!!!Great Migration

by Sergey Semenov and Stas Sedov,
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

6 November 2013

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

After long preparations, including dozens of test flights and
experiments, it was time to pack our bags and backpacks. Finally, from
the side window in the haze of dawn we saw Nairobi, the capital of
Kenya.

One day for acclimatization and another day to get to the park — time
flew by very fast. The only thing that was giving us the jitters was the
thought that it would be a very unusual shooting session. Our task was
to shoot an amazing phenomenon — a crossing of thousands of animals
across the Mara River in Africa during seasonal migration, which is the
dream of any animalist photographer. In the past we took a lot of
pictures of different wonders, both natural and man-made, but taking
pictures of fast running animals with radio-controlled helicopter was
very new to us.

[{Image src='01_Antelope crossing.jpg' caption='Antelope crossing' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='433'}]

In the evening we arrived to the camp situated on the border of the
Masai Mara National Reserve. Before sunset we took our equipment and
went to test it on a clearing not far from the "cafeteria". Camp guards
were curiously observing our preparations for the launch. When
everything was ready, we turned on the power and started the shooting.
Suddenly we heard a strange sound: a young Masai, probably amazed or
frightened, leaped to the side and hit the nearest tree.

In the morning before dawn we left the camp in search of wildebeests.
Almost immediately we encountered a small hippopotamus. Five minutes
later we saw a hyena, then a she-elephant with her baby standing next to
the road, and a few giraffes in the distance. When we entered the park a
lonely lion crossed the road right in front of our car. It was a very
interesting start of the day! And a vivid one!

[{Image src='02_The lion.jpg' caption='The lion' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='601'}]

There aren't many crossing points across the river for animals in the
reserve: the shore line is quite steep with very few slopes leading to
the water. There are even fewer places with slopes on both sides of the
river. Our guides took us to the main crossing point. There were hippos
and crocodiles splashing in the river, and a lot of vultures and marabou
on the shore. There were also dozens of wildebeests' corpses in the
water: they died during the crossing. You can imagine the nasty smell in
that area.

It should be noted that most animals die during the crossing not because
of crocodiles and hippos. They crush each other to death trying to get
to the other side of the river. Those who fall down on slippery rocks
and break their legs are eaten by hyenas at night. It's places like
these that remind you of cruel "law of the jungle", where the strong
always eats the weak.

[{Image src='03_Hyenas hunting the antelope.jpg' caption='Hyenas hunting the antelope' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='516'}]

We were unlucky in our attempts to take pictures of animal crossing.
Despite of dry season it rained almost every day: the sky was gray and
cloudy. Animals crossed the river not as a solid mass, but mainly in
small groups. All of that was a bad surprise. It was difficult to tell
where and when the crossing would take place, but even if our guides
correctly identified the location it was almost impossible to catch the
moment when wildebeests were crossing the river.

The problem was that animals could be easily frightened: if they saw a
man or a car nearby they wouldn't cross the river and would wait it out
or go look for another crossing spot. Every day we would sit for 6-8
hours hiding half a kilometer away from the selected animal areas and
wait for the wildebeest ritual, which precedes the first jump to the
water, to be over.

The ritual was as follows: a few animals would separate from the herd
and go to the water. They would sniff the water and go back to the herd,
after that they would go the water again. That ritual was repeated
several times until one of the antelopes jumped into the water. All the
others would rush after it. Sometimes, during the "approach" phase one
or two antelopes that crossed the river a day earlier would call out to
their brethren from the other side. It looked very strange, as if the
animals were talking to each other. Our guides called it "the singing":
if a wildebeest started to "sing" you could expect the crossing to
begin.

[{Image src='04_Young lions.jpg' caption='Young lions' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='629'}]

When first wildebeests jumped into the water, it was time for us to act.
While our jeep raced over the bumps to a pre-selected location, I, like
a real trooper, went out the hatch in the roof and launched the
helicopter. And, as a rule, we were only able to shoot the end of the
crossing: there were very few animals and they crossed the river very
fast.

But more often the crossings were interrupted. Imagine how we felt after
6 hours of sitting in the car (it was strictly prohibited to leave the
car in the park) when we saw that animals were about to go. They already
began sniffing the water, and it seemed like they would jump in. At that
very moment 2-3 cars with curious tourists drove up to the wildebeests
on the opposite bank of the river. The animals got scared and changed
their mind: the show was cancelled. Tourists didn't care, because they
didn't sit here for hours waiting for the right moment, they just moved
on after waiting for half an hour. At that moment we felt so much hatred
for narrow-minded drivers that ruined our shooting session.

