in Kenya and Tanzania can be paired with chimpanzee safaris in Uganda and gorilla trekking in Rwanda. This makes it possible for you to witness several species in one visit.

This post will explain what wildebeests are, how they migrate throughout the year, and what you need to know to enjoy the greatest possible wildebeest migration experience in Tanzania and Kenya. We think that you will have the greatest safari experience ever if you are familiar with this information before visiting these incredible safari locations.

Experience the largest animal migration in the world by traveling to East Africa.

The trip begins in the southernmost regions of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park and travels north through the Ngoro Ngoro Crater to reach Kenya’s Masai Mara National Park. These creatures follow their instincts and their need for clean, green grass and water to drink. It is significant to remember that thousands of zebras, Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles, and other predators, including lions, hyenas, and leopards, who can only be satiated by blood, accompany the wildebeests on their migration.

Carnivores that rely solely on these herbivores likewise think that the grass is always greener on the other side, in addition to herbivores. According to the law of natural selection, hundreds of people die because only the strong survive.

However, as thousands of new life forms proliferate, ecosystems manage to maintain a balance between the eaters and the consumed.

What is the big migration of wild animals?

Simply put, the great wildebeest migration is the movement of nearly a million wildebeests from one location to another, accompanied by thousands of gazelles, zebras, and other animal species. This movement specifically takes place in the savannah plains of Tanzania’s Masai Mara National Park and Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park in East Africa. This migration occurs throughout the course of the year rather than in a single night.

Predators such as lions, hyenas, and leopards keep an eye on the migration, as do scavenging birds that clean up the park by consuming the remains of their kill. The Mara River is home to many crocodiles, but what makes this movement so spectacular is the challenges these animals face when crossing it. At this point, your ability to eat or be eaten depends on a variety of traits like strength, endurance, speed, and patience. You may attest to the reality of the law of survival or the fittest here.

What is the wildebeest’s scientific name?

Originating in East and Southern Africa, the wildebeest, often referred to as gnu, is an antelope belonging to the genus Connochaetes. Along with cattle, goats, sheep, and other two-toed ungulates, they are members of the Bovidae family, which also contains real antelopes.

Because of their uncontrolled nature, the Dutch in South Africa gave them the moniker “wildebeests,” which translates to “Wild beasts.”

What is a wildebeest’s weight?

A mature wildebeest weighs between 300 and 600 pounds and has a shoulder length of 45 to 55 inches. In addition, their length ranges from 5 to 8 feet, with a tail length of 14 to 22 inches.

What is the duration of the wildebeest’s gestation?

Mating behavior in wildebeests

Known as the rut, this mating season is one of the finest times to see the wildebeests. The majority of tourists like witnessing bullfights, territory marking, and mounting at this time. About 200 or 150 wildebeests separate into groups during the rut season, leaving the larger groupings or herds behind. Within these clusters, five or six of the top bulls mark out and protect areas that the cows wander through. Male wildebeests display their possession of a specific territory by bucking and cantering around it. They mark their territory by dispersing secretions, peeing, and feces in a specific area. When confronted by other bulls, the bulls’ expressions are gloomy, but when they see a female equivalent, they start to look a little passionate.

Mating

Making intimate contact is the initial step in mating, and often the bull initiates contact. Female wildebeests do not always accept the bull’s attempts. Women desire to give themselves to those who are stronger and better leaders. When a female calms down and lets a bull mount her, that is an agreement. The bull will continually mount and dismount. If the female wildebeest is in heat, more than five bulls can mount her in a single day. Every bull mounts multiple times every five minutes or so. This could be the cause of a fight breaking out amongst the male wildebeests.

The actions of women

Wildebeests are known to engage in frequent fighting, calling, and side-to-side walking during the mating season. Additionally, males typically consider mating when they have consumed all of the grass, drank enough water, and there are no indications that lions or other enemies are posing a threat. Care for certain groups of wildebeests is handled by the bulls. In addition, they herd them for nearly a whole day as a show of superiority, care, and dominance. The bulls go to great lengths to prevent other bulls from infiltrating their tiny groupings, even to the point of not eating.

Wildebeest females have a high fertility rate and a moderate level of energy. Because of this, they procreate and give birth with ease, which helps to preserve the species. Their production rate needs to be double that of their consumption rate. Although they commonly wait until approximately the 28th month to mate, female wildebeests typically reach sexual maturity at the 16th month.

Gestation time

During the month prior to or beginning of the peak rainy season, wildebeest, who have a gestation period of 8 to 8.5 months, give birth to their young within the same brief amount of time as other African animals. The characteristic that sets wildebeest apart from other antelope species is that the mothers often give birth to a single calf in the midst of the herd. Most species of antelope, if not all of them, give birth alone. Since they are stronger in numbers, wildebeests utilize this tactic as a defense against lions, hyenas, leopards, and other predators.

