Do you really understand why The Great Wildebeest Mara Migration is referred to as the greatest movie to ever exist? Let me set the scene for you;
This great spectacle is one daunting journey. You’d think that the grazers; wildebeests and zebras, just get to cross the river one at a time or even, very peacefully. No, they wait for one courageous member to make the jump which they then follow suit, thousands and thousands at a time going on for hours and hours without stopping. The scariest expectation, sadly, is that the predators, crocodiles, lions and other cats wait in the water and on both sides for the weaker ones, the calves or even their next meal.
The muddy waters pose a challenge since navigating a mushy riverbed without getting stuck is an extreme sport. The ravine where the wildebeests climb to make it on the other side is quite steep, which forces them to go all the way back and relaunch with newer momentum; which already means that the exhaustion might peak and that means the predators, mushy river and steep ravine all over again.
This migration is the movement of wildebeests, thousands of wildebeests every single year where they follow an old- age route in search of water and pasture within the two ecosystems, Masaai Mara National Reserve and Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. This odyssey is important since it signifies the continuity of the species and their calves; through quantity and quality of grassland.
In actuality, the Great Migration is a yearly cyclical event in which rain-fed wildebeest and other plains game follow the path of the eastward flowing Serengeti, which runs through the northwest of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, then back up through the east and central Serengeti, up to the Masai Mara, and back down through the east and central Serengeti. Currently, as we publish this, the migration at the Mara is ongoing and you’d want to catch the spectacle (info@larryexpeditions.com).
How does it happen, you would ask? Simple answer is instinct. It has to be, since the cyclical journey is prompted by rains which means more food which means they will not starve. So, these wildebeests follow the food. A lesson to humans about your gut (not the health one though).
Do other animals migrate? The zebras join the wildebeests, the elephants seem too heavy, the giraffes can browse on trees unlike the grazers, the gazelles, antelopes, dik-diks, bushbucks and the goat family seem too light and fragile to weather these challenges, the hyenas scavenge meaning they don’t go hungry. The cats; lions, cheetahs, leopards etc., are very territorial meaning they aren’t about to leave their already established territories. So, yes and no.
Where is the best place to witness the migration? That without question is at the Masai Mara and Serengeti Reserves since they border the Mara River. Now that part, you can leave to #larryexpeditions to hook you up with the finest, luxurious and affordable camps and hotels; where you get to relax and let your senses relax in the wild.
Now, do you understand why it has to be the greatest movie in existence? Especially in the African scenery?
Call us, WhatsApp us, email us, send us a smoke signal… just ensure that in this lifetime, you get a chance to experience The Mara Migration Season the #larryexpeditions way!
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