2024 Great Wildebeest Migration Recap: What Happened This Past Year

The Great Migration is an annual event that sees millions of wildebeests, as well as zebras and gazelles, traverse the plains of Tanzania and Kenya in search of rich grazing grounds. This journey offers safari goers incredible opportunities to see dramatic river crossings and predator-prey interactions. The 2024 Wildebeest Migration was an exciting event, with more than a few standout moments that thrilled bystanders.

Here’s a breakdown of last year’s Great Migration, including the cutest newborn wildebeest taking its first steps, massive herds crossing the Mara River, narrow crocodile escapes, and lions hunting the stragglers of the herds.

Let’s go through the happenings of the Wildebeest Migration 2024 month-by-month, including videos to stoke your excitement for this year’s migration:

January 2024

The first month of the year saw wildebeests congregate in the Ndutu area of the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, as seen in this video taken by Safari Bando. They arranged themselves into massive herds to get ready for their journey across two countries.

Over 1.5 million wildebeests make up the huge herds of the Great Migration, and this event is regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World.

February 2024

Michael Laubscher captured an incredible moment during February 2024: the birth of a wildebeest! This newborn was welcomed into the herd on the 12th of February on the Kakesyo plains near the Ndutu area.

The beginning of the year is the calving season – this little guy is just one of the thousands of wildebeests that were born in January and February.

You can see the newborn take its first wobbly steps in the above clip. The calves need to learn fast, as they need to gallop with the herds as they begin their journey north across the plains.

On the 24th, Manja Kema captured this video of a wildebeest getting caught by a lion in Maswa Game Reserve.

The wildebeest was hiding in the bushes when a lion sniffed him out and pounced! He then held the wildebeest down while his fellow lion caught up to enjoy the meal, too.

Predators are hot on the heels of the Great Migration herds, making it a spectacular time for a safari, as you’re able to see incredible interactions between predators and their prey.

March 2024

March saw the wildebeest herds stay in the Ndutu area so that the young calves could continue nursing and build up their strength. Wildebeest babies nurse for about four months while also supplementing their diet with grass. Mothers and calves usually stick together for a year until the next calving season.

The calves need to build up their strength fast, as the end of the month sees the vast herds moving on to the next phase of their journey.

In these herds, you’ll also spot other species, namely zebras and gazelles, who travel with the wildebeests to the rich grasslands to graze.

April 2024

In April, the herds began moving through the Moru region and pushed westward towards Grumeti game reserve, although their pace was notably influenced by rainfall patterns.

Rain plays a huge role in the wildebeests’ movements, as heavy rainfall promises lush vegetation. The wildebeest herds, therefore, depend on consistent rain in the Serengeti and Mara to complete their migration journey.

April also saw an adorable baby zebra steal attention away from the wildebeest! This cutie was captured by Safarisandstuff near the Kopjes in Serengeti National Park.

Zebras are the ideal partner for the wildebeests during the Great Migration, as they have a great sense of hearing and amazing eyesight to spot predators.

May 2024

A safari vehicle joined the herd in the Seronera area of the Serengeti National Park! This video is courtesy of Mawe Lodges and is a fantastic example of how close safari goers can get to the herds during a Great Migration safari.

The increased rainfall seen during May slowed the progress of the herds as they were able to stay in areas to munch on the lush grass. This delayed their movement, making them late for their arrival in Grumeti.

May and June also form part of the rutting season, which means during this time more fights occur between competitive males as they vie for attention from female wildebeests!

June 2024

This spectacular video was filmed by Tommaso Riva; the wildebeest herd is seen crossing the Orangi River as a group of hippos watches from the sidelines.

All animals in the African wilderness have to make way for these massive herds, like this elephant! Saloom Nature Photography captured this amazing moment near Togoro Plains, where a wildebeest herd galloped across the path of a huge elephant.

June saw the first Mara River crossing of the Great Migration. Andre Photos and Nasikia Camps filmed this video at crossing point 7 and Makutano toward the end of the month. These river crossings are dangerous for the wildebeests, as crocodiles are often waiting to make their moves.

We loved this aerial view of the Great Migration taken by Kingson Mazee. During a hot air balloon safari over the Serengeti, a bird’s-eye view of the vast plains teeming with wildebeests was witnessed.

July 2024

As the herds headed into the second half of the year, the wildebeests experienced a lot of drama as they went through multiple major crossings along the Mara River and entered Kenya.

A particularly memorable event happened on the 20th when around 25,000 wildebeests crossed at the Ashnil crossing point in Kenya. This was one of the first crossings of the season on the Kenyan side of the Mara River.

Matt Yardley caught the incredible moment on camera when a wildebeest narrowly escaped the jaws of a crocodile in the river!

Of course, not all wildebeests are this lucky… At crossing point 0 on the Mara River, Roshana Simone Ching caught this moment when a wildebeest was dragged under the water by a crocodile.

August 2024

August saw continuous back-and-forth movements, with some herds beginning to move south again following rainfall in the northern Serengeti, while others continued their northward journey into the Masai Mara in Kenya.

Did you know that wildebeests can sense rain for up to 24 km/14.9 mi? This is why you can see some of the herd reverse their course – they know rainfall is arriving in the Serengeti.

September 2024

September continued to see dynamic river crossings as the herds moved between Tanzania and Kenya via the Sand River and Mara River.

Weather patterns caused large crossings at Kichwa Tembo; rains in the Mara North Conservancy triggered the wildebeests to cross from the Mara Triangle.

This month, a megaherd of wildebeests was spotted by Johnson Paul between crossing points 0 and 1 on the Mara River. Around 200,000 wildebeests took part in this crossing as they continued northwards.

October 2024

As the year wound down, so did the Great Migration. October saw fewer river crossings as more herds started their southward journey back to Tanzania.

This video captured by Mawe Lodges shows an easy crossing at point 3 for the wildebeests as they moved south.

November 2024

Very little of the Great Migration was seen during the month of November, as the herds were mostly just finding their way back to Tanzania and the Ndutu area of the Serengeti National Park.

December 2024

And so, the 2024 Great Migration came to an end, with the wildebeests back where they started in the beginning of the year, in Ndutu, as we can see in Mawe Lodges’ video.

The herds come back to this area in preparation for calving season, which began in January 2025.

Last year saw so many incredible moments during the Great Migration. Witnessing the sheer size of the herds and watching them make their way across the plains, dodging predators on land and in water, truly gives you a whole new appreciation for the African wilderness.

Stay up-to-date with the 2025 Great Migration by following HerdTracker on Instagram!

Check out the video below for a full recap of the Great Migration!