Storm brewing over the Serengeti

Storm approaching over the Serengeti.

There has been a lot of rain over the Serengeti over the past week. The main migrating herds are located on Ndutu grass plains, but are spread across the entire south eastern Serengeti.

Migration Update: Wildebeest arrive on Ndutu short grass plains

The migration is currently in the southern and south eastern Serengeti, spread from Seronera towards the east to Loliondo Game Controlled Area and south to Ndutu. The short rains have been falling through the Serengeti during the past few weeks. The migrating wildebeest are making their way south to the Ndutu short grass plains. This is where they will calve from late in December through to February. This is the favourite resting place of the wildebeest, with rich short grass. The first herds are already grazing on the Ndutu Plains, but within the next week most of remaining herds will be based around Ndutu and east towards Oldupia and as far east as the western outer slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater.

The objective of the wildebeest is to settle around the rich grazing of the Ndutu area for the next few months. This is the best grazing in the Serengeti eco-system. They will only leave this area when the grazing is depleted and their foals are ready to start moving west – around March next year. The rains have caused new shoots and the area is very green.

The rich dark soil of the Serengeti is very muddy making moving around on safari quite difficult in places. Some of the smaller roads will be closed to protect them from excessive erosion. This is not typically a very busy time of the safari season, but guest are still experiencing excellent sights. As always, the predators are following the migration closely, picking off the weak and vulnerable. The best place to be based for a safari at the moment is around Seronera, Ndutu or Loliondo Game Controlled Area. Most of the mobile camps are set up around Seronera, but will be moving to the Ndutu campsites in the next few weeks.