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Previous Posts
- Migration Update - 16th February 2006
- Migration Update - 4th February 2006
- Migration Update - 18th January 2006
- Migration Update - 9th January 2006
- Migration Report - 23rd December 2005
- Migration Update - 1st December 2005
- Migration Report - 2nd November 2005
- Migration Report - 28th September 2005
- Migration Report - 12th September 2005
- Migration Report - 3rd August 2005
Monday, March 06, 2006
Migration Update - 6th March 2006
Last week saw the drought break through most of northern Tanzania. On Monday and Tuesday, there were very heavy rains throughout the Serengeti eco system, causing quite a few interesting drives in the mud. The same weather system has stayed around and most areas have received lighter, more scattered showers over the week with more around.The short grass plains have again been transformed and there are the major herds of wildebeest all around the Ndutu, Gol and Loliondo areas. They are all coming in from the Western corridor, central and northern Serengeti.
All short grass plains are very green with the rich nutritious grasses growing up fast. There is plenty of standing water around now and we would expect the bulk of the Migration to stay in these areas for the next three weeks or so. If the showers continue, as they really should at this time of year, then they will stay much longer, of course.
Many of the wildebeest have had calves, though there are obviously still quite a number of pregnant cows around. The drought will have delayed the birthing pattern slightly. We are slightly concerned about the plight of the babies as many were born when their mothers were still weak from lack of good grazing. The grasses of central and northern Serengeti do not have the rich goodness of the short grass plains. Some of the wildebeest, trying to make the best of a bad deal, had their calves in these areas which is very unusual. Others had their calves in the traditional birthing areas and then faced a couple of weeks of tough times as the grazing and water dried out. It is too early to tell what the impact will have on this years young.
posted by Nomad Tanzania at 3:22 AM
