The wildebeest, [L3 301 / P010 / zebra], and [L3 302 / P020 / Thomson's gazelle] [N 001 / all migrate extensively] and in large numbers in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. While their migration routes are not identical, there is considerable overlap. [L3 303 / I001 / Grazing succession] insures each species ample nutrition without exhausting the food supply.
Because the movements of the herds are determined by rainfall, the general patterns below describe where the animals are usually found in their highest concentrations.
The wildebeest, zebra and Thomson's gazelle all occupy the plains of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem during the wet season. Wildebeest herds occupy the central and southern areas, grazing part of the season on the plains south of the [M 003 / Serengeti National Park]. The zebra herds tend to graze in the north and northeast areas of the plains where the grass is longer than in the southern region. The Thomson's gazelle herds begin the rainy season on the eastern plains and move west to the wildebeest's grazing areas as the season progresses.
As the rainy season ends in May or June, wildebeest herds take two routes. Some move north to the woodlands. Most migrate to the Western Corridor. Of these, some herds will spend the remainder of the dry season on the plains of the Corridor. The majority will move north to the woodlands of the Northern Extension and later in the season migrate into the [M 005 / Masai Mara Game Reserve]. The herds return to the plains when the rainy season begins in November or December.
Zebra herds leave the plains in April before the end of the rainy season and, while most migrate to the woodlands, some herds move into the Western Corridor before moving north. They occupy the woodlands by June and the wildebeest do not occupy this area in great numbers until August. Zebras return to the plains in October before the wildebeest leave the woodlands.
Thomson's gazelles remain on the western plains after the wildebeest move on. After a couple weeks they follow the wildebeest herds to the Western Corridor. They rarely occupy the central area or the woodlands, spending most of their time between the plains and the Corridor.
