Uploaded February 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
One of the most sought-after experiences for wildlife and nature enthusiasts, the Great Migration is the ever-moving circular migration of over a million animals across the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. The ever-moving columns of wildebeest, joined by a host of companions, follow an age-old route in search of grazing and water. This journey takes them across the plains of the Masai Mara in Kenya, all the way south into Tanzania, through the Serengeti to the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater, before circling up and around in a clockwise direction. Along the way, high drama is always present, as thousands of animals are taken by predators, and thousands more are born, replenishing the numbers and sustaining the circle of life.
Every year, around 1.5 million wildebeest; 350,000 Thomson’s gazelle; 200,000 zebra; and thousands of eland and other ungulates (hoofed animals) participate in what has been called ‘the greatest show on Earth’, The Great Wildebeest Migration.
The three groups of migrant grazers have different grass-eating habits: as one group eats the top of the tallest grass, the next group will eat away some of the medium-height grass, until finally it is almost completely eaten, and the herds move on. This means each group sticks to their own kind with only a small overlap in their distributions. The grasses of the plains have the highest protein content in the whole of the Serengeti, as well as being high in calcium.
It is unclear how the wildebeest know which way to go, but it is generally believed that their journey is dictated primarily by their response to the weather; they follow the rains and the growth of new grass. While there is no scientific proof of it, some experts believe that the animals react to lightning and thunderstorms in the distance. It has even been suggested that wildebeest can locate rain more than 50km away.
The Great Migration in January, February and March
Around January each year, the migration will be finishing a southwards trek, moving along the eastern edge of the Serengeti and into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Here the plains are rich in nutritious grass, providing the herds with the best conditions for raising their newborn calves.
Although there is no real beginning or end to this migratory circuit – other than birth and death – it seems reasonable to call the wildebeests’ birthing season the start of the migration. Around late-January or February, the herds occupy the short-grass plains that spread over the lower northern slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater highlands and around Olduvai Gorge. Some 400,000 calves are born here within a period of two to three weeks - some 8,000 new calves every day.
One of the most sought-after experiences for wildlife and nature enthusiasts, the Great Migration is the ever-moving circular migration of over a million animals across the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. The ever-moving columns of wildebeest, joined by a host of companions, follow an age-old route in search of grazing and water. This journey takes them across the plains of the Masai Mara in Kenya, all the way south into Tanzania, through the Serengeti to the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater, before circling up and around in a clockwise direction. Along the way, high drama is always present, as thousands of animals are taken by predators, and thousands more are born, replenishing the numbers and sustaining the circle of life.
Every year, around 1.5 million wildebeest; 350,000 Thomson’s gazelle; 200,000 zebra; and thousands of eland and other ungulates (hoofed animals) participate in what has been called ‘the greatest show on Earth’, The Great Wildebeest Migration.
The three groups of migrant grazers have different grass-eating habits: as one group eats the top of the tallest grass, the next group will eat away some of the medium-height grass, until finally it is almost completely eaten, and the herds move on. This means each group sticks to their own kind with only a small overlap in their distributions. The grasses of the plains have the highest protein content in the whole of the Serengeti, as well as being high in calcium.
It is unclear how the wildebeest know which way to go, but it is generally believed that their journey is dictated primarily by their response to the weather; they follow the rains and the growth of new grass. While there is no scientific proof of it, some experts believe that the animals react to lightning and thunderstorms in the distance. It has even been suggested that wildebeest can locate rain more than 50km away.
The Great Migration in January, February and March
Around January each year, the migration will be finishing a southwards trek, moving along the eastern edge of the Serengeti and into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Here the plains are rich in nutritious grass, providing the herds with the best conditions for raising their newborn calves.
Although there is no real beginning or end to this migratory circuit – other than birth and death – it seems reasonable to call the wildebeests’ birthing season the start of the migration. Around late-January or February, the herds occupy the short-grass plains that spread over the lower northern slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater highlands and around Olduvai Gorge. Some 400,000 calves are born here within a period of two to three weeks - some 8,000 new calves every day.
![Cuteness in This Video : Cool Baby Elephants Learn To Swim [Elephant Calf]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/p-VVxUlPtL8/mqdefault.jpg "Cuteness in This Video : Cool Baby Elephants Learn To Swim [Elephant Calf]
baby elephant is called a calf. It weighs about 250 pounds at birth and stands about three feet tall. Calves cant see very well at first, but they can recognize their mothers by touch, scent, and sound.
Baby elephants stay very close to their mothers for the first couple of months. The calves drink their mothers milk for about two years, sometimes longer. They drink up to 3 gallons of milk a day! At about four months old, they also begin eating some plants, like adult elephants, but they continue to need as much milk from their mother. They keep drinking milk for up to ten years!
At first, baby elephants dont really know what to do with their trunks. They swing them to and fro and sometimes even step on them. They will suck their trunk just as a human baby might suck its thumb.
By about 6 to 8 months, calves begin learning to use their trunks to eat and drink. By the time they are a year old, they can control their trunks pretty well and, like adult elephants, use their trunks for grasping, eating, drinking, bathing.
Female elephants stay with the herd for life, while males leave to begin a solitary life at about 12 to 14 years of age.
Elephant Babies Coloring Page: Color this picture while you review the facts youve learned.
Species of Elephants
For many years scientists thought that there were two different species of elephants: Asian elephants and African elephants. However, in 2000, they began classifying African elephants into two distinct species, the African savanna elephant and the African forest elephant.
Elephant Vocabulary Worksheet : Discover more about elephants by with this vocabulary worksheet. Look up each word in a dictionary or online. Then, write the correct word on the blank line beside each definition.
Elephant Word Search : See how well you remember what you learned about elephants. Circle each word as you find it hidden among the letters in the word search. Refer to the worksheet for any terms whose meaning you dont remember.
African savanna elephants live in the area of Africa below the Sahara desert. African forest elephants live in the rain forests of Central and West Africa. The elephants that live in the African forest have smaller bodies and tusks than those that live on the savannas.
Asian elephants live in the scrub and rain forests of Southwest Asia, India, and Nepal.
Elephant Habitat Coloring Page : Review what youve learned about elephant Habitats.
Distinguishing Between Asian and African Elephants
There are many similarities between Asian and African elephants, but there are simple ways to distinguish one from the other. African elephants have much larger ears that seem to be shaped like the continent of Africa. They need large ears to cool off their bodies on the hot continent of Africa. Asian elephants ears are smaller and more rounded.
African Elephant Coloring Page
There is also a distinct difference in the shape of Asian and African elephants heads. Asian elephants heads are smaller than an African elephants head and have a double-dome shape.
Both male and female African elephants can grow tusks, though not all do. Only male Asian elephants grow tusks.
Asian Elephant Coloring Page
The Asian elephant is smaller than the African elephant. Asian elephants live in jungle habitats. Its entirely different than the deserts of Africa. Water and vegetation are more plentiful in the jungle. So Asian elephants do not need wrinkled skin to trap moisture or large ears to fan their bodies.
Even the trunks of Asian and African elephants are different. African elephants have two finger-like growths on the tip of their trunks; Asian elephants only have one.
Elephant Family Coloring Page : Do you think you can tell African and Asian elephants apart? Are these African elephants or Asian elephants? What are the identifying features?
Elephant Diet Coloring Page : All elephants are plant eaters (herbivores). Adult elephants eat about 300 pounds of food a day. It takes a long time to find and eat 300 pounds of food. They spend 16 to 20 hours a day eating!
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