Where is the Serengeti Migration now?

Where is the Serengeti migration now?

 

A herd of stripes!
A herd of stripes!

The Serengeti migration is very changeable, but it does follow some broad patterns and so it is reasonable to anticipate the movement of the herd even if you cannot predict it with any accuracy.

As we discussed elsewhere in this site about the best time to travel, we do not recommend the Serengeti in the April / May period of the long rains. In fact, many camps shut down at this time, as roads can become impassable and the grass can be too long to see any game.

In April you may try to stay at Ndutu Safari Lodge, Kusini Camp or the centrally located Serengeti Serena Lodge.

By late May, in the plains where the grass is short, the grazing is not able to sustain the herd and so they begin to move North and Westwards towards Lake Victoria and into the Serengeti Western corridor. Not all of the animals move together in herds at this time.

By June the pastures are drying out and the herds are moving westwards towards the Grumeti river where a number of private camps operate.

From July / August / September / October the herds may be anywhere in the northern Serengeti up to the Maasai Mara. Their location and the speed that they move towards the more permanent river water depends on amount of rainfall in the wet season and on how rapidly they deplete the condition of the grazing. The herds may be spread anywhere from Seronera to the Mara River if there is plenty of grass and water in a particular season.

The month of September probably gives you the best chance of catching a river crossing. Of course, there may be crossings before and after this time.

By mid-October, the short rains are starting again and thousands of animals can seem to appear overnight with the onset of the rains as the herd starts to move southward and east towards the Serengeti grasslands again.

In November and December the herd is completing the cycle back to the Serengeti. As the herd arrives in late December and into January the grass is getting taller and so game viewing is not recommended at this time.

Late January / February / March is when calving occurs in the short grass plains of the southern Serengeti. This is probably the best time of year to visit the Park in order to see the peak predator activity, with lion, cheetah and hyena all present at this time. There will also be giraffe, elephant and buffalo as well as other animals like eland in the woodlands.

But wherever you are there is sure to be something that will provide you with a unique game-viewing experience, and one that will live on in your memory forever.

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