One of the biggest animal migration on earth: The great migration of wildebeest and zebras in Serengeti and Masai Mara. Every year, around 1.7 million wildebeest and 260'000 zebra head north from the southern Serengeti via Grumeti to the northern Serengeti where they have to cross the Mara river to continue their journey into the Masai Mara in Kenya. The crossing of so many wildebeest over the Mara river is the most spectacular animal sighting we have ever experienced in our life. The wildebeests migrate in loose herds to the Mara River. Suddenly huge groups of thousands of animals are forming and look for a save spot to cross the river. It is not uncommon that a crossing is aborted at the very last moment and the entire herd withdraws from the river and disappears in the bush. But once the leading animal decides to cross the river, hundreds of wildebeests will jump down the river bank and into the water to reach the other side.

That is the moment that predators are waiting for. Suddenly a crocodile appears out of nowhere and attacks the nearest wildebeest, grabbing its leg and pulling it out of the herd. There is no escape from the crocodiles teeths and slowly it is pulled into deeper water where more and more crocodiles are joining the scene. With a mighty final snap the unfortunate wildebeest is pulled underwater, never to be seen again.

The Serengeti is also home to many other species of antelopes, such as Impala, Eland, Hartebeest, Klipspringer, Oribi, Reedbuck, Topi and Waterbuck. Lion, Leopard and Hyena are the main predators that we encountered and plenty of birds can be spotted along the river and in the bush.

Welcome to our wildlife safari to the northern Serengeti National Park in Tanzania in July 2022. We stayed five nights at the wonderful Mara River Post Lodge and would like to thank the excellent staff and our amazing guide for this unforgettable safari.

For animal identification, please refer to the video subtitle or to the species list below.

With best regards,
Sandra and Markus

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List of species in order of appearance:
00:18 Masai giraffe
00:26 Impala
00:40 Spotted hyena
00:48 Topi
01:18 Lion
02:12 Serengeti whitebearded wildebeest
02:58 Wattled starling
03:36 Plains zebra
05:03 Egyptian goose
05:13 Nile crocodile
05:19 Defassa waterbuck
05:23 Threebanded plover
05:35 Hippopotamus
05:51 Sacred ibis
05:59 Masai giraffe
06:23 African elephant
10:10 Plains zebra
10:15 Little beeeater
10:48 Sand River
11:08 Warthog
11:14 Bohor reedbuck
11:56 Bateleur eagle
12:24 Masai giraffe
12:45 Banded mongoose
12:55 Common Ostrich
18:41 Impala
18:56 Augur buzzard
19:05 Warthog
19:13 Plains zebra
19:21 Thomson's gazelle
19:35 Spotted hyena
19:58 Oribi
20:05 Coke's hartebeest
20:13 Juvenile Coke's hartebeest (Topi in the background)
20:21 African elephant
20:29 Common eland
20:48 Rock hyrax
21:00 Klipspringer
21:15 Flatheaded rock agama
21:46 Leopard
29:42 Lilacbreasted roller
29:50 Banded mongoose
29:58 African wattled lapwing
30:15 Rednecked spurfowl
30:24 African grey hornbill
30:33 Rufouscrowned roller
30:41 Rüppell's glossy starling
30:49 Longcrested eagle
30:57 Rüppell's vulture
31:05 Defassa waterbuck
31:14 Superb starling
31:22 Masai giraffe
31:30 African fish eagle
31:34 Tawny eagle
31:39 Greybacked fiscal
31:47 Barefaced goawaybird
31:53 Cape wagtail
32:04 African elephant

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Chapters in this video:
0:00 The Serengeti, endless plains
3:57 Wildlife at the Mara River
7:31 1st Crossing: fast and furious
10:04 Wildlife at the Sand River
13:04 Large Herd aborts the Crossing
14:30 2nd Crossing: Crocodile Attack
18:32 Wildlife on the Rocks
23:04 The Gathering of the Wildebeests
24:07 3rd Crossing: A long way accross
29:25 Birdlife and Elephant crossing
33:00 4th Crossing: The Grand Finale

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#africa #tanzania #serengeti #migration #safari