The dry season continues to strengthen its harsh hold on the Serengeti. The last bit of green from the few sporadic thundershowers we received last month has faded to brown. Most of the wildebeest and zebra herds are located in the North Serengeti stretching from Lobo Valley northwest to the Mara River and Lamai Triangle. There are also significant herds in the Masai Mara, Kenya (especially zebra). The lagging herds in the West Serengeti and Grumeti Game Reserve we saw in June and July seemed to have moved further north now and we expect these to be arriving in the accessible areas of the North Serengeti shortly, which will mean another round of Mara River crossings. This had been an exceptional year for Mara River crossings and our guests have seen quite a few. In fact, we had one group witness the river crossing in both directions with no doubt some confused wildebeest. The best place at the moment to see the main herds of the migration is just northwest of the Kogatende Ranger Post about 2 kms past the Mara River in what we refer to as the Lamai Triangle or Lamai Wedge.

Despite all excitement in the North Serengeti, it’s the Central Serengeti that continues to steal the show. Why? Let’s just say all the Serengeti’s large carnivores (lions, leopards, cheetahs and spotted hyena) have been showing off their hunting skills. Pictures are worth a thousand words and I will just leave off with these extraordinary photos taken on July 29th just to the east of the Seronera Valley in the Central Serengeti at the beginning of the Eastern Plains. For those familiar or with our ADS map, the area is just to the west of the Sametu Kopjes and Marsh. Thanks to David Y. and his family for submitting these unique photos of 2 young cheetah males attempting to hunt a topi.

Cheetah and Topi Battle0 - July 29, 2010

Cheetah and Topi Battle1 - July 29, 2010

Cheetah and Topi Battle2 - July 29, 2010

Cheetah and Topi Battle3 - July 29, 2010

Cheetah and Topi Battle4 - July 29, 2010

It has been a strange northward migration season here in the Serengeti. Last year in 2009 we saw a relatively typical northward movement with the migratory wildebeest and zebra moving into the Central Serengeti in May, the West Serengeti in June and finally the North Serengeti in July. We reported the first major crossing of the Mara River on July 29, 2009. The 2010 northward migration couldn’t be any further different from what we had witnessed in 2009.

This year the bulk of the migration had departed the plains by the end of April despite some fairly healthy rains. The situation got more unusual with sizeable herds moving directly north in May (roughly 2 months ahead of schedule) and skipping the Western Serengeti all together. We can now report that we have had the first major Mara River crossings up in the extreme North Serengeti on June 29th and June 30th, 2010. This is almost a full month ahead of a typical year.

The migration (both the wildebeest and zebra herds) is currently very widely dispersed throughout the entire top half of the Serengeti ecosystem. There are still a few scattered herds in the West Serengeti but the majority of the action is now taking place in the North Serengeti from Lobo Valley north to Bologonja Springs and northwest through Wogakuira and up to the Mara River. There are also sizeable concentrations ranging in the Grumeti Game Reserve. The gazelles are always the last migratory species to depart the plains and we are just finally seeing large herds of gazelles stream through Seronera and the Central Serengeti and pushing into the Western Corridor.

Wildlife viewing excluding the migration has been better then usual with predators including cheetah, lion, leopard and spotted hyena being regularly spotted on almost a daily basis in the Central Serengeti. We had guests witness a leopard chasing and bringing down a live adult wildebeest yesterday, which was something truly extraordinary (2nd time I have every heard of this happening). Last month, there was a quite a bit of activity in Seronera with several guests witnessing Seronera’s famous lion prides showing off their hunting skills. We had one guest bring back some incredible photos of one such encounter between a lion pride and an old bull buffalo (pictured below).

We also had a couple rare sightings a few weeks back of those elusive black rhinos in the Moru Kopjes complex in the Central Serengeti. Elephant viewing remains tremendous and all our guides are commenting on how the elephant population has been thriving the last couple of years.

