You might have heard the name, or watched a
documentary on National Geographic, but to experience
it is an experience of a lifetime.
The Serengeti National Park is one of the most
incredible places on the planet. What you might have
seen on television or read in a book cannot do justice
to the actual experience. It is just out of this world. This
is the largest of Tanzania’s national
parks, measuring 14,763 sq. km's. The park name is
derived from a Maasai word meaning "endless
plains" and houses the largest concentration of
wildlife in the world
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The Serengeti is renowned for the huge concentrations
of wildebeest and zebra. Approximately 1,500,000
wildebeest and 250,000 zebra migrate annually in a
circular pattern between the Serengeti National
Park’s Western Corridor and Kenya’s Maasai Mara
Game Reserve. Contrary to belief, the migration of
these animals is a continuous affair with stopover
points along the way. These migrationary trends are
dependent on the rains. During late November or
December through to May/ early June, lines of
Wildebeest (sometimes up to 40km long) can be seen on
a journey which can be up to 800 km long. These vast
herds of grunting and snorting animals consume a
staggering 4000 tones of grass each day.
Hot on their heels you will find the ominous and
ever present lion, cheetah and hyena. They are
particularly interested in the calving season that
coincides with the migration off the plains. In a
period of only 3 weeks, some 400,000 cows give birth.
Unlike most antelopes who seek cover, wildebeest
prefer to calve in open terrain, which provides
another breathtaking spectacle. These new calves
provide easy pickings for larger scavengers and cats.
This is the reason why wildebeest calves are able to
be up and running within 4 minutes of birth. The best
time to witness this is between the end of January to
February.
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