Blue wildebeest, common wildebeest, white-bearded wildebeest or brindled gnu

Habitat:

Savannah of Massai Mara National Park, Kenya during the Great Migration.

Notes:

All pictures from the "Great Migation". The migration is especially the wildebeest migration, photos of their death-defying river crossings are world famous. Their number is huge, about 1.7 million wildebeest alone take part in the great migration. They are accompanied by more than 250,000 zebra and various gazelles (Grant's gazelle, Thomson's gazelle, eland, impala) who come together on a number of about 500,000. On the 800 km long dangerous journey every year about 250,000 wildebeest find their death - they die of hunger, thirst, exhaustion and natural predation.The last three pictures show the crossing of the Mara river. The animals do not know why but they instinctively guesse that the crossing of the river is dangerous. They are afraid, terribly afraid and try to reach the opposite shore as quickly as possible. In the river are lurking crocodiles and on the shore the lions are waiting. The last animal of this smaller herd of about 300 animals was a calf. Because of exhaustion it broke down on the slippery and steep descent, slipped and slid down again. With the very last power it reached the mainland. Good luck, kid.