Mara River Crossing - June 29, 2010

Seronera Valley - Central Serengeti

Leopard Kill - North Serengeti

April is always a show stopper in terms of wildlife encounters in the African Safari Serengeti and the last two weeks of April were certainly no exception. African Dream Safaris clients and safari consultants were treated to spectacular encounters with the Great Migration: the herd sizes were so vast that they defied description. The mega herd easily comprising a million wildebeest were concentrated primarily in the Matiti and Macau plains in the south eastern Serengeti. This herd stretched west to Ndutu and Lake Masek thrilling clients who were staying in the lodges and tented camps in these areas. Yet just when you thought you couldn’t possibly count any more wildebeest and zebra, ADS clients exploring the Barafu kopjes and those adventuring even further east past Nasera Rock through to the beautiful and evocative Angata Kiti Plains were taken aback at the vast numbers of animals in this area. It was a delight to see so many healthy and robust looking wildebeest calves ranging in age from 3-13 weeks of age. Plains game such as eland, Thompson’s and Grant’s gazelle were also plentiful.

Big cat lovers were not disappointed with the frequent sightings of both nomadic and pride lions particularly around Gol and Sametu kopjes. Cheetah were a relatively frequent sight in the plains and a number of African Dream Safaris clients witnessed successful hunts starting with the stalk, chase and concluding with the kill and subsequent feasting. While this aspect does not appeal to everyone, it was rewarding to see the endangered cheetah, limited to around just 500 in the entire Serengeti, thriving. Leopard were spotted in the Seronera Valley as were members of the Maasai Kopjes and Makoma Hill Lion Prides.

Large breeding herds of elephant were in the Lobo and Seronera Valleys. Moru kopjes had a number of sizeable families while one particularly large breeding herd of about 300 family members kept photographers in the Macau plains busy for hours.

Giraffe and impala were plentiful in all of the acacia woodlands and bird lovers were treated to the sight of many colorful migrants enjoying their last few weeks before beginning on their long journey home across the relentless sands of the Sahara and back to Europe.

In our last blog entry we mentioned clients often asking “just how close you get to the lions, cheetahs and the like’. Here’s our answer:

Male Lion - East Serengeti - April 2010

Lake Ndutu - South Serengeti - April 2010

It has been a memorable April here at Africa Dream Safaris. In addition to hosting several large groups on the Serengeti Safari, we have had three of our U.S. safari consultants out on safari with a film crew. Our new film, which was shot entirely in the Serengeti from April 6th to April 11th, will feature the Serengeti’s green season in eye popping high definition. Below are a few stills taken during the filming. People always ask just how close you get to the lions, cheetahs and the like. I guess the answer is pretty darn close! Stay tuned for a proper bush report and a migration update due to be posted at the end of April.

Africa Dream Safaris Film Shoot - 1 - April 2010

Africa Dream Safaris Film Shoot - 2 - April 2010

Africa Dream Safaris Film Shoot - 3 - April 2010

Africa Dream Safaris Film Shoot - 4 - April 2010

Africa Dream Safaris Film Shoot - 5 - April 2010

Imagine an emerald canvas of grassland that stretches for miles, washed in the brilliance of equatorial sunlight and brimming with an abundance of new life. THIS is the green season in the Northern Tanzania Safari - a time of plenty for the animals and a time of splendor for all those who are able to witness it firsthand.

Each year, the green season is marked by extremes. Extreme colors saturate the landscape; verdant savannas are peppered with trillions of brightly-hued wildflowers that beam underneath a burning sapphire sky. Afternoon rainstorms steep in leaden horizons, eventually collapsing to the ground in a short but dramatic burst of life-giving moisture. Rainbows gleam above purple cloudscapes after the sky is washed clean, and the animals bask in the cool green splendor of this life-giving season.

