Wildebeest Migration in Masai Mara Kenya & serengeti Tanzania
Unbelievable thunder of hooves in Serengeti Tanzania – Wildebeest migration safari in Tanzania
Unbelievable thunder of hooves in Serengeti Tanzania – Great adventure safaris will take you on a safari to greater Serengeti national park to witness the thunder of hooves as million and millions of wildebeest and thousands of zebras trek from the Mara plains towards the Mara River as they cross to the Masai Mara plains of search of green pasture as rains approach.
Regarded as the best movie on earth the floods of wildebeest are one of the must do things on earth that travelers must put on their bucket list of African safaris.
What does the thunder of hooves mean?
Many people wonder what is the meaning of “thunder of hooves” when millions of wildebeest, Thomson’s gazelle, zebra, elands and other ungulates move from the dry plains of Serengeti to Masai Mara across the Mara river, the hooves make a sound “tutututututu” which can be heard from a long distance and it sounds just slightly like the thunder.
All you need to know about wildebeest migration in Serengeti.
Once you know what you have experienced and what more it has to offer, you will want to return time and again as each month unfolds a new chapter in the story of the Great Wildebeest Migration and each area holds the key to entrancing new sights. There is no fixed table of events. All depends on the coming of the rains, which can vary by several weeks, but in Serengeti National Park, light short rains usually fall in November and December, when the migrating wildebeest and zebra herds return to the southern Ndutu plains to crop fresh grass in the company of elands, Thompson’s and Grant’s gazelles whilst the white-bearded wildebeests await the mass calving around February. This is an event well worth watching. Every day for about three weeks, an estimated 8000 new-born foals stagger to their feet within minutes of being dropped and follow their mothers. Whether you are charmed by the spectacle of new life or thrilled by the hunting predators, you will certainly be moved by this annual blockbuster event. The long rains in northern Tanzania occur between April and May with sprinkles starting around the middle of March and dusting by early June, when the grass plains blossom with short-lived flowering plants. Then the herds turn northward through the western Serengeti corridor and along the central outskirts. The Grumeti River crossing is a perilous trap in June and July, haunted by giant Nile crocodile who grab their herbivore victims by the throat and bear them under water.
Aside from of the migratory hordes, the national park is serenely occupied by other resident mammals with endless behavioral interactions, not least herds of elephant, families of giraffe, prides of lions, coalitions of cheetahs, solitary and leap leopards, black rhinos and hundreds of small mammals including primates like Vervet monkeys and olive baboons, small cats like caracals wildcats, genets and hundreds and hundreds of birds. Some Great adventure safaris repeater safari guests have said the graduated and finest quality time for safari travel in East Africa is when the Serengeti plains are quiet from the thundering hooved gnus and when the majority of the peak season sapien visitors have left From August to October, the wildebeests cross the swollen Mara River to journey into Masai Mara National Reserve in an epic battle of endurance as stampeding gnus are pushed in a heaving tide of horns, hooves and flanks, down the riverside cliffs, across the roaring waters and into the jaws of grinning crocodiles. But the herd goes on, a single intelligence, focused on return to its southern foaling grounds where the saga initiates again. Choose what time you will, your personalized Africa tour in Serengeti will be an unforgettable revelation of an endangered world.
Best time to witness the great wildebeest migration in Serengeti.
The best times to see the migration are between December and March or between May and November. The migration is largely driven by the rains. Just remember that the rains are unpredictable so the wildebeest migration doesn’t operate on a set schedule.Contact Great Adventure Safaris for detailed information about the unbelievable thunder of hooves in Serengeti National Park for 2021 – 2022.