Remarkably, in a given population of wildebeests, over 80% of the females give birth in the same two to three weeks. This is one of the explanations for the antelope species’ centuries-long survival in spite of carnivores’ lethal predation. From the moment a calf is born until they are strong enough to stand, mothers lick them.

Because there are so many adults around, the mother wildebeest keeps closer to the young to keep it safe from being stepped on. For about a month or two, the infant will be nursed by its mother until it is ready to begin eating grass.

Sucking

You will continue to suckle for up to eight months. She is now prepared to leave her peer group and live independently. The calf can survive on its mother’s milk until it is old enough to eat grass. Since the mother and child are constantly moving, the baby will immediately follow them. Despite their vast numbers, mothers of wildebeests do not frequently lose their young. The female calves choose to remain with their mom’s herd. Males, on the other hand, are either driven out by their love of travel and adventure or by their dads using force.

January and February are often the months when calves are born.

Do wildebeests during the Great Migration consume the same grass? – The way that wildebeests eat.
It would be inaccurate to claim that all wildebeest consume the same grass because the population is consistently large—nearly two million individual animals per migration. Grazing occurs constantly, with the group that moves first consuming the new, tall grass.

The process is designed such that the final group consumes the grass that is closest to the earth, with the following group eating the next level of grass. The last level is constantly covered with dung and dust, which makes it difficult for the wildebeests to go ahead of one another and causes the migration to continue endlessly.

Those who are ill, injured, aged, or recently born tend to fall behind. These are the main prey items for the parks’ carnivores, including lions, hyenas, leopards, and others. With their ability to kick and use their horns to repel predators like lions, the wildebeest demonstrate their strength as a group.

Wildebeests are an easy target for surprise attacks by lions, wild dogs, and hyenas that cause a lot of chaos. A pride of lions or a clan of hyenas may easily consume one adult wildebeest, but their lust for blood drives them to hunt multiples in a single day.

What is the yearly Great Wildebeest Migration like in the national parks of Masai Mara and the Serengeti?

Migration of wildebeests from December to April

Rainfall determines the course of the big wildebeest migration. Nonetheless, the herds can be found in Tanzania’s Southern Serengeti National Park on the Ndutu plains, according to historical data and meteorological forecasts. The Ngoro Ngoro crater plains are another place where the animals can be seen. Since this is the calving season, this is the ideal time to see wildebeests in Serengeti National Park. To help newborns adjust to the tempo, movement is always quick but not extremely fast. This is the greatest moment to witness a lion snatching a little one or perhaps witnessing pride pursuing an adult.

Wildebeests will begin migrating north in March and early April, with the first groups possibly already in the Serengeti National Park’s central regions.

May through June

At this time, Serengeti National Park is being moved towards its northern regions. While the wildebeests travel in quest of water and greener grass,. However, lions, leopards, and hyenas pursue them in an effort to find the frail, the exhausted, the young, and the wounded. June is when the dry season officially begins.

The places begin to get a little bit dry, and the movements are growing a little quicker than previously. The wildebeests cross the Grumeti River around this time. The position of crocodiles and water levels determine the crossing spot. Despite not being as stunning as the Mara River, this can still be a fantastic place to enjoy the scenery.

July to September

The wildebeests have already crossed the Grumeti River and will be in the northern Serengeti by July. The breathtaking event of crossing the treacherous Masai Mara River occurs around this time. The most hazardous river in Africa is this one. The lethal Nile crocodiles can be found there, lazing in the sun on the river’s edge. As soon as the crocodiles hear the sound of the inquisitive wildebeests, they immediately jump into the water. There is never a better time to travel than right now. You may witness the river battle here. The stronger cross the river to the other side, while the weak give up.

The herd splits into two groups in August: those that are able to cross the Mara River and those that remain on the other side. The survivors head north of the Masai Mara Game Reserve, enjoying the verdant, lush greenery.

From October to November

The cycle turns around and becomes infinite at this point. The first party will have completed their exploration of Masai Mara Game Reserve’s northern regions by October. They are thinking about coming back at this point. Recall that the sweeter bread is now the grass that remained in the Serengeti in January. In November, the migration turns around and heads back. The regions of Kogatende, Lamai, Lobo, Mbuze Mawe, and Seronera Valley are home to wildebeests. These are the water-rich northern regions of the Serengeti National Park.

This is the time of calving, and the cycle keeps going in that same manner.

When is the ideal time to visit Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park to witness the wildebeest migration?

December through April

When is the ideal time to visit Kenya’s Masai Mara National Park to witness the wildebeest migration?

There is much to be said about the massive wildebeest migration in Kenya and Tanzania from July to September. All can’t be said, though. For this reason, you should go on a safari in Tanzania or Kenya. Take a trip with us to witness the much-discussed wildebeest migration.

Purchase a combination safari to see the wildebeest migration in Tanzania and Kenya with us.