Location and Migration Patterns
The Serengeti Eco-system is much larger than just the Serengeti National Park.  It includes the northernmost area of the Maasai Mara in Kenya and the bordering area of Loliondo, called the Loliondo Game Management Area.  Loliondo is a huge tract of land bordering the Serengeti National Park from the north, along the eastern perimeter, the Gol Mountains and all the way to the border of the southern Serengeti Plains.  It is technically part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Land but will soon have its own new designation of Loliondo Wildlife Management Corridor.  It is a vitally important area because of the migratory patterns for the wildebeest and zebra and the government of Tanzania is committed to protecting and preserving these routes.  The migration is actually a year long search for food and water by wildebeest, zebra and some of the gazelles.  While there are patterns that can be relied upon, there is more variation to the movement than what people are led to believe by reading various guide books.  In general, the large herds spend the majority of their time in the Serengeti, with three major events taking place at different times of the year.  The famous wildebeest calving occurs over a 6-8 week period of time, usually from the middle of January through the end of February and this takes place on the southern plains.  The wildebeest rut (breeding season) takes place in May and June with the 3 million wildebeest moving to the central and western areas of the Serengeti. 

There are two times a year that the famous river crossings take place – once when the herds are moving north toward the Maasai Mara during the dry season and then again when they are moving south and east at the start of the short rains. Herds cross both the Mara and Grumeti Rivers and the spectacle is amazing to view. The females like to drop their calves on the short-grass plains because of the type of grass that grows there (rich in magnesium and phosphorus) and the fact that the very short grass allows them to see predators more easily at a time when they are very vulnerable. The short rains of October- February are the signal to start moving to the southern plains. Males often take a longer route crossing the Mara River and moving easterly around the Gol Mountains, through the Gol Kopjes and to the Naabi and Ndutu areas of the southern plains. Pregnant females often move straight south, passing through the central and western areas of the Serengeti. However, if rain patterns are not typical, the movement can vary widely and it is always an interesting task for driver guides to understand where the herds might be and where they might be going next.