Every year like clockwork, thousands of wildebeest begin crossing the Mara River as part of the largest terrestrial mammal migration on the planet.
The wildebeests first cross the river from Tanzania to Kenya in July, then they typically spend a month or two in the Masai Mara National Reserve, before crossing back across the border into the Serengeti.
And this week as the wildebeests began the epic charge over the river, a tourist from New York was on hand in Serengeti National Park to capture some incredible video.
The tourist (who wanted to remain anonymous) was able to capture the first river crossings by using HerdTracker to plan her safari.
She managed to find herself at the right place and right time after getting expert knowledge from Carel Verhoef, HerdTracker founder and migration expert at Discover Africa.
According to HerdTracker, it’s estimated that 20,000-30,000 wildebeest crossed the Mara River in the Bologonja area of the Serengeti this week.
“HerdTracker was created to take away the fear of spending so much money on safari, only to end up missing the migration. I’m really happy that it’s managed to serve its purpose,” said Verhoef.
The tourist kindly shared the footage with Verhoef, who then published it to the HerdTracker platform.
HerdTracker reports the wildebeest migration movements daily, often with photos and videos directly from the Serengeti and Masai Mara.
Wildebeest migration enthusiasts can also follow HerdTracker on Twitter via the @HerdTracker handle.
@HerdTracker is run by the world’s first tweeting wildebeest, Conrad, named after the Latin name for his species, Connochaetes.
For more information on the migration and to find out when to go, see The Where And When Of The Great Wildebeest Migration.