[{Image src='05_There is something is my nose.jpg' caption='There is something in my nose' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='572'}]

The problem of the Masai Mara National Park is that practically anyone
can enter it. All you need is a ticket and a car. Because of that the
park is overcrowded during the season. It's hard to observe rare
animals: if someone found, for example, a family of lions in the Bush
(an African forest with short trees), 15-20 cars would immediately drive
up to that location. Animals would get nervous and go away. And it's
very hard to take pictures in those conditions.

It gets even worse with wildebeests. They get scared more easily than
lions, and most drivers in the park don't understand wildebeest habits
and because of that they ruin experience for their passengers and
passengers of professional drivers. During that week in the park
wildebeest crossings were interrupted by people or took place at night
when no one was around (the park closes around 7 pm).

[{Image src='06_Rhino.jpg' caption='Rhino' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='601'}]

Another problem was noise made by the tourists. Even if rangers managed
to organize things by placing cars at some distance from the crossing
spot, not all tourists could keep silence. The Chinese were especially
bad in that regard. They just couldn't talk to each other in low voice.
I had a strong urge to take my tripod and smash it against the roofs of
nearby cars, so that people could finally understand the importance of
silence during the waiting period.

While we were looking for a crossing, there was an incident that could
have ended in tragedy. We were taking pictures of giraffes somewhere in
the central area of the park. Giraffes were one of the few animals that
weren't afraid of our helicopter, allowing us to fly up to them very
closely. While we were doing that a lone elephant came out of the Bush.
Elephant is one of the most dangerous animals in the Masai Mara National
Reserve. If you somehow anger an elephant, the only way to escape it is
by car. Climbing trees or hiding under rocks won't help you! The
elephant will not rest until it gets you.

[{Image src='07_Lonely elephant.jpg' caption='Lonely elephant' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='601'}]

A large lone elephant was heading in our direction. Even then Duo, one
of our guides, said that he didn't like the way elephant was walking.
Duo just stated his concern. At that moment Sergei and I were busy
shooting a group of giraffes 200 meters away from the car. Elephant was
coming straight at us. He stopped a hundred meters from the car and
started to sprinkle his head with dust by using his trunk. When Duo saw
that he shouted that we needed to leave immediately, because it seemed
that the elephant would attack us.

"But what about the helicopter?" I asked (the helicopter was in the
air).

"Forget the helicopter! Run for your lives!"

I gave up control, leaving the helicopter hanging in the air over
giraffes, and dove into the hatch. "Evans, Go!" Duo and I shouted to our
driver. But for some reason Evans didn't go forward, but backwards
towards the elephant. Then we screamed at him all at once! Evans woke up
and pulled the lever to the first gear. The car drove off the trajectory
of the elephant. When elephant saw us leaving he stopped chasing us and
switched his attention to the tourist car that was standing nearby.
After driving a couple of hundred meters away we finally took a breath.
And what happed with helicopter? Helicopter was patiently hanging in the
air on autopilot right where I left it. I went out the hatch and, taking
control with my shaky hands, landed the helicopter before battery died.
It turned out well in the end and everyone, except for cold-blooded
Sergei Semyonov, were sweating from adrenaline rush.

However, the realization of the possible danger came to us only the next
day when our guides told us that the lone elephant killed a local from a
nearby village at night.

[{Image src='08_Elephants from the air.jpg' caption='Elephants from the air' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='530'}]

That whole week we were still shaken up by that event. We were able to
capture some small-scale wildebeest crossings, but weren't happy with
the results. It was our last day. Our plans were almost ruined and we
couldn't stay in Masai Mara any longer. But that day luck was finally on
our side. At the crack of dawn a huge herd of wildebeest came to the
river. Pro drivers and rangers were able to organize a steady line of
more than a hundred of tourist cars. Everyone was waiting in
anticipation.

