Billed as one of the 7 wonders of the world, the wildebeest migration July 2019 season is about to kick in and is expected to attract tourists from across the globe. Regarded as one of the planet’s greatest and most fascinating natural spectacles in Kenya and Tanzania it will see close to two million animals migrate from Serengeti in Tanzania to the south of Kenya’s Masai Mara in search of green pastures and water.
According to the statistics by the G-Adventures 1.5 million wildebeest,200,000 zebra and 18,000 eland (a type of antelope) in addition to 500,000 Thompson’s gazelle travel during the great July-August migration.
With an adult wildebeest weighing approximately 270 kilograms, these animals move in groups of up to 20,000 at a time, spread across savanna grasslands thundering and powering through and only taking a breather to cross the Mara River.
The wildebeest are specifically said to trek a distance of 2900-3000 kilometers from Tanzania to Kenya. This is also the harvesting season for big cats among the lions and leopards as well as the crocodiles in the Mara-River coupled with thirst and hunger reportedly contribute to the death of about 250,000 wildebeests annually. However, the sheer numbers of these animals act as a protective gear for the survival of these animals while crossing the Mara River.
Of significance to note is that the wildebeest migration season begins much earlier within Tanzania with close to 1.3 million wildebeest spending much of the year grazing throughout the plains of the Serengeti. The herds calve in January to March, the young born ready to make their first, epic journey. In June, as the dry season withers the grasslands and a distant scent of moisture brings promise of rain in the north, they begin to gather, massing together to form a single vast herd.
Data from the management of Masai Mara National Reserve in 2018 indicates that approximately over 100,000 tourists made their way to the Masai Mara to witness the migration.
This year is no exception with hotels in the Masai Mara game reserve reportedly fully booked ahead of the wild event that is expected to start one and a half months early. Sources indicate that at least 611,969 tourists representing 32.2 percent visit Kenya with majority making their way to the Mara.
Magical Kenya says wildebeest migration contributed to Kenya’s earnings especially in tourism with an increase by almost a third in 2018 from the previous year to KSh157.4 billion, after the number of visitors rose by 37 per cent.
The Wildebeest migration is an annual circular event involving Kenya and Tanzania where after the animals move to Kenya in the Months of July and August, they make another trip back to Tanzania. During the month of October, the wildebeest herds are migrating again in unison all heading Southwards through western Loliondo and the Serengeti National Park’s Lobo area, returning to the green shoots which follow the rains on the short-grass plains of the southern Serengeti in November.
The Serengeti National Park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981.
