Migration Update – Two Months ahead of Schedule!

Northern Serengeti – 27 August 2010

On Friday, 27 August, the  &Beyond Klein’s Camp family woke up to a beautiful sunrise, and as they searched the valley below for signs of wildlife, they were astonished to see thousands of black dots on the horizon. The binoculars confirmed that the Great Migration has in fact arrived two months early in the northern part of the Klein’s Camp wilderness concession.

These herds are one step ahead of the mega-herd, which is still grazing the Mara Triangle. The Klein’s concession is alive with a great diversity of wildlife, including elephant, zebra, Thomson’s gazelle, giraffe, eland and buffalo. Lion have been calling every night and are being spotted regularly, and the resident female leopard has been seen along the Grumeti River with her three cubs.  These herds may head back to the Mara if rain falls soon, but otherwise, we may have a early arrival on the short grass plains!

The extraordinary annual Great Migration of wildebeest and other grazing herbivores across the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is one of the greatest spectacles in the natural world. Over two million herbivores partake in this journey, with about 200 000 zebra and 500 000 Thomson’s gazelle behind the main players… one-and-a-half million wildebeest!