Extreme life dominates the Serengeti plains during this time, as the wildebeest herds take pause in their never-ending migration to give birth on the southern Serengeti plains. Thousands of tiny wildebeest calves have now joined forces with the herd; wide-eyed and gangly, these babies are building their strength on the nutrient rich Serengeti plains before the herds all are forced to move on sometime in May. These young calves have much to learn during the months ahead as the migration resumes its northward course, laden with perils at every turn. Other animals also start their families during this time of plenty, as evidenced by the numerous cubs, pups, fawns, and foals that frolic over green carpets, bringing hope for continued survival of their species to this harsh African wilderness.

Extreme action and thrilling adventures are also inherent to this fast-paced season. The end of the green season including March offers arguably some of the finest wildlife viewing to be found anywhere in Africa. Amidst this world of tremendous color and teeming new life, our clients have certainly had some extreme safari experiences! Guest highlights include several fast paced cheetah chases near Ndutu, a spotted hyena clan ‘battle’ with the Naabi Hill lion pride, large elephant herds at Moru Kopjes and continuing sightings of the critically endangered wild dog (this time in the beautiful valley of Angata Kiti in the remote reaches of East Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area).

On the migration front, several medium sized herds of wildebeest remain on the Southern Serengeti Plains southeast of Kusini and also between Lake Ndutu and Naabi Hill, an area referred to as ‘The Triangle’. However, the largest concentrations of all four migratory species (wildebeest, zebra, gazelle and eland) that encompass the famed migration are currently located on Eastern Serengeti Plains. The area between Gol Kopjes and Barafu Gorge is thick black with massive wildebeest herds at the moment. Most pictures simply fail to communicate the immensity of these herds. One can stand (assuming no lions) on the top of the largest kopje in the Barafu complex and look upon tens of thousands wildebeest and zebra grazing peacefully from horizon to horizon. Outstanding!

A special thanks to Ralph and Jane Anthony who sent in this spectacular wildebeest migration shot, which was taken on March 20, 2010 near the Gol Kopjes on the Eastern Serengeti Plains. It’s a challenge to capture the enormity of the wildebeest migration on the vast Serengeti Plains in a single frame and all of use here at African Dream Safaris think you did it justice with this beautiful photo!

March 20, 2010 - Eastern Serengeti Plains near Gol Kopjes

Africa’s Serengeti Migration may just be the greatest show on earth! Over a million wildebeest participate in the migration as well as hundreds of thousands of Zebras and Thompson’s gazelles. Relentlessly tracked by Africa’s great predators, these animals migrate in a clockwise fashion over 1,800 miles of the Serengeti ecosystem each year in search of greener grasses. There is no real beginning or end to the pilgrimage for these animals – it is an endless journey in search of food and water that climaxes in a new generation of baby calves born on the southern plains in the early green season.

Many of our guests on our African Safari Tours this month witnessed wildebeest calves at the moment of birth. This never ceases to impress people as new life replenishes the plains in such vast numbers. The saying “there is safety in numbers” is exceedingly true during wildebeest calving. Instinctually, females join together from different directions to form huge living barricades providing added protection at their most vulnerable time – birth. One of the reasons the females gather on the short-grass plains is to be able to have the best view of approaching predators as there is little vegetation to hide their presence. The other reason is the mineral content of the short grasses, rich in magnesium and calcium which is critical to good lactation.

We witnessed several different female groups giving birth this year (it is typical for the male and female wildebeest herds to range separately during the calving season with the males located further to the north inside the borders of the Serengeti National Park while the female herds tend to distance themselves deep in the southern extremes of the ecosystem). One group ranging about a 1-hour drive south of Ndutu deep within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the Matiti Plains area had its birth spike from about 10-Feb to 16-Feb. The largest female calving herd seen this year ranging about a 30-minute drive southwest of Ndutu had its birth spike from about 15-Feb to 22-Feb. We still have reports over the last few days of additional calving including a few on the eastern plains from Gol Kopjes through to Lemuta Hill. It seems the calving is trailing off now. The resident wildebeest herds in the Ngorongoro Crater usually calve earlier then their Serengeti counter parts. This year the herds in the Crater started calving towards the end of January into early February.

