Each February, the wildebeest of eastern Africa gather in Tanzania for their annual mating season. Here near the Ngorongoro Crater, the wildebeest herd will increase by about 500,000 new calves in less than a month. The wildebeest are, for the moment, safe: the natural hunting ranges of lions, hyenas and cheetahs don’t extend this far south. For a few glorious weeks, the wildebeest take over these plains, lounging fearlessly in the sun, this year’s calves hungrily drinking their mothers’ milk before beginning to forage for grass.
A herd of wildebeest at a watering hole in eastern Africa. A group of wildebeest can also be called an implausibility, a fitting term for the millions of wildebeest that go through this epic annual journey.
It’s the miracle of life for one species, but all those wildebeest—nearly 2,000,000 in all—will quickly deplete Ngorongoro’s grasses. With the arrival of March, the herd begins to turn northward, searching for the rains that will bring lush grasses and full stomachs. But if the wildebeest are growing hungry, their predators are too. The herd serves as the primary food source for many of Africa’s most awe-inspiring hunters, and they’ve been waiting for what they know is coming: the return of the wildebeest and an end to their seasonal starvation.
Nowhere on Earth can you see the drama of survival played out on such a grand scale. The annual wildebeest migration is an integral part of the delicate East African ecosystem and one of the most stunning natural spectacles you can imagine. For four months, the wildebeest will trek across the plains of the Serengeti in search of fresh water and new grazing for half a million new mouths. They will walk 1,800 miles, crossing rivers teeming with dangerous crocodiles and stopping at watering holes watched by hungry hyenas. The Kenyan savannah is never so alive as during the wildebeest migration, and now, you can witness this jaw-dropping phenomenon for yourself on a Go Ahead Special Departure during July and August!
Of course, there really isn’t a bad time of year to travel to Kenya. The wildebeest may come and go, but the “Big Five”—lions, rhinos, leopards, elephants and cape buffalo—are here all year round. See them for yourself on departures of Go Ahead’s Kenya Wildlife Safari, or bring the whole family on our new Family Vacation: Kenya Wildlife Safari.
