One of East Africa's most amazing sites is the Great Migration, a year round movement through the Serengeti - Mara ecosystem of nearly 2 million animals, mainly wildebeest with some zebras and gazelles. However the pattern and timing of the migration varies from year to year, as the animals search for grass and water.

So where does the migration begin? For the wildebeest or the gnu as they are also known, life is an endless journey. The only real beginning is the moment of birth. Generally wildebeest browse on the calcium rich short grass plains in the south eastern part of the Serengeti ecosystem during the rains from November to May. Here on these ancestral calving grounds, 90% of the calves are born within a few weeks between January and March. Watching 400,000 calves is truly a spectacular sight. This peak in calving ensures that the majority calves survive as the predators such as lions, hyenas and wild dogs can only devour a small percentage of the new-borns. The tawny coated calves can run within a few minutes of their birth.

By the end of May most of the short grass on the plains has been eaten and drinking water has become scarce. The huge crowd begins it trek north and west through the long grass plains to the open woodlands. This great concentration of wildebeest is a site to behold, the sounds of the great herds echoing across the plains. Zebra often lead the crowd as they eat the stems and seed heads of the long grass. The wildebeest follow preferring the shorter grass.

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