It is always a guessing game as to when and where the great wildebeest herds will drop their calves. Entirely dependent upon rainfall and grazing conditions, female wildebeest can hold off birthing for quite some time. In the most extreme dry years, we have seen the wildebeest calving being in early March in the Central Serengeti woodlands. More often then not though, the plains to the south of Ndutu and to the east of Lemuta Hill seem to be the preferred calving ground in February during ideal conditions.

In out last posting, the rains had been quite heavy towards the middle and end of December which finally drew the migration south onto the Serengeti Plains. In January and through the beginning of February we saw a general drying out trend which scattered all the migratory animals far and wide to seek the last patches of green grass and standing water. All of us here at Africa Dream Safaris were beginning to worry about the game viewing conditions (remember the old Serengeti adage that rain means game). Then, during the 2nd week of February thunder showers fell consistently all throughout the ecosystem. The rains continued during the 3rd week of February and intensified quite heavily on the 17th and 18th. The end result is the Serengeti Plains are a brilliant shade of green at the moment and game viewing is absolutely outstanding.

With the onset of the rains in February, we are now seeing large herds of wildebeest and gazelles beginning to shift from the southern plains to the eastern plains. There still remains heavy concentrations of migratory animals in the southern plains around Ndutu and Naabi but we are seeing more and more wildebeest, gazelle and zebra streaming to the eastern plains to Lemuta Hill, Nasera Rock and the Salei Plains. The Gol Kopjes at the beginning of the eastern plains are packed full of wildebeest at the moment.

The calving and the migration in general tends to steal the show in February but game viewing remains great for many other species in the Serengeti. Retina Hippo Pool in the Central Serengeti is quite full at the moment and guests have been getting some great pictures of hippos and crocodiles. The eastern game circuit from Seronera to Sametu Kopjes and further east to the Barafu Gorge and Kopjes has been rewarding with lots of good lion, cheetah and spotted hyena action. The scenery along this road is absolutely stunning, as well. Barafu Gorge has several large pools of water at the moment and has been a magnet for game throughout February.

Further to south there has been quite a lot of action on the plains between Kusini and Ndutu with plenty of lion, cheetah and hyena kills being reported. The Ndutu pride (we counted 16 total members including cubs) has been hanging around the big marsh as the wildebeest have been easy pickings when they come to the marsh to drink. There is lots of cover here for the lions to make a successful hunt. The Gol Kopjes area remains one of the best areas in the Serengeti for cheetah viewing and the Gol Kopjes lion pride has been spotted fairly frequently out on the kopjes.

We have had some very unusual sightings this February including an aardwolf on the road between Naabi Hill and Ndutu, a ratel (honey badger) on the Kusini Plains and wild dogs at Ndutu, which is something truly extraordinary. Wild dogs are rarely sighted within the Serengeti National Park though there is a small population in the Loliondo Game Reserve, which is adjacent to the Serengeti along its eastern border. Lastly, approximately 30 black rhinos (flown from South Africa) are scheduled to be released in the Serengeti over the course of 2010. The first rhinos are scheduled for release in the Lobo Valley of the Northern Serengeti in May. Currently, the Serengeti is home to only a dozen black rhinos, which are vigorously protected in the Moru Kopjes complex in the Central Serengeti. Hopefully, these magnificent animals can repopulate the Serengeti and once again roam the Serengeti.

Wildebeest Calving - Matiti Plains - February 2010

What a green season this is already shaping up to be! All of us here at Africa Dream Safaris are just ecstatic over the return of the migration to the plains. Watching the first large columns of wildebeest and zebra thunder back onto the Serengeti plains is arguably THE defining moment of the entire migration! Sure, wildebeest plunging into the crocodile-infested waters of the Mara River in the dry season is pretty impressive, the synchronized mass-birthing of wildebeest during the mid green season is a sight to behold, and even the frenzied rut of wildebeest during their northward migration is pretty remarkable! But, being witness to the first large herd of wildebeest as they pour out of the northern woodlands and back onto the southern plains at the beginning of the green season is such an incredible and awe-inspiring experience that it might just be the most brilliant highlight of the entire cycle. This is a definitive moment for the wildebeest in their annual migration; for a wildebeest to finally reach the verdant Serengeti plains at the beginning of the green season is akin to a marathon racer when he or she finally crosses that finish line.

