Migration of the wildebeest in the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem

The seasonal migration of the Serengeti wildebeest, Connochaetes taurinus, is widely regarded as one of the most spectacular group events in the animal kingdom. Each year hundreds of thousands of herds travel from the Serengeti plains in Tanzania to the Massai Mara area in Kenya in search of suitable forage (Mduma, et al,. 1999) The Wildebeest share a complex relationship with their environment. Their behaviour is significantly related to habitat heterogeneity with migration occurring in response …

…extent to which these species are dependent on each other for survival (Kahuranga & Silkiluwasha, 1997). The wildebeest and the gazelle rely on the zebra to selectively forage and trample the grasses; and the gazelle relies on the wildebeest to remove the bulk of green biomass so that it may feed. Each is a link in a delicate ecological chain contributing to the regulation of the ecosystem and generating one of nature's most impressive sights.