| Wildebeest Migration |
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The lure of greener pastures and water at the Mara is the core of this world spectacle. The journey runs in a clockwise circle, with a stampede of the wild trekking to a distance of about 2880 kilometres at its best. The animals roam, pushing one another ever forward in a rotation and along the way encountering diseases, friends and foes alike. The journey is as tough as it can get, especially during the crossing of the Mara River (Kenya) and Grumeti River (Tanzania), where the beasts of the underwater; crocodiles, lie in waiting for the clumsy and frail ungulates that can’t cope with the strong water currents. The Grumeti River is the first most daunting barrier, as it can get deep in places, especially on a good rainy season. The depth of the river is an unwelcome risk for the wildebeest but a stroke of luck for hungry crocodiles as it makes drowning easy. Of the Mara River, the crossing can be termed as being repugnant as it is fascinating. Aside from the robustness of the river crossings, the wildebeest and their comrades face their greatest challenge in keeping at bay Africa’s upper echelon predators in the names of the lions, cheetahs, hyenas, wild dogs, and leopards. These drooling predators follow the ungulates and give in-attendance Safari goers a one of a kind exhibition sight on an action kill. It is estimated that around 250, 000 wildebeest die while on this migration circuit. Though the main migration activity is between July and September, February marks the start of this migration, preceding long rainy season, when the Gnu spend most of their time grazing and subsequently adding to their numbers by giving birth to approximately 500,000 calves within a period of 2 to 3 weeks. Most of the new born calves are taken by the nearby waiting jackals, hyenas and other predators. They have little time to even strengthen their legs, as soon as after birth, the journey pioneered by the majestic zebras continue. The zebras cohabit with the wildebeest since they prefer the long stems of the coarse grass, leaving behind shorter grass which is favoured by the Gnus. The animals begin to move South again by late October, in order to calve in the Serengeti in January. But this seventh greatest wonder of the world spectacle that attracts numerous tourists to East Africa is at risk, so is the entire wildlife in Africa. Human encroachment into the wild reserves is increasingly depleting the resources needed by the wild to survive. Swelling human settlements means the wild have to compete for survival with the humans, who instigate and further poaching, and deforestation leading to prolonged drought and climate change which has put the lives of millions of wild not only at risk but also on the brink of extinction. |