The head of the herd approached the river and began a standard ritual of
sniffing and going back and forth. But then one of the drivers lost his
cool and drove to the river: he triggered a chain reaction and everyone
rushed after him. A group of noisy cars was approaching a herd of
animals. At that moment I was sitting on the roof of our jeep, trying
not to lose our helicopter on a shaky road. It was exciting: it reminded
me of a helicopter attack scene from Platoon movie by Oliver Stone. But
in the end it was very disappointing. Cars ran into a herd of
wildebeests, but there was no first jump into the water, and the grand
crossing of the season didn't happen. Animals looked at the people for a
couple of minutes, turned around and went away from the river.

[{Image src='09_Giraffes and Gnu.jpg' caption='Giraffes and Gnu' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='561'}]

What a bummer! No, really, it was such a bummer! And all because of one
impatient blockhead. However, our guides told us that they noticed some
signs that the crossing could still happen, but at a different location
that most tourists don't know about. We and a few other cars with
experienced drivers turned around and headed to the new location. Later
other tourists came there too. The order in a new line of cars was
controlled by rangers. Besides a stone field prevented cars from moving
to the antelopes.

And it finally happened! After the first jump and a trail of gray bodies
jumped into river. We missed the first part of the crossing though. If
the sound of our helicopter frightened animals, we would be killed on
the spot. So we started taking pictures a few minutes later. However,
the noise from a passing herd of animals was so loud that we didn't even
hear the sound of our helicopter.

And it was a grand spectacle: according to our guides, a week of
searching and waiting in savannah allowed us to witness the most massive
and lengthy animals crossing of the entire season 2013. Now you can see
it with your own eyes through our virtual tour published today.

And now a few facts about the antelope migration in the Masai Mara
National Reserve.

Masai Mara, a unique nature reserve, is located in the south-western
part of Kenya, with its northern part adjoining the Serengeti National
Park. The reserve was named after the indigenous population (Maasai) and
the Mara River.

[{Image src='10_Sunset in Masai Mara.jpg' caption='Sunset in Masai Mara' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='601'}]

With an area of 1510 square kilometers, Masai Mara is one of the largest
nature reserves in Kenya. For the most part the reserve landscape
consists of a grassy savannah with acacia trees. The western border of
the Masai Mara is formed by one of the slopes of the rift valley. This
swampy area, thanks to the abundance of moisture, is a home to many
animals.

The main pride of Masai Mara is "big five" (the most famous African
animals: lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard) . The Mara and
Talek rivers are a home to crocodiles and hippos. There are also
cheetahs, zebras, hyenas, giraffes, gazelles, and other wild animals.
450 species of birds live in the reserve.

Masai Mara is also home to the largest population of wildebeests: we are
talking about millions of species. Every year, around July, huge herds
of these animals migrate from the dry plains of the Serengeti to the
north in search of fresh grass, and in October they return to the south

On their way to Kenya they cross two rivers in the Serengeti: Mbalageti
and Grumeti. Usually these rivers are calm, but when rainy season starts
they become full-flowing, which is a challenge for migrating animals.

However, the ancient instinct drives antelopes so much that they are
willing to overcome all obstacles. They can't be stopped by fast flowing
rivers, lions, crocodiles, and other predators.

[{Image src='11_Hypo.jpg' caption='Hypo' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='601'}]

During their long journey wildebeests traverse 3000 kilometers.
Scientists estimate that millions of these animals require 4,000 tons of
grass on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, many animals die during the migration. The last and most
difficult obstacle for them is the Mara River in Kenya. Wildebeests
gather near the shore, choosing the most convenient place to cross the
river. Every year they choose a new crossing spot, because water level
and other factors can be different each time.

This choice may take a few days, but it's not always the right one. The
perfect crossing spot should have a steady flow and a shore free of any
vegetation. But sometimes wildebeests choose "suicidal" crossing spots
with hundreds of them dying in the process.

But let's not talk about that! In late October with the start of short
rains that fill up local water bodies in the Seregeti, satisfied and
full wildebeests start moving south again. They follow the same path;
about 90 % of female wildebeests are pregnant at that time.

[{Image src='12_Zebra.jpg' caption='Zebra' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='576'}]

After returning to the Tanzanian Park a new life cycle begins for
wildebeests: female wildebeests give birth to a quarter of a million
calves who, just like their ancestors, will hit the road next summer for
the succulent grass of the Masai Marai National Reserve.

\\ \\
[12 Panoramas of Great Migration|Geography/Africa/Kenya/Pictures/Panoramas_of_The_Great_Migration]

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