Migrations
The Great Wildebeest Migration
Serengeti–Mara Ecosystem, Tanzania and Kenya · Fall 2028
At the riverbank, a wildebeest hesitates, its eyes on the current. More animals arrive behind. They pause at the dangerous border between grasslands. Their hooves loosen the soil, some of them slip as the herd surges forward. One by one, they plunge into the river.
More than a million wildebeest travel in an annual circuit extending roughly 500 miles through Tanzania and Kenya. It is a migration dictated by rain and grass. Calves are born along the way and learn quickly to keep pace with the herd.
We join them in the northern part of this journey of river crossings where the weary animals brave powerful currents, crocodiles, and steep, slippery banks. Peace lies on the other side, where the wildebeest rest, graze and nurse.
Our cameras follow the entire animal community drawn by the herds. Zebras and antelope migrate alongside the wildebeest. Lions watch from cover. Hippos surface in deep river pools, and vultures descend where animals have died. It is an ecosystem on the earth’s grandest scale; grasslands filled with both predator and prey.
Maasai pastoral communities have lived closely with this migration for hundreds of years. Reading the condition of grass, finding water, and knowing when to move their livestock are essential forms of knowledge here. Keeping land accessible for seasonal movement is critical to both pastoral livelihoods and migrating wildlife.
In partnership with the Maasai, we will watch life unfold on the plains of East Africa; the dramatic crossings and the quiet spells between, where nothing is truly quiet.