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.

Migration: Mobile Tented Camps

As the migration enters the central and southern Serengeti, one of the best accommodation options is the mobile tented camps which are now set up in the central Serengeti. One luxury mobile tented option is "Tanzania under Canvas":

Migration update: Wildebeest in the central Serengeti

The migration is in the central Serengeti and heading south. There has been a some heavy rainfall in the central Serengeti.

The short rains have not yet started to water the Ndutu short grass plains, so the wildebeest are still only making a slow procession south. The herds are spread from Seronera to Lobo and to the Loliondo Game Controlled area.

Migration Update: Central Serengeti and Loliondo

The migrating herds are in the central Serengeti, moving south through Seronera and Loliondo towards the Ndutu plains. There are still some herds in the Masai Mara, but these will probably remain as resident herds or trail behind later. A smaller group of wildebeest and zebra, which form the Loita herds, have also moved towards the eastern Masai Mara. These will eventually end up on the Loita Plains in Kenya and not migrate into the Serengeti. The migration has left the Mara slightly earlier than usual this year, but this seems to have been the trend in 2008 as they arrived early too.
The Mara River is flowing strongly causing problems for the remaining wildebeest trying to cross. Thousands have perished try and getting caught in the strong currents.
The Serengeti has seen good rains over the past week. There is new green grass throughout the southern Serengeti. It has had a chance to recover while the wildebeest have been in the north.
The wildebeest are heading to the short grass plains of the Ndutu as quickly as possible. Ndutu has the best grazing in the region, with short rich grasses. They will stay in this area as long as they can and will foal here later in the year. Eventually, towards March or April 2009, they will reluctantly be forced to move away from the Ndutu plains as the area is overgrazed. But, until then they will be in the southern Serengeti.
The best place to be based at the moment is around Seronera. There are a few large lodges (e.g. Sopa Lodge) in this area, but we recommend one of the smaller mobile camps that are now all set up in the private camps in the Seronera area. There is also a mobile tented camp in Loliondo that is ideal for the migration at moment.