On Safari With The Wilderbeests in Kenya
One of the great highlights in an African Safari is the great wilderbeest migration. Before we go into much greater detail concerning this spectacular natural phenomenon, lets learn more about the Maasai Mara.
To reach Masai Mara by road will take you about 5 hrs from Nairobi. For those that prefer to travel by air, there are scheduled flights from the Wilson Airport that fly twice daily and take about fourty to forty five minutes. Masai Mara is a popular national park because it offers its visitors a vast and varied wildlife for them to see. These include the lion, cheetah, black rhino, hippo, blue wildebeest, thomsons gazelles which are easily seen in the reserve.
For bird watchers there are a wide variety of birds like the Helmeted Guinea Fowl,Vitelline Masked Weaver and Woodland Kingfisher.
Throughout the month of July, the herds of Wildebeests cross the Sand River , a mostly dry tributary of the Mara which roughly follows the boundary line between Kenya and Tanzania . The parade takes the eastern sector of Masai Mara, surrounding the Keekorok Lodge area. The trek follows westward, leading the herds to face the major challenge along their quest: crossing the Mara river and frequently also its tributary, the Talek. By then, the rains at the Mau Escarpment, where the Mara rises, have fed the stream to its highest levels.
The steep banks are populated with trunk-looking basking crocodiles that seem almost to be expecting their annual banquet. The operation of fording the river is the most delicate along the migration, and as such seems to plunge the gnus in a state of anxiety that only relieves when the whole herd has crossed. The trekkers walk along the left (eastern) bank of the Mara looking for a suitable point to cross.
Certain areas on the river bank are preffered by the animals due to lack of vegetation on these places and also due to the depressed sections and deep grooves made by the animals as they cross. The animals seem to sense that these are the best places to cross the river. Most of the time, the “perfect” planning of the animals seem to disintergrate as the nervous wildebeests make the terrible mistake of choosing areas on the river bank that are too steep for them and as a result many of them break their legs falling down the cliff and into the water.
The animals come together at appropriate places and move about nervously, their noises sounding loudly in the air. After a while, the couragious beast goes upfront and approaches the time and scanning to see if their is any danger. After it jumps into the river, the whole heard follows in. They all follow in a single line across the river, anf the ones behind throw themselves towards the stream until the rear guard urges the animals to move ina frantic pace that causes some of them to be trampled to death, lying aside the course.
The rains start heading back to the Serengeti by October. During this time, the pace of the herd changes and reverses bringing them to face the quest for the southern grasslands. As part of nature’s call, the animal have to ford the river. On the last days of October, the animals start to move towards the Serengeti. Its in these plains that new calves will be born and start the cycle once again. The track is usually down on the eastern side and they move quite quickly. Its easy to see over a million animals stretching out.
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