Active crossing in the Mara

There was a heavy crossing activity at the paradise crossing point yesterday as herds cross over to the west of the Mara River. These were mainly the herds that came from the south and crossed the Talek river north. They have been moving en masse across Paradise plain to the River and are now crossing over west. Many have been dying from predation by crocodiles and others from trampling in the stampede in the river. The past two days have been full of crossing and crocodile predation activities at both main crossing and cul de sac crossing points. the crossing startedd yesterday at around 12.30pm then stopped and again at both crossing points at around 4pm, and continued till just before dark. The previous day we had some animals crossing in the full moon night.

 

Wildebeests moving in a zigzag line across the plains

Zebras running across the grasslands towards the river to cross

Wildebeests decending into te river and crossing

Some makes it safely while others perish in the river

A stampede towards the river crossing point

Crocodile feeds on one of the unlucky wildebeests

Update on the wildebeest migration

Map of the Mara showing current wildebeests concentration location

Wildebeests crossing the Talek river

wildebeests at sunrise this morning

The movement of the wildebeests in the Mara over he past few days has really changed. Many of the animals I reported earlier, have left the central plains and either crossed the river west onto the Mara triangle or north towards Rhino ridge.


The herds split just before crossing the Talek river at different points last week. Some animals crossed near Talek gate and headed north, some into Olare Orok conservancy and other just east of Rhino ridge on the border of the reserve. The remaining herds have been crossing the river near Rekero camp. These ones have been moving along the Mara river towards the main crossing and started crossing today. We had about 3000 animals crossing with the crocodiles killing at the least 3 during the 45 minutes crossing.

Down at lookout hill, the crossings continued at different points, with the animals heading due west after crossing the river. The first herds that crossed the river last week are now heading towards the salt lick.

Predation on the herds was quite significant over the week with the Mara prides swinging into action. We witnessed a few kills in the past few days. The 3 male cheetah coalition of honey’s boys killed a few young wildebeest and at least one adult in the past one week and a half.

We anticipate to the crossing to continue for a few days in the south and the loita herds are now pushing south from Musiara area towards the main crossing. This is where it is likely to be busy over the next weeks.

Wildebeests migration latest update

Map of the Mara: Note the current location and direction of movement of the herds;

The movement of the migrating wildebeests in the Mara progressed fast over the past few days. It took the wildebeests only took 2 days from the central plains to get to the Mara river and are now across on the Mara triangle. I was amazed at the distance they cover in the night. the migration this year has been interetsing in that it occured early and that the main migration from the south preceeded that of teh Loita herds which traditionlay will be in teh Mara ahead of their Serengeti cousins.


The herds which had gathered near the Talek gate have been crossing north of the river. The crossings were quite slow but dramatic to see the wildebeests crossing the almost dry river in such a rush creating a cloud of dust in the process. The Olkiombo pride of lions have suddenly waken up to a feast. They have been making kills almost daily at the river crossing on the Talek, at times making four kills a day.

The rest of the herds that proceeded towards the lower side of the Talke were crossing by yesterday near Rekero camp. I reckon these will head towards paradise crossing and then over to the triangle.

Down at Look out hill there were heavy crossings two days ago which continued yesterday. Many animals are crossing over to the triangle. The crossing however have been somehow easy for the animals in many places as the water is lower. There was a drama at one point when the wildebeests crossed next to some hippos. One male came out and charged at the crossing animals, targeting one young calf and chased it onto the dry ground for about fifty metres, but the calf managed to get away.

Migration progress

Map of the Mara showing progress of the migration

Just 2 days after my last update on the migration, the wildebeest have covered a huge area. The split herds have kept pushing ahead in the directions indicated earlier.


The herds that went due north have already got to the Talek river, which is a distance of 15 kilometers from the location of my reporting 2 days ago. They started crossing the river today in big number. Although the Talek river is very low and almost dry in some places, it was remarkable to see the wildebeest crossing in a rush, raising a lot of dust. The Olkiombo pride of lions have positioned themselves along this crossing point and killed 4 wildebeests from yesterday.

The herds that have taken the direction of lookout hill could be at the Mara river in another 2 days. Although there is plenty of grass in their way, they have just kept going through with only brief feeding stops.

Wildebeest migration update

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  Map of Masai Mara showing current concentraion locations

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  Male wildebeests are at the end of the rutting season, so it is common to see males chasing each other or engaging in brief fights

The migration of wildebeests has started in the Masai Mara game reserve. They crossed the common border of Kenya/Tanzania from Northern Serengeti into Masai Mara, about 4 days ago. The wildebeests came through their traditional route west of Kuka hills though some herds come around the eastern side of the hills. They crossed the sand river which runs almost along the border, onto the Mara around Roan hill where they were seen the first day streaming in long lines heading north.

Over the past two days the migration progression has been quite fast, with wildebeest covering quite some distance per day. Today I found the herds have already reached the central plains and still highly mobile. However, the herds have split up as usual with one herds heading due north and the other heading west from the central plains towards lookout hill. These are expected to cross the river in the coming few days or by next week, going by the pace by which they have been moving across the plains over the past few days since they arrived in the Mara. Looking across into northern Serengeti, one can see big herds concentrated on the recently burnt patch south of the south Mara Bridge towards Naima Lumbwa hills. These are expected to join the main herds into the Mara one they have mowed down al the short grass on the burnt area.

What has been unusual about this years migration is that the main migration from the south arrived in the Mara early ahead of the Loita herds (This is the Kenyan resident herds of wildebeest) which usually migrate into the Mara from the east of the park. Normally when we start seeing them move into the park, it is a sign that the main migration from the south is on the way. The grass on the Mara plains is very tall and we thought this will slow the movement of eh wildebeest as they will have to keep feeding as they move on, but they seem just to be on a mission to migrate than looking for greener pasture.

The Mara predators, which have been starving over the lean period that was the past few months, are now waking upto a season of plenty. The prides of lion in the areas where the wildebeest have been through have already gorged themselves. The stage is now set for hunting activities in the Mara, as the predators seize the opportunity.

I will keep you posted on the progress of this natural phenomenon.