This world famous migration is a circle of life which, in simple terms, means that there isn't astart or an end. Only where the herds are located at a particular time. The big determinant is the availability of pastures. The plains of Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Serengeti are a favored spot as grass abounds and the wildebeest find a safe place to graze. It is also here that over 500,000 new ca
lves are born and many are taken by the nearby waiting Jackals or Hyenas. New borns have little time to strengthen their legs. As soon after birth, the βpilgrim" continues. By April, the rains are over in southern Serengeti and the plains have dried up. The great herds then gather and face the long march northwards and westwards. The natural lawn mowers abandon the exhausted grasslands of southern Serengeti to head for the already tall grass of the Western corridor, near the shores of Lake Victoria. The pioneers of the migration movement are the majestic herds of zebras. They prefer the long stems of the coarse grass. This way, they leave behind shorter grass which is favored by the wildebeests. In late June to July the mass start pouring into the Kenya Masai Mara reserve where fresh, tender and mineral-rich grass is already waiting. Here they meet the resident Mara populations which add up to about 150,000. Also commonly referred to as the Loita plains herds, they spend most of the season northeast of the Mara. When it gets dry, they pour into the interior of the Mara in search of greener pastures. The migrating herds spend roughly 3 to 31/2 months in the Mara crossing through Sand River, which is a tributary of the Mara along the boundary of Kenya and Tanzania. They trek westwards and cross the Mara river and sometimes the Talek river. Usually around this time heavy rains on the Mau Escarpment (origin of Mara River) fill the Mara river to the brim
