Typically, the migration will be in the Southern Serengeti from mid-December until the end of March for the calving season.
They start to arrive in the Northern Serengeti from mid to late July, staying until the end of October and into mid-November. The classic clockwise migration pattern will still occur to some extent for part of the population. However, in recent years, a significant portion of the herds has moved directly north via the Eastern Serengeti.
The entire migration is dictated by rainfall. Ultimately, the animals prefer the southern short grass plains, as this environment provides wildebeests with the greatest sense of safety. It’s flat, open, and has an abundance of nutritious grass. If given a choice, they would simply stay there.
Being flat, open volcanic plains, these short grass areas dry out very quickly. The wildebeest are thus forced to move, following the rain or, more accurately, the green grass. During years of good rains, the animals might remain south of the central Serengeti well into July.
The ecology of the Serengeti is experiencing several changes. One notable change is the increase in the size of the park’s woodlands. This shift means the grasses are changing, and the grasses in the woodlands are staying green longer. The woodlands in the East of the Serengeti, in particular, are expanding, allowing the animals to now migrate through this area when moving between the North and the South. As a result, they spend more time in these areas, making the movements slower.
There appears to be a fair split between herds going west and those heading north.
The Western Corridor, or the Grumeti area, is characterized by open plains surrounded by woodlands and two sizable rivers running through the area. This region sees a significant number of migrating animals, as well as a robust resident population.
Once the animals arrive in the ‘South’ or ‘North,’ they continue to move. Both the South and North are the size of small counties, with various areas within each region. Deciding where to place mobile camps is still a gamble. This decision is not always based solely on the animals but also on the ultimate objectives of the camps. For Wilderness and Wayo, we prefer to be farther away from other companies and camps to have more exclusive use of an area. This often means being in the general vicinity of the migration, even if it requires a few hours of Game Driving to and from the herds. That said, more often than not, the herds are all around our camps, allowing us to enjoy the best of both worlds.
When the herds are in the North, they are more concentrated into a smaller area, making them more accessible from most camps. Although there are times when the herds are entirely in Kenya, it is rare for the entire migration to be in Kenya with none left in Tanzania.
The Southern Serengeti is larger, and the herds can easily be spread from Kusini in the far south all the way to the Eastern Plains and into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, reaching the foothills of the Crater Highlands.