Migratory Surprises

1/31/2019

While the Great Migration is currently making its way across the southern Serengeti in Tanzania, another migration is taking place on the Makgadikgadi Pans in Botswana, with throngs of zebra, wildebeest and elephant searching for water and grazing land. This phenomenon is especially interesting in that the historic Botswana migration hadn't been seen since the 1960's. The resurgence was surprising to everyone, especially local residents whose cattle were suddenly sharing the Boteti River with thousands of zebra and whose crops were being devoured by herds of long-nosed pachyderms.

Representatives of wildlife, tourism, and government agencies were brought together with local communities by Natural Selection's Makgadikgadi Conservation Initiative to find a mutually beneficial solution to the resurgence of cattle-predating lions, crop-raiding elephants and the need for economic and livelihood improvements in the area. Data collection will inform future land-use decisions and determine how wildlife and communities can co-exist.

The Botswana migration can be experienced at Jack's Camp and San Camp, where guests can also meet the researchers hard at work.
 

Similarly, the Amboseli region of southern Kenya, on the border of Tanzania, has experienced a rarely seen avian migration. 

The name "Amboseli" derives from a Maasai word meaning "salty dust" and the National Park is renowned for its majestic views of Mount Kilimanjaro and impressive herds of elephant that roam its dusty arid landscape.
 

The area's diverse topography of plains, acacia woodland, rocky thorn bush, swamps and marshes, combined with a long dry season, ensures productive game-viewing. It also boasts a dry Pleistocene lake basin that houses a temporary lake, Lake Amboseli, which forms annually after the rains.

Following a particularly heavy rainy season this past year the lake is currently brimming with life, as hundreds of flamingos have alighted on its waters to feed and rest, lending a wash of pink to the already dramatic scenery.

Tortilis Camp is the perfect base from which to explore the Amboseli National Park and, if fortunate, experience a surprise visit from flocks of pink flamingoes passing through the region.

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