Chapter 29 - Tanzania's Wildebeest Migration in the Serengeti Ecosystem

During Toto's travels in Africa, he visited the Serengeti National Park ecosystem twice: once during the dry season and then again four months later during the rainy season. During these two visits I witnessed the before, during and after of the famous Serengeti wildebeest migration. In 2006 ABC News' "Good Morning America" listed the wildebeest migration as one of their new 'Seven Natural Wonders of the World." Having seen it in person, I understand why they did.

 

An "ecosystem" is an environmental area where the climate and weather patterns work together to allow animals, plants and all the living creatures in the area to support themselves. The most visible animals in the Serengeti ecosystem are the several million wildebeest and zebra that live in several national parks and conservation areas in the northern part of Tanzania and across the border in southern Kenya. The wildebeest and zebra are continually moving, or migrating, across the several million acres of park land in search of the green grass and fresh water they need to survive. Fortunately the Tanzanian and Kenyan governments have set aside enough land for that many animals to continually have access to enough grass and water. I found it interesting to learn that most of the wildebeest and zebra move in a constant clockwise rotation across hundreds of miles of parkland throughout the year.

 

Even though there are millions of wildebeest and zebra, visitors aren't guaranteed to see them in their big migratory group. That's because park rangers only allow guides to drive visitors through certain parts of the park, in order to preserve the ecosystem. Furthermore, the wildebeest group might not be in the area of the park you're visiting. For example, on my first visit in September to the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, the "migration" (which is what they call the group of migrating wildebeest and zebra) was way up north in Kenya's Masaai Maara conservation area, where recent rains had brought green grass and water.

Sitting near the equator, the Serengeti ecosystem generally has some part where it rained recently, no matter what month it is. The wildebeest and zebra keep walking so they can be in the right place where the rains just fell, which takes them on their clockwise trek. In September, the rains were up north in Kenya, but I was further south in the Serengeti National Park, where the grass was all dry and brown, as you can see from this photo.

 

Not all zebra and wildebeest go on the migration. There are some herds that stay where they are. I wondered if they were the grandparents and too tired to travel, like my grandparents became once they got really old. But my guide said we weren't looking at simply old zebra and wildebeest. He said some wildebeest and zebra just prefer to stay put, like the couch potatoes of the animal world. That's why even though the grass was brown, we still saw zebra and wildebeest. This dry grass would never have supported the millions of animals I saw later in January, when the grass was green, but it was enough for the small group that remained in September.

 

Predators like lions, leopards, cheetahs and hyenas (like this one) think it's good that some wildebeest and zebra stay behind, because predators hunt them for food. These predators are "territorial," meaning they stick to a certain area, or territory, year round. They count on some animals always being in their territory so they can feed themselves and their families, instead of migrating to new food, like the zebra and wildebeest.

 

When I came back in January, there was certainly plenty of food for the predators! As far as I could see, there were wildebeest and zebra eating the grass, which was now green. Since I'd been there in September, it had rained in this part of Tanzania, so the millions of wildebeest and zebra migrated south to the Serengeti National Park, where we were driving in January. We were lucky enough to drive through the middle of the migration at the start of our safari. Five days later, when we drove through the same area, the migration had moved on to eat the taller grass further south. The only sign that they had been through the area was that all the grass was short. Just like a giant lawnmower, the millions of animals had trimmed the grass.

 

They say that they wildebeest and zebra stick together because they both benefit from the partnership. The wildebeest are good at smelling water. They instinctively know where it is raining and start walking towards the region where the rains are, which is where they can find water to drink and fresh green grass. But wildebeest are not very good at seeing predators. On the other hand, zebra are very good at seeing predators but not good at knowing where the rains are. So when the wildebeest start walking, the zebra follow them to the green grass and pools of water. When the wildebeest see the zebras running, they take off running too, because they know the zebras spotted a predator and are literally running for their lives. This is called a "symbiotic" relationship, which means both animals work together in a way that's helpful to each of them. Can you see how the zebra and wildebeest both benefit from sticking together in the Serengeti plains?

 

While I was on my safaris I saw some amazing interactions between animals. It was like watching TV, only without the TV screen! For example, I saw this lioness sneak up on a herd of zebra and try to chase down one for dinner. We watched her stalk though the tall grass, just like your cat at home might hunt a bird. Watching her, I learned that prey tend to stick together to help each other survive. A gazelle, which is a type of antelope or deer, was up on a hill above the zebra and saw the lioness stalking them in a ravine below, where she couldn't be seen. Of course the gazelle couldn't just yell, "Hey, look out! There's a lion down there to your left!" But the gazelle barked a warning, which  told the zebras to be on the lookout for something suspicious. So when the lioness eventually tried to hunt the zebra, they were ready and took off the second she appeared.

