The Great Migration

I wanted to come to the Serengeti based on a story I saw on 60 Minutes. The very wide shots of the thundering herd was enough to sell me. I really wanted to see this. It is, as I mentioned in the Prologue, the last migration of large land mammals.

We headed to the most southern part of Serengeti National Park. On the way, we found some cubs a leopard mother parked near some bushes so she could hunt. The cubs can't keep up in the hunt, and they are vulnerable. A lion would kill them on sight.

My Lovely Wife and I were in the back row of Godliving's Cruiser. Most don't want to sit in the back. I prefer it because it has a bench seat which gives you more room to stand on. I should say the other two cruisers had bench seats. Godliving's was stretched to carry more cargo, didn't have the bench, and because of its longer length, was a rougher ride. But it was still better than any car you've driven on a dirt road.

After about an hour of driving, we found the great herd. It was mostly wildebeest, but not exclusively. As the herd moved, zebra lead the way. Zebra have eyes higher than the other migrating species. They can see danger first. They also eat tall grass. The wildebeest follow and eat grass that is shorter. The wildebeest want to follow the rain, and have a keen sense of where the rain is. How they get the zebra to go where they want is anyone's guess. Gazelle and impala will follow the wildebeest. They eat the shortest grass. So the zebra come through, eat the tall grass, and lower the high of the food, then the wildebeest eat and lower it more, when the gazelle and impala come through, the grass is just the right height. It's an efficient system of mowing the lawn.

A column of wildebeest was running almost parallel to the road. They ran almost perfectly lined up. Calves ran next to their mothers. The column reminded me of a freight train, especially when they crossed the road. I was wondering how long we would have to wait for the entire column to pass. Godliving slowed and kept moving. Eventually, a wildebeest decided it couldn't out-run the Land Cruiser and stopped the column behind it. It's at these times when real danger can occur. But not because the Land Cruiser and the wildebeest will collide. The danger is a calf being separated from it's mother. The wildebeest are not very bright. Once a calf looses sight of its mother, the the chances that it will find her are very slim.

The calves were still very small. The wildebeest gave birth at the rate of about 4,000 a day for these two months. The advantage of this is that there will be 4,000 placentas a day dropped on the ground. This is a much easier meal for the predators than having to sneak up and chase a herbivore. The abundance of free meals for predators means more calves live longer.

The individual columns poured into the great herd. We were in one of the few places were vehicles were allowed to leave the road. Now there were wildebeest as far as the eye could see. The herd was moving in a particular direction. Godliving thought they were moving towards water, and decided we would have lunch at the watering hole. We stayed in the middle of the herd and followed as if we were migrating as well.

A group of birds, mostly vultures, had found a wildebeest carcass and was eating and fighting over who could be near the food. It's funny how a bird can have the best spot and will give it up to chase away another bird whose spot isn't as good. I'm sure we all know people like this.

Godliving was right that there was a watering hole on the way to wherever the herd was going. Some of the animals stopped for a drink. Most didn't. The guides broke out the picnic gear, and we ate on a hillside watching the part of the herd which had stopped. Suddenly deciding that was enough water, it re-joined the great herd which was climbing a hill. It reminded many of us of a commute to or from work. It was quite a traffic jam.

I've noticed that the guides all share information. We've often stopped so our driver and a driver from another company could swap notes. This is one reason all the Cruisers end up at the same animal. When the unusual is found, word goes out. Godliving told us the younger drivers are often not as good at spotting animals and will ask for help until they learn the ropes. We tourists have been surprised at how easily all three of our guides have been able to spot an animal at great distance, tell us if it's mature, its gender. Sometimes, I wonder if they could tell us the animal's first name.

The word went out. Cheetah had been spotted. These are even more rare than leopard. There was a mother and two cubs. She had her eyes on a gazelle. At first, we kept our distance. Other than the ten seconds or so of the lion chasing the warthog yesterday, we haven't seen hunting. We hoped she would stalk the gazelle and give chase. I got the impression the mother was frustrated by having the big vehicles nearby. We were in the gazelle's sight. I think the mother thought we spoiled the hunt. That's not good. Cheetah often live on the edge of starvation.

The cubs decided the Land Cruisers where a great source of shade and climbed under Joshua's vehicle. All of the humans were speaking in whispers as we have learned to not speak loudly around the animals. One of the cubs became a little curious and climbed up the front of Joshua's vehicle and peaked over the hood. Joshua had a video camera pointed in the right direction to catch this moment. The rest of us shot it from afar.

The cubs and then the mother moved from Land Cruiser to Land Cruiser. This gave everyone plenty of opportunity to get close ups of the cats. Eventually, it was time to head back to camp. As soon as we left the cheetah, another group approached to provide them shade.

This was the longest game drive of the trip, and we finally had a little rain during the drive to camp. I also noticed my camera getting low on storage. I planned to ration a little the next day to ensure I would have at least 200 shots in the crater.

At dinner, we agreed that the guides had topped yesterday. Then the guides told us tomorrow would top today.