Articles
SERENGETI BIRTHS DRAW RECORD VISITORS
During the month of February, a record number of tourists, among them over 5000 domestic visitors, came to witness the more than 1.5 million wildebeest delivering new calves at the rate of 8,000 newborns per day. Included in these visitors were wildlife researchers and zoological scientists from all over the world. What fascinated some of the visitors was how soon after birth, the newborns are on their feet and running with their mothers and to top that off, the mother wildebeest don’t even have to lie down to have their babies, they just deliver them as the move about.
What is normally a low season for tourists in February, this phenomenon of synchronized calving is creating a buzz globally and the nearly 17,000 visitors in just one month is proof of that.
One must note that not all of the half million calves survive since the predators like the hyenas, lions, leopards, cheetah and wild dogs find them easy prey so a great number will be a hearty meal for them. Many more will drown in the Mara River during a crossing and still more will succumb to the natural elements that accompany them during their annual migration.
