You may have never heard of it but the wildebeest birthing season happening throughout the great reaches of the Serengeti Park is an explosive spectacle. Picture uncountable newborn wildebeests dropping into the lush fields – the beginnings of new wildlife stretching out to the horizon.
But wildebeests aren’t the only species graced with new beginnings on these endless plains. You’ll find baby gazelle, zebra, giraffe, monkey, baboon, and many more. From January through March this ageless cycle of birth visits the fresh grasses of the southern Serengeti. Though the Great Migration of these same herds later in the year gets all the headlines, those who visit the calving season are rewarded with a moving scene unmatched elsewhere.
Why Drama?
The rhythms of nature are always interconnected. The appearance of one and a half million wildebeests herding in from the Masai Mara, and their offspring numbering into the hundreds of thousands, naturally attracts the appearance of the region’s vast stock of predators – lions, leopards, cheetahs, jackals, hyenas, and African wild dogs.
Not only are these predators looking for sustenance for themselves, but in the simultaneous rhythms of the natural world, they too have recently given birth to their young. So along with thousands of newborn grazers like gazelle, eland, and giraffe, the area has suddenly become alive with lion, leopard, and cheetah cubs needing to be fed.
The resulting population explosion becomes a dramatic dance of survival between the grazers feasting on the lush grasses of the Serengeti and the predators’ needs to feed on these grazers.
Protecting Their Young
That is the essence for both grazer and predator – how to ensure their young will survive. The immense numbers of newborn wildebeests, gazelle, and others in these fields ensure the big cats will be able to feed their young… but the hunt is not without challenges.
For instance, the wildebeest mothers return to these fields each year and give birth in the shorter grasses where a prowling leopard would be more noticeable. When a big cat approaches, the mothers instinctively huddle together, forming a barrier around their vulnerable newborns to help their odds of survival.
Come Safari With Us to the Calving Fields
There is nothing quite like seeing so many newborns and their mothers in one immense sprawling spectacle. In a single day, you could spot baby wildebeests, lion, leopard, and cheetah cubs, piglets, baby elephants, baboons, zebra, gazelle, and so much more.
Amazingly, this is the low tourist season, unlike the summer of the Great Migration, so you’ll have these birthing fields pretty much to yourself.
Take advantage of all East Africa has to offer and we’ll make sure you have a magnificent and safe adventure!
