Dan's Adventure

Every year thousands of Wildebeest, Zebra and other grazing animals migrate from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara. Zebras have a keen sense of smell while Wildebeest have great eye sight, so travelling together makes sense as they can help to protect each other.The masses of migrating animals make easy prey for predatory animals such as lions, leopards and cheetahs, they tend to wait until one breaks away from the main groups and then they go in for the kill.

As we drove through the Masai Mara we encountered so many zebras and wildebeest, all walking in formation in the same direction towards water and grass to feed on. A scene from David Attenborough’s series on the world’s great events came to mind when I saw hundreds of wildebeest leaping into a crocodile infested river, attempting to cross it as fast as possible. Again they cross it in groups to minimise the chances of being caught. Our driver got a bit too close to the action on the river bank and startled the wildebeest that were jumping back out of the river so the photo opportunity was lost as they took another route.

Witnessing the great migration was amazing. Seeing such vast numbers walking together in perfect lines really was unbelievable, especially from a distance where the wildebeest formed black lines across the plains and hills in the distance. This was one of the things that I had hoped to see so I consider myself very lucky that I got to the Masai Mara at the right time of year.