Known as the biggest land migration in the world, the Great Migration sees the movement of approximately 2 million wildebeest and 250 000 zebra and a variety of other herbivores not to mention the many predators that follow this moving buffet. It is maybe one of the greatest displays of the cycle of life, that we are privileged to witness. The cycle starts in early December, just after the short rains when the herds of wildebeest arrive in the southern region of the Serengeti, just north of the Ngorongoro conservation area. When the grass is plentiful, they stop in the short plains of the Serengeti and give birth to approximately 500 000 calves, but as the water and grasses subside this prompts the 800km journey south through the Ngorongoro conservation area before heading north through the Grumeti and onto the Masai Mara in Kenya and then back down into Tanzania. This migration has no leader but rather a common goal, so they just start walking together with their fellow grazing symbiotic companions the zebras following the rain and the fresh grass. One goal, irrespective of the risk, for the survival of the species.
