Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The Migration: Pictures from the Frontline

The big thing here is the Migration. Everybody is talking about it. The Migration is extremely important for the economies of Tanzania and Kenya because it brings in tourists who are willing to pay big money to see it. Well, we were at the Mara River a few days ago taking water samples. We were actually out on a rocky little island in the middle of the Mara River when we were treated to one of the big scenes of the Wildebeest Migration: the Wildebeest Crossing of the Mara River.

All the sudden we looked up and saw a large herd of wildebeest massing on the bank of the Mara. We all immediately hunched down and ran from the rocky island to the bank of the river and then up to a ledge where we could watch the crossing. Here are some of the pictures that followed:




We are happy to report that all the wildebeest made it safely across the Mara during that crossing. There were no crocodiles in the area at the time...only hippos...and hippos don't eat wildebeest.

Here is an interesting read on Migrations: Great Migrations Need Protection.

For more information also check out this publication by UNEP: Africa Atlas of our Changing Environment

1 comment:

RonandGwen said...

Absolutely amazing, and the fact that you were a part of it! Thanks for showing us all this.