In our last posting at the end of November, the rains had finally begun in earnest and had triggered the great herds of wildebeest, zebra, gazelle and eland to begin their southward migration. However, these rain showers diminished quickly at the beginning of December stalling the largest herds of wildebeest in the Central Serengeti, though a few smaller groupings had already made it to the plains. Then, towards the middle of December, the rains began to fall again. The ample moisture from this renewed rainfall transformed the southern and eastern Serengeti plains into an herbivore’s paradise of new grass and fresh water. The great migratory herds were not far behind! By the last week of December the remaining wildebeest herds that had temporarily taken refuge in the Central Serengeti in early December had finally flooded onto the plains and crossed that finish line.

What a splendid holiday period this has been for our guests out on african safari! The end of December is always one of the busiest times of year here at Africa Dream Safaris with almost all our guides and vehicles out ‘in the bush’ so it was perfect timing to provide so many of our guests with the opportunity to welcome the great herds of wildebeest back home to their ancestral calving grounds on the short grass plains of the Serengeti.

As of today, the migration is dispersed throughout both the southern and eastern Serengeti. Uncountable numbers of migratory wildebeest, zebra, gazelle and eland, along with all the attendant predators (lion, cheetah and spotted hyena), can be seen ranging from Kusini and Ndutu on the Southern Plains to Lemuta Hill and Nasera Rock on the Eastern Plains. If the rains continue, we expect the wildebeest to head further south past Ndutu and Kusini towards the Matiti Plains and further east of Lemuta Hill to the extreme short grass, volcanic plains called the Salei Plains. The female wildebeest herds in particular seem called to these remote plains to drop their newborn calves as long as the rains continue to generate fresh green grass and potable water. These remote plains, lying deep within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, are closest to the extinct volcanoes that border this region. Because of the thick volcanic ash that settled over this area millions of years ago, the soil here produces the most nutrient rich grasses of the entire ecosystem.

Wildebeest Migration - South Serengeti - January 2010

Over the last 10 days, thundershowers have been falling throughout the Serengeti ecosystem including the far southern plains around Ndutu. Over the last week we have seen long columns of wildebeest marching south through the Central Serengeti woodlands and flooding onto the plains. This is the southward migration in full glory!

The wildebeest have just edged onto the beginning of the plains with the onset of the rains. Massive herds can be found all throughout the Central Serengeti with the main concentrations at Moru Kopjes and Maasai Kopjes. These herds stretch as far south as Simba Kopjes but they have not made it (just yet) to the far southern and eastern plains around Ndutu and Gol Kopjes, respectively. If the rains continue, we have doubt that the wildebeest will continue their southward migration and move further south down the ecosystem to Ndutu and Gol by December.

In any event, large herds of both wildebeest and zebra along with their attendant predators can easily be seen at the moment in the central areas of the park. Game viewing is incredible at the moment with these large concentrations of herbivores filling the predator rich Seronera Valley of the Central Serengeti. Needless to say the large lion prides of the Seronera area are extremely content. Much of the prides have come together in this time of plenty and almost the entire Sametu pride (over 30 members) was seen all together including its 4 resident males names by the Serengeti Lion project the Greek Gods. What a sight

Please see below for 2 pictures just submitted from our very own Dawn Anderson and Sharon Lyon who just returned from safari. The first picture is of a herd of wildebeest with the beautiful Maasai Kopjes projecting out in the background. Look how green it is! The second picture is of a group of cubs from the large Sametu lion pride taken nearby the Sametu Kopjes (the center of this lion prides territory).