Africa witnesses several great migrations each year, the most famous of these being the Great Wildebeest Migration across the open plains of the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara, an annual journey of 800 km undertaken by over 1.5 million wildebeest and around 200,000 zebra. The herds of the Great Wildebeest Migration follow a similar route every year, through the Serengeti and up into the Maasai Mara. The herds cross the Mara river between July and October, creating one of the most-filmed wildlife spectacles in the natural world. Some river crossings can last for over three hours, with over 10,000 animals attempting to cross. It is difficult to describe how invested onlookers can become while watching such a perilous journey. Another equally rewarding time to see the herds is between January and March in the southern Serengeti, as this is calving season. The wildebeest all give birth in a short period of 3 to 4 weeks – this is the arrival of new life into the world on a massive scale!
The tracking of the Great Wildebeest Migration actually inspired the Yellow Zebra name: the first researchers to track the movements of the wildebeest and zebra chose to paint several zebras yellow so they could be tracked from the air, enabling researchers to follow the individual animals on their journey within the massive herds. There are several mobile camps in the Serengeti that follow the migrations. These are set up in the best locations and it is not uncommon to see wildebeest wandering through. Serian's mobile camps and Serengeti Safari Camp are two of our favourites at YZ.