This has been an odd green season with respect to the timing and pattern of the great migration.  As posted before in our December 2011 report, the green season started a full two months early in October (as opposed to early December as usually seen).

The rains were sufficient enough to keep the Migration on the main southern and eastern Serengeti plains from November until mid January when a general drying out period took hold. The majority of the migratory herds quickly departed the plains by the 3rd week of January and headed west and north into the woodlands. We even had reports of seeing large herds of wildebeest all the way in the Musabi Plains deep within the Western Corridor of the Park in February…bizarre!

As always the fickle weather (and hence the migratory game movements) in the Serengeti keeps us on our toes with an abrupt, 180 degree change. The Serengeti finally received some decent precipitation sufficient enough to trigger the great legions of wildebeest and zebra (that had been taking refuge in the woodlands) back on the plains. Apparently, the migration really did come flooding back onto the plains by early March in a very impressive mass movement. Let’s hope the weather pattern holds and we continue to have enough precipitation (only about 3/4 of an inch a week is needed…not much) to keep the migration on the plains through the remainder of the green season.

Our guides report the Migration is 4 main groups at the moment as follows:

1st group in The Triangle, which is a stretch of plains between Naabi Hill and Lake Ndutu/Masek (see South Serengeti Map)

2nd group in Hidden Valley (see South Serengeti Map)

3rd group on the Kusini Plains  (see South Serengeti Map)

4th group (and largest) on the eastern plains stretching between Gol Kopjes and Lemuta Hill with a good amount of action taking place east of the Serengeti border in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (see East Serengeti Map)

Picture courtesy of Peter Arebalo.