GREAT MIGRATION STILL IN THE SERENGETI

a Kenyan website owned by the Standard Digital News run a story with a headline “Drought in Tanzania forces wildebeest back to Mara reserve”. The story written by Kipchumba Kemei among other issues claimed that “Hundreds of thousands of wildebeests that migrated to Serengeti plains in Tanzania from Maasai Mara Game Reserve two months ago have returned.

The abnormal occurrence has been necessitated by drought that has affected many parts of Tanzania including Serengeti National Park. “The drought has forced them to return to Mara where there is enough pasture for them.

Tanzania National Parks would like to clarify to the public that the Great Serengeti Wildebeest Migration is the movement of vast numbers of the Serengeti's wildebeest, accompanied by large numbers of zebra, and smaller numbers of Grant's gazelle, Thompson's gazelle, eland and impala.

These move is an annual pattern which is fairly predictable with plus or minus of changes and is acceptable in science and nature phenomena. They migrate throughout the year, constantly seeking fresh grazing and, it's now thought, better quality water. The precise timing of the Serengeti wildebeest migration is entirely dependent upon the rainfall patterns each year.

In line with this, this year around June the wildebeest migrations were halted on the south side of the Grumeti River, which has some channels, which block or slow their migration north. The wildebeest then congregated there, in the Western Corridor, built up to a high density before crossing the river towards North.

The wildebeest migration continued moving northwards during July and August, spread out across a broad front: some moved through Grumeti Reserve and Ikorongo, others north through the heart of the Serengeti National Park.

In September, wildebeest were sighted spreading out across the northern Serengeti, where the Mara River provides the migration with its most serious obstacle. Tourists and Conservationist Watched the herds of the wildebeest migration crossing the Mara River to Maasai Mara Game Reserve and the crossing was very spectacular; there are often scenes of great panic and confusion.

It's common to see herds cross the Mara River north on one day, and then back south a few days later depending with the availability of rains.

By October up to now i.e. November, 2013 the wildebeest herds migrated back to Western corridor due to green pastures emerged as a result of continuous short rains in Serengeti (Western zone), specifically the migration is concentrated at Musabi plains, Kirawira, Ndabaka and Sky Bay along Lake Victoria. This can vividly envisaged by the pictures attached herein. However, a small stretch of migration moved back to Northern zone, which is a zone with annual flowing rivers and green pastures.

With reference to the aforementioned facts and the pictures, Tanzania National Parks refute the information published in the Standard Digital News of Kenya that all migration has moved to Masai Mara in Kenya due drought season in Serengeti-Tanzania and that the continuous short rains in the Serengeti has resulted to green pastures which has managed to contain a bigger portion of the migration within the Serengeti National Park.

Issued by Public Relations Department

Tanzania National Parks

23rd November, 2013