We saw a good ten-second chase, where it looked like the lion was about to jump on a zebra's back. But he had a head start on her, and she couldn't catch the zebra without possibly getting kicked in the head, so she gave up. The guide said he could tell from her full breasts that the lioness was nursing a litter of cubs, so she probably didn't want to risk getting injured or killed and leaving her cubs without a mother. We could see her disappointment in failing to bring home dinner when she rolled over in the field and wagged her tail in frustration. It was funny to see her show her personality and emotions so clearly to us!

 

Once she began her chase, every animal in the area knew the lioness was there. I will never forget seeing the thousands of wildebeest, zebra and gazelles separate to create a wide path for her to walk back up to her den of cubs at the top of the hill. It was like watching a crowd open up for someone to walk through or Moses parting the Red Sea (if you've ever heard that story or seen the movie, The Ten Commandments). Clearly every animal knows the lioness is the queen of the jungle!

 

The interesting thing about an ecosystem is that there is a place for many different animals within it. Each has found a niche, or small place, to live and each relies on the other to survive. For example, elephants tear down many trees, creating open spaces for grasses to grow, which the zebra, wildebeest, gazelles, and buffalo need to eat. But since elephants don't digest all that they eat, baboons come through and pick out the undigested seeds in the elephant poop. The seeds that don't get eaten often sprout to grow new trees for the baboons and birds to live in. There are many, many more examples of this kind of symbiotic relationship in this amazing ecosystem.

 

One of the difficult things to do while on safari is to try to find the animals. Every creature has its own type of camouflage to protect it from predators or keep it hidden when hunting. I was so used to seeing animals on TV that I thought it would be easy to see all the animals in the wild. You can easily see zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, buffalo and hippos, as they are everywhere and find safety in numbers or, like zebras, in their stripes. Other animals, particularly predators who don't want to be spotted until it's too late, are difficult to find. For example, can you see anything special in this tree that we drove past on our safari? (Double click on the picture to blow up the photo on your screen.)

 

Well, thankfully our safari drivers and guides have really good eyes for spotting these animals. They saw the spots on this leopard, who was taking a catnap in the tree! Leopards usually sleep during the day since their superior night vision helps them hunt at night.

 

The wildlife in Tanzania was truly incredible and a gift to the world that Tanzania protects for all of us. Fortunately Tanzania does a relatively good job of maintaining the ecosystem that the animals depend upon to survive. For example, if lots of people came to live permanently in the Serengeti national parks and conservation areas, then the ecosystem would go out of balance and many animals would die. If the humans set up farms and took all the water, then there wouldn't be enough green grass and water for the wildebeest and zebra to survive. Fortunately the Tanzanians have kept this rich area protected for all of us. I encourage you someday to visit it for yourself. If you love animals, you won't be disappointed.

 

Travel Questions on the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania:

1. Define "ecosystem."
2. In which two months did Toto visit the Serengeti ecosystem?
3. What is the name of the conservation area in Kenya where the migration was in September?
4. Define "territorial" when used in reference to predators. How is it different from an animal that migrates?
5. List an example of an animal in the Serengeti which is territorial.
6. Describe how the zebra and the wildebeest help each other by living together symbiotically.
7. What are the baboons looking for when they pick through elephant poop?
8. What animal was sleeping in the photo of the tree above?
9. What time is the favorite time for leopards to hunt and why?

Global Nomad Questions on the Serengeti Ecosystem:

1. Draw a picture of you with your favorite animals in the Serengeti National Park.
2. Find the Serengeti National Park on a map. List all the countries that surround Tanzania.
3. On your map, you'll notice that there are actually several national parks of preserves that make up the ecosystem in which the wildebeest and zebras migrate: the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area, and Masaai Maara conservation area as well as some game reserves next to each of those areas. The Ngorongoro Crater is the world's largest volcanic crater where many animals live in a unique park. Do a cybersearch on the crater and write a paragraph on what you learned.
4. There is much more to learn about the wildebeest migration than Toto described above. Do a cybersearch on wildebeest, zebras and the annual Serengeti migration and write an essay on what you learned.