A World Winder Exclusive by Guest Blogger, Tracy Nnanwubar.
Wildebeest on their own African Safari in search of green fields. Photo ~ Kenya Tourism Board
I’d love to meet the person who discovered the wildebeest migration from Kenya’s Masai Mara to Tanzania’s Serengeti. The mass movement of millions of wildebeests without visas crossing the border is so spell-binding that you could just freeze for hours amazed by the beauty in the rush and synchrony of the wildebeest family. They run through the Savannah grassland, across the Mara River where crocodiles usually lay in wait for them and into the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania just to look for good food, as the grass is always greener on the other side during summer.
Driving through the Masai Mara National Reserve in July and August is too enchanting to be described as a past time. Every year over three hundred thousand tourists come into Kenya and Tanzania to see the crossing of the wildebeest. The Kenyan grassland – which usually is a brownish green color with very short grass and skeletal trees randomly thrown unto the land – is usually over populated with wildebeests during the migration. They move in a large school, always together and never apart.
Going on a truck, airplane or balloon safari at that time of the year, your tour guide will tell you that any wildebeest seen alone becomes easy prey to the lions, leopards and cheetahs who control the food chain in Masai Mara. The wildebeests cover thousands and thousands of kilometers in the Mara National Reserve; they walk or run but sparingly sit during the migration. Occasionally, a few slow ones are left behind in Kenya and I’m guessing it’s because they didn’t pack early enough for the trip!
Though accommodation in Masai Mara, popularly called ‘Mara’ varies by budget and style, to see the 8th wonder of the ancient world – the Wildebeest Migration, you’d need to book your safari at least three months in advance. Some of the popular Mara lodges (not hotels) are the Amani Mara, Keekrock, Savora, Ashnil, Mara Leisure Camp, and Ol Seki Hemmingways Mara. The lodges usually grant complimentary safaris per tour package with full board & meals, evening Masai dance entertainment, trips to the Masai Cultural village and your own personalized native Masai man for security. Apparently the wild animals recognize the red color of the Masai cloth and pick their cow dung scent miles away. Hence over the years the animals have accepted the spear-holding-Masai as one of their own, in the wild.
Some Kenyans believe that part of the reason why the population of the wildebeests increases each year during the migration is because the wildebeests have an exceptionally strong immune system enabling them respond to stimulus super-fast, reproduce rapidly and also regenerate dead cells fast in case of infections or food poisoning. The wildebeest are a herbivorous breed who eat a lot, walk a lot and also mature very fast.
Up in the Air, Over the African Grasslands. Photo~ Kenya Tourism Board
Looking at a wildebeest, you’d admire its greyish-black skin with minimal hair covering it. I am guessing this hair functions as a blanket and a bikini all year round, since the Mara gets very hot during the day and very cold at night. The horns of the wildebeest can serve as a piece of art. It is almost like a crown shooting out two black spiky curved arrows at the side and aligning with its wide nose. Its humped shoulders are results of longer fore legs and its jet black hair is groomed on its spine sliding and reducing in density all the way down to its short tail. And though all wildebeests look the same, be they male or female, it’s pretty safe to say that they are the goldmine and new economic boom of Kenya’s Masai Mara.
Tracy Nnanwubar is a writer and consultant. Please contact her via: tnnnanwubar@gmail.com
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