The natural world is in serious decline with most of the great wildlife spectacles having now vanished. Yet, in East Africa there remains within the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem the largest mass movement of large mammals in the world.
To one such as me who holds little store in the creations of man, this is simply the most magical and awe-inspiring sight left on the planet. This great migration is beyond superlatives and stretches the bounds of imagination. A mass movement of 1.3 million wildebeest, 360,000 Thomson's Gazelle and 191,000 Zebra have a supporting cast of 95,000 Topi, 76,000 Impala, 46,000 Cape Buffalo, 26,000 Grant's Gazelle, 14,000 Kongoni (Hartebeest), 12,000 Eland as well as 9,000 Giraffe and 2,000 Elephant. Such a massive amount of meat on the hoof inevitably attracts great numbers of both predators and scavengers creating the greatest show on Earth!
This massive movement of wildlife faces its greatest barrier in the Mara river and it is along the banks of the Mara that some of the most spectacular sights are to be seen!
This gallery contains images taken on three separate visits to Kenya's Masai Mara during the peak period of the migration in July/August. No two years are alike and it is pure luck that dictates what one can see. River crossings are unpredictable whilst the exact timing of the migration and the number of animals involved is as capricious as the East African rains.