Migration Update: March rain in the Serengeti

March has seen plenty of rain in the Serengeti. February was dry so the late March rains were welcome. The herds are spread out all across the southern Serengeti from Ndutu Plains all the way to the Olduvai Plains. The abundance of grazing means the herds are moving slowly back-and-forth finding the best grass on the short grass plains, but concentrated around Ndutu.

Migration Update: Ndutu region

The first half of March was dry, so the herds and following predators began to move north towards the Kusini area. In the last week there has been good rainfall, which brought most of the animals back south again. The core herd is now grazing the Miti Mitatu plains, between Matiti and Kusini. Wildebeest and zebra still cover the southern region from Ngorongoro all the way west past Kusini. The long rains only really started towards the middle of March around Ndutu region, resulting in some confused movement among the herds.

The best place for the migration: The mobile camps based at Ndutu, Kusini Camp, or the Seronera Camps.

Calving season is almost over in Ndutu

The main herds are still around Ndutu, as far south as Maswa Game Reserve and have been seen west of Kusini Camp. The wildebeest foaling season is almost over with most of the foals already finding their feet and enjoying the abundance of rich grazing.

Migration moving through Loliondo and Ndutu

The rains have remained localised and sporadic. Heavy rains have been seen, but have not lasted. The migration has been moving down through Loliondo and into Ndutu in the Serengeti. Some herds have been left behind and can still be seen in the Masai Mara, including parts of the Loita herds.
Due to the lower rainfall, the main wildebeest and zebra populations have moved to better food and water areas. In the last three weeks, they have spent time in the Loliondo, Gol and Sanjan area but as soon as it started drying up, they moved south and west, passing through Ndutu onto the mid grass plains on the other side.
There are still herds of wildebeest to be found all over this area but the main concentrations are in the south and west. The calving season is also nearing an end with the majority of the babies already born. Despite this, the other game remains excellent throughout the whole south and eastern areas of the eco-system, with plenty of cheetah and lion sightings.
In the Masai Mara, the short rains across the Mara plains recently have left a carpet of lush green grass across the plains. At the onset of the rains, most of the remaining herds of wildebeest started migrating back to their usual calving grounds further south, leaving some of the Loita herds breeding in the Mara, which is quite unusual. The Mara predators have grabbed this opportunity to feed their young who would have otherwise been starving had all the migratory herds left as usual.

The best place to be based to see the migration is around Ndutu, Seronera or southern Loliondo.