THE GREAT WILDEBEEST MIGRATION EXPLAINED: By Alym Bhanji Founder and CEO East Africa Wild Adventures Ltd: The Wildebeest Migration between Tanzania and Kenya is not continuously forward motion. They move to and from North/South and to the East and West, they mill around, they split up, they join forces again, they walk in a line, they spread out, or they hang around together. We can never predict with absolute certainty where they will be; the best we can do is suggest likely timing based on last year's data. The migration is driven entirely by standing water, grazing, and local weather conditions and the wildebeest preferred location is the short grass plains of Southern Serengeti but the water and grazing in this location cannot support them year around. This is where they choose to give birth to their young (usually February to March), with the rich grass to support them. Within a relatively short space of time, perhaps 4 to 6 weeks, several hundred thousand calves are born. This is where we see much of the dramatic predator action with the resident prides waiting for months for the return of the herds so they can get some much-needed sustenance. The Migration then moves off in response to periods of dry weather, but they leave this area as late as possible and come back as soon as they can. Hereunder are the monthly (2018) location of the herds: January 2018: Good rains have been falling in the Southern Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation area throughout the month and the grass is green. The wildebeest arrived in the Ndutu area in the third week of December 2013. As of late January, the open grass plains around Ndutu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area remained filled with wildebeest. More specifically the wildebeest are spread out from the Maswa Game Reserve Southwest of the Serengeti, through Kusini to Naabi Hill within the Southern Serengeti, to the Ndutu and Ngorongoro Conservation Area just outside the Southern boundary of the park. The really big herds have been hanging out in the Kusini / Ndutu areas. Only a few newborn calves were seen near the end of January. February should see many more. February 2018: As rains fell from Central Serengeti all the way to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the wildebeest herds covered the area from Kusini in the West to Ndutu and even the Gol Mountains in the East. By mid to late February the wildebeest moved a bit

further South with big herds passing through the Ndutu woodlands. With the fresh green grass, calving has started in earnest with an incredible number of babies being born each day. March 2018: The migration is amazing… you drive slowly through massive herds that part in front of you and then close ranks behind you. It is peaceful, majestic and breathtaking in its magnitude your senses overwhelmed by the low grunts, the chomping of grass and the smell of fresh dung. In early March the rains stopped and the wildebeest began to spread out. Herds could be seen from Olduvai in the East to the Maswa Game Reserve and Kusini in the West with some found in the Ndutu woodlands. There are many newborns making life easy for predators. April 2018: The herds move slowly north towards the Serengeti’s western corridor and as of early April much of the migration could be seen inside the Serengeti on the Naabi plains and around Naabi gate – moving towards central Serengeti. The herds were also spread North and East into the Gol plains and the Gol kopjes and reports from Ndutu emerged that there are very few wildebeest remaining. By mid-April, the wildebeest had moved quite a bit… right into the heart of the Serengeti and the Seronera Valley. By the end of April, many wildebeest were continuing to make their way up from the Southern Serengeti plains to the central Serengeti with reports that some wildebeest have begun moving towards Ikoma and the Western Corridor of the Serengeti. May 2018: This year’s long rainy season (mid-March through May in northern Tanzania) saw little rain in the West and almost none in the central Serengeti. The result was a lack of suitable grasses, and when the wildebeest left the Southern Serengeti at the end of March, the migration to the North and West, which usually takes about two and a half to three months, took only one month. Early to mid-May saw big herds of wildebeest in the central Serengeti (around Moru and Seronera) moving towards the Western Corridor. By late May the migration had fully reached the Western Corridor. They could be seen along the Grumeti River all the way to Kirawira and the Singita Grumeti Reserve. June 2018: As of early June there were still good concentrations of wildebeest between Seronera and into the Western Corridor. As there has been some rainfall most were expected to stick around for a while. Others, however, have moved Northwards. By mid-June wildebeest could be seen spread out from Ikoma, Lobo, and Nyamalumbwa all the way to Kogatende in

the north. Some really fast ones had already crossed over into the Mara with big crossings at the Talek River. By late June the migration was still heavy around the centre of the Serengeti with herds being seen from Seronera to the Western Corridor. July 2018: As of early July the mega-herd was mostly in the North of the Serengeti around Lamai and Kogatende. River crossings in July were occurring every day. A great number of wildebeest can now also be found in the Maasai Mara in Kenya. August 2018: Not much has changed… the migration is in the Northern Serengeti and in the Maasai Mara. Crossings are occurring both South to North and North to South. Rains have been falling in Kenya drawing the herds North… the 2nd week of August saw rains in the Northern Serengeti so some of the herds might turn tail and head for the new grass. By late August a great part of the migration is in the Masai Mara however huge herds can still be seen on the Lamai Plains and crossing between Tanzania and Kenya. September 2018: As September passed the river crossings continued in the Northern Serengeti /Mara however most were in a Southerly direction back into Tanzania as Kenya’s Mara has been heavily grazed leaving little grass behind. Huge herds of wildebeest could be seen in the Lamai wedge, Kanyangaga Plains and Isurian Escapement. By late September rains in the Lamai wedge, Masai Mara, Kogatende and Bolagonja areas have kept the mega-herd happy while there is a general movement towards the South. Some groups of mainly zebra have been seen heading further South as there have been rains in the central Serengeti. Within the Mara itself, wildebeest numbers are dropping daily. October 2018: Early October 2014 saw lots of rain, all the way from Mara North and Olare Motorogi to Kogatende, Bologonja, Lobo and even Seronera onwards to Moru Kusini and Ndutu, this would make for an interesting few months ahead where we could see some of the front-end make a dash for it to the Southern Plains and or the back-end even staying on the Masai Mara side a little longer. Mid October the migration crossed back and forth but a large herd headed to Maasai Mara.

Around 20th October heavy rains in Central Serengeti drew the wildebeests back to Serengeti and Lots of rain around, Gol, Seronera, Naabi, Hidden Valley, Moru and Ndutu. There are lots of gazelles now around Naabi and south towards Ndutu. Many zebra and large herds of wildebeest have advanced past Seronera onto the short grass that was burnt earlier in the year around Simba Kopjes and is now sprouting green. Most of the migration remained in Central Serengeti till the end of Month November 2018: Scattered rain showers in the first week of November have kept the migration in Central Serengeti. The big head of migration is currently between central Seronera and Moru area, but some wildebeest and zebra are still located at Makoma Hill. Lots of lion, leopard and cheetah making the most of it December 2018 and January 2019 The herds moved towards the Southern Serengeti plains a little early this year, the traditional "calving" time would be February 2019 at lakes Ndutu and Masek and or plains around Naabi, Matiti Hill, Ndutu, Gol Kopjes and towards Kusini and Maswa to the West. The herds arrived at Kusini, Matiti and or Ndutu during December 2018.