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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kitefarrago" data-source="post: 3161764" data-attributes="member: 91670">The MigrationPossibly the best-known large-scale example of mammals migrating isthat of the wildebeest herds between the Serengeti in Tanzania andthe Masai Mara in Kenya, There is no fixed calendar to this, butinstead it is driven by the wildebeest moving to areas where theysmell rain, or so I was told by the locals.It is estimated that the migration consists of 1.7 millionwildebeest, a quarter million zebras and almost half a milliongazelles. One can't really compare this with migrating birds, wherethere is typically a target location. Instead, these large herds justkeep moving, sometimes very slowly, sometimes a bit faster, followingthe rains that replenish the grass they feed on.In order to move between the two parks the wildebeest have to crossrivers, and this is what many people connect with the migration:mammals negotiating steep banks with crocodiles lying in wait below.Last year the migration arrived early in the Masai Mara. When Iarrived in early August what wildebeest were moving were movingSouth, to Tanzania. It was dry and dusty and the grass in the Marawas fairly short. When the wildebeest migrate South then it doesn'tmake for the best photo opportunities in Kenya since one catches themfrom behind. But a week or so into my stay we got a fewthunderstorms, with some pretty torrential rain falling one night,and that changed everything. The wildebeest were coming back north,the rivers increased in volume dramatically (many fords were out ofaction for the remainder of my stay), and waders started to(re)appear.Watching the wildebeest moving is a somewhat odd experience. It seemsvery aimless, lacking purpose, and suddenly one of them decides tomove in a straight line, and others begin to follow. When they reacha river they don't seem to have any sense for what to human eyes areobviously easy or hard crossing points. They go, pouring into thewater one moment, and then something spooks them, and they suddenlystop, mill on the shore, and don't know how to continue. It can takehours for them to get the momentum required to start crossing(again).Many tourists are in the Mara at this time of year to see crossings,the more dramatic, the better. By August the crocodiles are mainlyfull, and I saw a few bloated corpses in the river that were onlytouched by scavengers of the feathered kind. When the news goes outthat a crossing might occur somewhere along the river, as witnessedby wildebeest starting to amass on one side, a race ensues. Everydriver wants to be in the prime spot, with the wildebeest comingdirectly at them. Of course, wildebeest spook easily, and carsmanoeuvring for position is a good way to stop a crossing, or toprevent it from getting started in the first place. Indeed, acrossing can stop in mid-stream without the spectator being able tosee any cause.One of my fellow guests was there specifically to photograph themigration - he and his driver left around 6.00 each morning anddidn't come back until after 5.00 in the afternoon. They were lookingfor crossings, and often waited for half a day, or a whole day - andin some cases, when the crossing finally started, somebody drovetheir car in front of where they were waiting and it was all fornothing.I did witness one crossing, and the tail end of another, and while Ifound it fascinating to watch what was happening the scrum thatensued was not to my liking, and that's why I didn't try to see morecrossings. See the photos attached for a bit of what it's like. I wasamazed by the noise - when the herds move at some pace mothers andcalves call to each other constantly, and that provides thesoundtrack to a crossing. The calves are born in February and byAugust they've got quite a decent size, and they look as if they haveno problems at all when it comes to keeping up with the adults.Apart from the river crossings the fact that the migration is theremeans that there are wildebeest (and other herds) almost anywhere onelooks, typically somewhat spread out. It's a good season then for thepredators and the scavengers. There was plenty of evidence thathyaenas and jackals were finding lots of food, and anything they leftover the vultures and marabous were quick to take care of. I evensaw a cheetah running after wildebeests, and lions being so full thatthey left most of a carcass for their cubs to play with. Once we sawa hyena chase a wildebeest calf that had got separated from itsherd. It escaped that time, but probably didn't have much of a chance.The photos show:1. These wildebeest have decided to go somewhere!2. A crossing in process. The wildebeest on the bank are vacillatingbetween folowing the rest of the herd, and wanting to stay on terrafirma.3. A crossing that's about to stop. Some of the animals have turnedaway from the river and are making their way back up the bank, whileothers are still thinking about following the rest of the herd.4. When wildebeest have decided to cross then even a hippo on routewon't stop them. Apparently Goliath Herons don't mind the traffic.5. This was actually quite a shallow crossing, but apparentlywildebeest have to jump when they hit the water.Andrea</blockquote>

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